Introduction
Installing Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects
From the Visual Studio Menu select [TOOLS] [EXTENSIONS AND UPDATES] and Search Online for installer.
Select and Install Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects

Install Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects

New project types
Installer Project Types
Setup Project
Create a Windows installer project to which files can be added.Web setup project
Create a Windows installer web project to which files can be added.Merge module project
Create a Windows installer merge module project to which files can be added.
- Merge module projects are used for the packaging of files or components that are shared between multiple applications.
- A merge module (.msm) file includes files, resources, registry entries, and setup logic.
- The .msm file is merged into the deployment projects for consistent installation of a component across multiple applications.
- Merge Module projects enable creation and deployment of code that can be shared by multiple applications.
- This may include Dll’s, resource files, registry based entries etc.
- The Windows database also keeps track of a reference count for those projects.
- It allows you to create reusable setup commands.
- It is a single file, which is used within the context of a Window Installer (.msi) file.
- It allows you to capture all of the dependencies for a particular component, ensuring that the correct versions are installed.
- It should never be modified, instead you should create a new merge module for each successive version of your component.
Setup wizard
Create a Windows installer project with the aid of a wizard.
CAB project
Create a CAB project to which files can be added.
CAB is a file extension for a cabinet file for Microsoft Windows systems. The cab file is a compressed archive which supports DEFLATE , Quantum, and LZX compression. CAB files are used by windows installation engines such as Setup API, device installer and advpack.
CAB files typically contain drivers, system files and other Windows components. The installation engine extracts these files for use in the set up of various software and hardware.
Articles in this series
Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects Part 2 Demo Application
Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects Part 3 Creating an installer project





