Setup/Install project checks for a previously installed project before installing?

Question

Is there a way for my setup/installer poject to check that another program is installed on the machine before proceeding with the install process? I am using Visual Studio 2008.

Answer 1

Windows Installer supports launch conditions. You can use the Component ID of the program to determine if it's installed. Use MSI Spy to get the Component ID of a program.

Answer 2

Additionally, some programs are listed as pre-requisites in the setup project. For example, all the .Net Frameworks, SQL Server Compact, Windows Installer 3 etc. If you check these, you can actually have your app prompt to download the missing files.