Introduction
In this series of articles we will install the Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects and walk through creating an installer project for a simple Windows App.

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
Once Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects is installed you will find a number of new project types.


New project types
Installer Project Types
Setup Project
Web setup project
Merge module project
Setup wizard
CAB project
<h3>Setup Project</h3>
Create a <strong>Windows installer project</strong> to which files can be added.
<h3>Web setup project</h3>
Create a <strong>Windows installer web project</strong> to which files can be added.
<h3>Merge module project</h3>
<p>Create a <strong>Windows installer merge module project</strong> to which files can be added.</p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Merge module projects are used for the packaging of files or components that are shared between multiple applications.</li>
<li>A merge module (.msm) file includes files, resources, registry entries, and setup logic.</li>
<li>The .msm file is merged into the deployment projects for consistent installation of a component across multiple applications.</li>
<li>Merge Module projects enable creation and deployment of code that can be shared by multiple applications.</li>
<li>This may include Dll’s, resource files, registry based entries etc.</li>
<li>The Windows database also keeps track of a reference count for those projects.</li>
<li>It allows you to create reusable setup commands.</li>
<li>It is a single file, which is used within the context of a Window Installer (.msi) file.</li>
<li>It allows you to capture all of the dependencies for a particular component, ensuring that the correct versions are installed.</li>
<li>It should never be modified, instead you should create a new merge module for each successive version of your component.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Setup wizard</h3>
Create a <strong>Windows installer project</strong> with the aid of a wizard.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-646" src="http://www.technicaone.net/wp-content/uploads/SetupWizard.png" alt="" width="654" height="507" />
<h3>CAB project</h3>
<p>Create a <strong>CAB project</strong> to which files can be added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
Articles in this series
Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects Part 1 Installing Extensions
Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects Part 2 Demo Application
Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects Part 3 Creating an installer project
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