Lesson 1 – Planning Deployment

• Goal = simple + easy installation of app files (+any others required) to client machine
• Simple apps = copy to destination directory
• Complex apps = use Windows Installer to configure client machine

 

XCOPY Deployment

• Name derived from DOS XCOPY – copy directory (and subdirectories) from source to target
• Accomplished from command prompt
• All files required by app must be located within its directory (or below)
• .NET framework must be installed on client machine
• App can not require presence of resources (e.g. DB) not known to be already present on client
• Usually only use for Apps with no externally dependencies and where it is known client will have .NET installed

 

Creating Setup Project

• Visual Studio .NET can create Windows Installer projects
• 2 forms
• setup – deploying executables
• merge – deploy controls and components that do not exist as standalone apps. Redistributable package that can be merged into existing setup
• Create via Setup Project wizard
• Add setup project to existing solution
• Choose project type (e.g. setup for windows app, or create merge module)
• Determine what outputs to include in setup
• Primary output (.exe or .dlls)
• Resources
• Debug symbols
• Content files
• Source files
• Select any additional files to include (browse across hard drive)

 

Build Properties for Setup

• Configure output of project via properties window
• Produces at least one file (with .msi extension) containing all info required to install app
• Can create additional files to install app on machines without Windows Installer already present

 

Output File Name

• Location and name Windows Installer file will reside once built
• Default = <configuration>\<projectname>.<extension> where
• <configuration> = subdirectory for selected configuration (e.g. release) in project directory
• <projectname> = name of project
• <extension> = .msi for Windows Installer application project or .msm for Windows Installer merge project

 

Package Files

• Determines how output files will be packaged
• Default = package into setup file itself
• High compression
• Low level of complexity
• Place into Cabinet (CAB) files
• Can determine size of CAB files (useful if size limitation on output, e.g. destination = floppy)
• Package into loose, uncompressed files in same directory as MSI file

 

Bootstrapper

• Determine if bootstrapping app to be generated
• Bootstrapping app installs Windows Installer 1.5 onto target machine
• Not required if targeting Windows XP

 

Compression

• Unavailable if packaging as loose, uncompressed files
• Otherwise 3 settings
• None – fastest to install, but very large image
• For Speed – fast to install, larger image
• For Size – slower to install, smaller image

 

Authenticode Signature

• Permits signing of project
• Specify folder containing Certificate File used for signing
• Specify folder containing Private Key for encrypting signed files
• Optionally specify URL for timestamp server to use when signing files

 

Build

• To Build, select project in solution explorer and choose Build
• Many distribution options available, including

 

Distribute

Removable Media

• Traditional mechanism
• If setup app bigger than size of chosen medium must package output as appropriately sized CAB files and copy to required number of disks

Network Share

• Used when destined for group of users on common network
• Simplest method of distribution
• Network administrator can set privileges to restrict access to specified groups or individuals

World Wide Web

• For projects with wide distribution audience
• Fundamentally same as via network share
• Copy installation files to virtual Web directory

 

Deployment

• If no bootstrapper, double click .MSI file
• If bootstrapper included double click setup.exe

 

Lesson 2 – Configuring Setup Project

• Windows Installer projects highly configurable
• Target file locations
• Create file associations
• Check for pre-existing conditions
• Execute custom actions

 

Setup Project Properties

• Configure via project properties window
• AddRemoveProgramIcon – icon for Add/Remove programs dialog
• Author – Programs author
• Description – Description of app
• Keywords – Keywords associated with app
• Localization – Locale for app
• Manufacturer – Info about apps manufacturer
• ManufacturerURL – URL for manufacturer
• ProductName – Name of product
• Subject – Subject of application
• SupportPhone – Phone number for support
• SupportURL – URL for support
• Title – Title of app
• DetectNewerInstall – When true looks for more recent version of app on computer and aborts install if one found
• RemovePreviousVersion – When true looks for earlier versions of app on computer and removes them if found
• Version – Version of the app
• vsdrpDoNoRegister – Object requires no registration
• csdrpCOM – Object registered as COM object
• vsdrpCOMRelativePath – Object will be registered as isolated COM object
• vsdrpCOMSelfReg – Object will be self-registered as COM object when installed
• vsdrpFont – Object will be registered as Font upon installation

 

• To register component upon install, select component and ser Register property to true

 

Installation Editors

• 6 installation editors provided by IDE

 

File System Editor

• Manipulate file system on target machine
• 2 panes

o       Right = project output files

o       Left = directory structure of target computer

§         Application folder

§         User desktop

§         User program menu

§         Add additional folder by choosing Add Special Folder

• Install to GAC

o       Assembly must be incorporated in project as loose file

o       Assembly must not be compressed with other project output

o       Sign assembly with strong name

o       Add GAC folder to File System Editor

o       Add assembly to GAC folder

Registry Editor

• Create new registry entries
• Write new values to existing entries
• Left pane = registry structure on target
• Right pane = registry key values

File Types Editor

• Create association between file extension and application
• Right click File Type Editor and choose Add File Type
• Provide extension(s) separated by ; (do not prefix with .)
• Default &Open action already present
• Add additional actions by right clicking and choosing Add Action
• For each additional action
• Command = application to launch when action taken
• Name = text appearing in context menu
• Verb = verb used to invoke action
• Arguments = values passed to application
• When invoked app receives fully qualified file name as argument 1 followed by any additional arguments (as defined by action)

User Interface Editor

• Alter visual interface user sees during installation
• Consists of 2 trees
• Install
• Administrative Install
• Trees represent dialog boxes user sees during install
• Divided into 3 sections
• Start
• installer gathers info from user and machine
• dialog boxes requiring choices placed here
• at end installer checks for disk space, if not enough deployment aborted
• Progress
• Single dialog indicating installation in progress
• End
• Present information about installation to user
• Administrative Install typically has more options in Start phase, e.g. may not have Installation Folder dialog present in User Install
• Can add customisable dialogues to installation
• Choose from variety of dialogs accepting input through check boxes, radio buttons or text boxes
• Customise appearance via properties, e.g.  BannerText, BodyText, Button1Label, DefaultValue, etc.

Custom Actions Editor

• Code to be executed during installation events
• Install
• Commit
• Rollback
• Uninstall
• Add custom action(s) under appropriate event
• Set properties for custom action(s)
• Arguments – pass args to custom actions represented as .exe
• Condition – Boolean statement to be evaluated before custom action executed (e.g. evaluate properties chosen in custom dialog boxes)
• CustomActionData – pass additional required data to custom action
• EntryPoint – name of method to execute for custom action (if blank same as source event, e.g. Install). Only applicable if custom action implemented as DLL
• InstallerClass – true if custom action implemented as Installer class
• SourcePath – path to file implementing custom action

Launch Conditions Editor

• Specify conditions to be met on target machine before installation executes, e.g. determine version of Windows running
• Editor divided into 2 parts – search and launch conditions
• Create search by right clicking Search Target Machine and choose from
• File – find specific file (including version, size and date)
• Registry – find specific key
• Windows Installer – find specified Windows Installer component
• Specify property name for search – used by launch conditions to determine status of search
• Create launch condition by clicking Launch Conditions
• Specify name
• Condition is string containing Boolean expression which if True permits installation to proceed. Can contain more than one expression joined by AND, OR, etc.
• Message to display if condition fails

 

Installing Native Assembly

• Apps generally deployed as MSIL
• Where performance is critical may want to deploy as native code
• Use ngen.exe to create native image for application

 

Verify Installed Assembly Security Policies

• User PermView.exe to view permissions app requests
• By default displays assembly level permissions
• Use /DECL flag to examine all declared permissions (including those at class and method level)