Can an msi-installer be created using MSBuild + .csproj-file?

Question

For anyone using Visual Studio Express, who doesn't have the setup and deployment project template, can the .csproj file be used to easily create an msi installer? I've read (can't find the link now) that a csproj file can be used by MSBuild (It gets converted to an MSBuild project file by MSBuild) - so what is the need for InstallShield, WIX, or the setup and deployment project?

I realize this might be a simple question, but searching the web just turns up explanations why MSBuild is needed - and that's included in the framework itself.

Answer 1

First a few clarifications:

• A .csproj is an MSBuild project file, as are most Visual Studio project files (including WiX projects). A .sln file is not an MSBuild project file but MSBuild will convert it to one.
• As of its most recent version, MSBuild is no longer part of the .NET Framework. It is now in MS Build Tools, a separate, free product.
• Even with Visual Studio Express, you have full use of MSBuild. Express does not allow non-Microsoft extensions to Visual Studio. The WiX Toolset does provide both MSBuild targets/tasks files and a Visual Studio extension. So, with Express, you don't have the WiX project template expander and editor.

An alternative to Visual Studio is SharpDevelop. It provides its own WiX project templates.

You can also create a WiX project from scratch by hand, as explained in the documentation.

It is easy to create a simple MSI installer, with explicit lists of files. You can also "harvest" .csproj outputs and some other Visual Studio project outputs, as well as directories, etc.

Most any editor, including Visual Studio Express, will help you edit WiX project and source files as XML. You might need to tell it where the relevant XML Schema files (.xsd) are to get content assistance. The zipped binary distribution of WiX might be simplest to use in such scenarios.

Windows Installer is very complex. The WiX Toolset allows full access to that complexity while attempting to kept it as simple as possible. Using WiX means learning at least some of Windows Installer.

Ultimately, no installer tool can look at your programming project and decide for you which files you want to ship and where to put them. So, no, you can't design and build an MSI simply by referencing a .csproj.

Answer 2

I think WiX would be the best option here. Building installer using Wix is basically a simple call to candle.exe and then light.exe so it can be automated in custom MSBuild target inside of your .csproj without any problem.

It would require however to set the environment that .wixproj projects usually do. For example, you would need to locate WixSDK to use candle/light binaries and pass $(OutputPath) property to candle.exe so that output files could be used in your .wxs.

After all, there would be a target like this that starts the installer build:

<Target Name="AfterBuild" Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Release'">
    <Exec Command="$(candleExecutable) product.wxs" />
    <Exec Command="$(lightExecutable) product.wixobj" />
</Target>

You could also add a condition to this target so that it's called on a specific configuration only.

Answer 3

No, I don't believe there's any way to do that with Express. It's not a built-in feature, and you can't use add-ins with Express.