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

• Right = project output files

• Left = directory structure of target computer

• Application folder

• User desktop

• User program menu

• Add additional folder by choosing Add Special Folder

• Install to GAC

• Assembly must be incorporated in project as loose file

• Assembly must not be compressed with other project output

• Sign assembly with strong name

• Add GAC folder to File System Editor

• 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)