http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa718352.aspx Microsoft Visual Studio Installer 1.1 Download Now Both files must be downloaded to the same directory and run to self extract. Then run the setup.exe to begin installation of Visual Studio Installer. Microsoft Visual Studio Installer 1.1 is the latest update to the graphical tool that simplifies the creation of application setup programs for distribution to single user or enterprise-wide desktops. New with Visual Studio Installer 1.1 is side-by-side installation of versioned DLLs. Setups created with the Visual Studio Installer provide advanced capabilities such as centralized distribution for maintenance and updates, application self-repair, and powerful installation rollback facilities. Visual Studio Installer setups are based on the new Microsoft Windows? installer technology. The Windows installer reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) for customers by enabling them to efficiently install and configure applications. The Windows installer is part of the Windows 2000 and Zero Administration Windows (ZAW) efforts to reduce the overall cost of deploying, using, and managing desktop computers. The Windows installer is also available for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT? 4.0, and Windows 2000. Windows installer-based setups can run on any 32-bit Windows desktop platform. Developers and end users will both benefit from Visual Studio Installer setups. Developers will find that Visual Studio Installer simplifies installation design and development and makes it easy to specify complex configuration changes when necessary. End users will find that setups authored with Visual Studio Installer provide easier and more stable product installations. Features in Visual Studio Installer 1.1 Include: Side-by-side installation (new in Visual Studio Installer 1.1) Side by side installation allows you to install multiple versions of previously shared DLL's that only your application will use. Isolating DLL's in this way ensures that your application is more robust and allows applications that require different versions of the same shared DLL to be installed on the same machine. Setups created with Visual Studio Installer 1.1 create a .local file in the same directory as the application you are installing, along with the isolated versions of the side by side DLLs. More information is available in the MSDN library: Implementing Side-by-Side Component Sharing in Applications. Windows Installer Merge Modules (new in Visual Studio Installer 1.1) Windows installer merge modules provide customers with packaged forms of the redistributable files. Version 1.1 includes updated merge modules to match the updated redistributables in Visual Studio 6.0 Service Pack 4. Note: Customers still wanting to use the Service Pack 3 Merge Modules with Visual Studio Installer 1.1, can copy them into the redist directory of Visual Studio Installer 1.1. Support for Windows ME (new in Visual Studio Installer 1.1) Visual Studio Installer 1.1 runs on the new Windows Millenium Edition operating system (setups created by both 1.0 and 1.1 will run on Windows ME). Additional Features: Seamless integration in the Visual Studio shell Visual Studio Installer is integrated into the Visual Studio shell. Experienced Visual Studio developers will be familiar with the windows, editors, and controls in Visual Studio Installer. Support for mixed language projects Easily construct installer projects that contain outputs from more than one Visual Studio product. For example, your installer projects can include Visual Basic?, Visual C++?, and Visual J++? outputs (.exe and .dll files). Installer project templates Visual Studio Installer provides wizard-like templates that can be used to create installer projects, including a template specifically for Visual Basic projects. Graphical editors Use the Visual Studio Installer graphical editors to manage file placement, registry entries, file associations, and user interface dialogs displayed during the installation. Support for a variety of distribution media Easily configure setup programs for distribution on a variety of different media, such as floppy disks and CD-ROMs. Faster and easier application installations Because all the installation information about an application is maintained in a central location, you can predetermine the answers to many installation questions, reducing the occasions for your users to make complex decisions when they install or update the application. Application self-repair Because the centralized installation information enables your application to repair itself, your users spend less time uninstalling and reinstalling an application, as well as trying to fix undiagnosed or difficult to identify problems. A malfunctioning application can check installation data to discover and replace any missing or corrupt files. Powerful rollback capabilities The Windows installer maintains an "undo" operation for every change it makes during any installation. If your user encounters a fatal error that stops the install process, the user can still return the machine to its exact pre-installation state. Even if an installation fails, users can continue to be productive with their previous set of applications. Additional Features for Windows 2000 Users running on Windows 2000 can realize additional benefits from the Windows installer, including: Application Advertising capabilities Use application advertisement to add application icons to the Start menu of remote machines without installing any files on any machine until the machine's user selects the application icon. When the user chooses to run the application, the Windows installer copies and installs the necessary files and components onto the target machine. The ability to run installation programs on "locked down" machines Windows 2000 system administrators can give Windows installer packages permission to run with administrator privileges on user machines. This enables application installation on locked down Windows 2000 machines, where ordinary users don't have privileges to do the things the installation program may have to do. Availability Visual Studio 6.0, Professional and Enterprise edition Visual Basic 6.0, Professional and Enterprise edition Visual C++ 6.0, Professional and Enterprise edition Visual InterDev? 6.0 Professional edition Visual J++ 6.0 Professional edition Visual FoxPro? 6.0 Professional edition
artur-r