Use WIX without visual studio

Question

I am trying to create installer of my c# application.

I found that installer can be created using Visual Studio but not using express edition.

So i wanted some free tool.

So i tried to use WIX but i found it also needed to integrate with visual studio and visual studio 2010 express do not allow to extend it.

I found following link but unable to work because i am having visual studio 2010 express.

http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/votive/authoring_first_votive_project.html

So is there any way how to use WIX without visual studio?
And directions how to use WIX?

I am creating installer first time so i am new to this.

Thanks for support.

Answer 1

You don't need Visual Studio to create Wix projects you can use any editor (Notepad) of your choice it's just that you will miss IntelliSense and building from within VS. I believe you can still use VS to edit .wxs/.wxi (xml) files.

To build you just need Wix Toolset and MSbuild (.net).

Working with MSBuild documentation: http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/msbuild/

Answer 2

See if WiX edit works for you:

http://wixedit.sourceforge.net/

and WiXAware may be an option, if it's still available, do your research first:

http://www.installaware.com/news-installaware-wixaware-200.htm

Answer 3

SharpDevelop is an IDE that supports WiX projects in a way similar to Visual Studio.

Ultimately, WiX source files are schema-validated XML so any good XML editor with syntax highlighting and schema-based editing assistance would work. WiX tools can be run directly on the command-line but WiX projects are generally more convenient. WiX projects are Visual Studio projects that are MSBuild projects. As with WiX source files, MSBuild project files are XML. The WiX installer and/or zip distribution provides MSBuild targets and tasks that call the WiX tools during a build with MSBuild, Visual Studio or SharpDevelop.

When learning WiX, do keep in mind that it is a tool to build Windows Installer packages from an abstract declaration. Go to the Windows Installer documentation for conceptual information and WiX documentation for how to implement the concepts. You'll then see how much simpler WiX is. However, compared to other installer tools, WiX is not simple-but it doesn't limit you, either.