Converting or Importing Visual Studio Projects into InstallShield Projects

InstallShield 2016

Visual Studio includes limited support for creating setup and merge module projects. InstallShield lets you convert or import these types of Visual Studio projects into InstallShield projects so that you can use the advanced features and functionality in InstallShield to create installations and merge modules.

With InstallShield, you can do the following:

Note • If your Visual Studio project contains one or more project outputs, you can use InstallShield to import that Visual Studio project into an InstallShield project; however, InstallShield cannot convert that Visual Studio project into an InstallShield project.

The following versions of Visual Studio are supported:

Benefits of Using an InstallShield Project Instead of a Visual Studio Project

If you convert or import your Visual Studio project into an InstallShield project, you can use the features in InstallShield to fully customize your project.

Following is a list of a few of the tasks that you can perform in InstallShield projects but not in Visual Studio projects:

Import Process

InstallShield lets you import a Visual Studio setup or merge module project into an InstallShield Basic MSI or Merge Module project.

Note • If the Visual Studio setup or merge module project that you want to import into an InstallShield project contains one or more project outputs, the InstallShield project must be in the same Visual Studio solution that contains the Visual Studio setup or merge module project and all of its project dependencies.

In order to import a Visual Studio project that contains project outputs, you must be using InstallShield from within Visual Studio. If your InstallShield project is open in InstallShield, but not from within Visual Studio, and you try to import a Visual Studio project that contains project outputs into the InstallShield project, an error occurs.

To import a Visual Studio project (.vdproj) into an InstallShield project (.ism):

InstallShield imports the Visual Studio project into your open InstallShield project based on the settings that you configured in the wizard. As InstallShield imports the project, it displays the status of the project import in the Output window. The Output window shows each step of the conversion process, and it lists any conversion errors and warnings.

Conversion Process

If you use InstallShield to convert a Visual Studio setup project, InstallShield creates an InstallShield Basic MSI project (.ism).

If you use InstallShield to convert a Visual Studio merge module project, InstallShield creates an InstallShield Merge Module project (.ism).

To convert a Visual Studio project (.vdproj) to an InstallShield project (.ism):

InstallShield creates an InstallShield project based on the settings in the Visual Studio project. InstallShield stores the .ism file in the same folder as the .vdproj file. As InstallShield creates the .ism file, it displays the status of the project conversion in the Output window. The Output window shows each step of the conversion process, and it lists any conversion errors and warnings.

Once the conversion process finishes successfully, the new InstallShield project is displayed in InstallShield.

Post-Import and Post-Conversion Tasks

Prerequisite Tasks

Visual Studio lets you add one or more predefined prerequisites to one or more configurations in a Visual Studio setup project. The import and conversion processes in InstallShield attempt to convert all of the prerequisites in all of the configurations to equivalent InstallShield prerequisites. If InstallShield does not include a corresponding InstallShield prerequisite, warning -9071 occurs, alerting you that the prerequisite could not be converted. To resolve this warning, consider creating an InstallShield prerequisite that installs the required redistributable, and add that InstallShield prerequisite to your project. For more information, see Defining InstallShield Prerequisites and Working with InstallShield Prerequisites that Are Included in Installation Projects.

User-Interface Tasks

The import and conversion processes do not incorporate the dialogs from a Visual Studio project into the InstallShield project. Once you have imported or converted your project, you can use the Dialogs view in InstallShield to configure settings for the dialogs in your project.

Language Tasks

If you imported a Visual Studio project into an InstallShield project and the following conditions exist, InstallShield replaces the existing string entry values in your project with default string entry values for the language of your Visual Studio project:

For example, if you indicate in the Visual Studio Deployment Project Wizard that you would like to import the language of the Visual Studio project, if the language of your InstallShield project is Spanish, if the language of your Visual Studio project is German, and if you are using the Premier edition of InstallShield, InstallShield replaces the Spanish run-time strings in your project with the default German translations. Thus, if you edit a string entry value by revising a setting such as the Publisher setting in the General Information view, and then you indicate in the wizard that you want to import the language of a Visual Studio project, InstallShield overwrites the value of the Publisher setting—as well as values for other settings—with the default German string entry values.

Therefore, if you change the project language while importing your Visual Studio project, review the settings in the General Information view and the String Editor view, and modify the string entry values if appropriate.

.NET Installer Class Tasks

If your Visual Studio project includes a .NET installer class custom action, InstallShield configures the .NET installer class information for the .NET assembly’s component during the conversion process, instead of creating a .NET installer class custom action. InstallShield does not include support for the Condition property of a .NET installer class custom action in Visual Studio. Therefore, if your Visual Studio project contains a .NET installer class custom action that has a condition, you may want to use the Components view in InstallShield to create a condition for the component that contains the .NET assembly after you have converted your project.

Additional Tasks

You can also use the other views in InstallShield to make additional changes to your project.

Note • Visual Studio lets you specify a directory path that contains multiple formatted properties, such as [ProgramFilesFolder][Manufacturer]\[ProductName], for the application folder. Visual Studio projects use a directory custom action to resolve the path at run time. However, InstallShield does not support this type of directory path. Therefore, InstallShield resolves the path during the conversion process and uses the INSTALLDIR property for the path.

See Also

Working with Dialogs in Basic MSI Projects

Visual Studio Deployment Project Import Wizard

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