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How to: Create or Add a Setup Project

Setup projects are used to create Windows Installer (.msi) files, which are used to distribute your application for installation on another computer or Web server. There are two types of setup projects. Standard setup projects create installers that install Windows applications on a target computer; Web setup projects create installers that install Web applications on a Web server.

Note

The dialog boxes and menu commands you see might differ from those described in Help depending on your active settings or edition. To change your settings, choose Import and Export Settings on the Tools menu. For more information, see Working with Settings.

To create a new setup project

  1. On the File menu, point to Add, then click New Project.

  2. In the resulting Add New Project dialog box, in the Project Types pane, open the Other Project Types node, open Setup and Deployment Projects, and select Visual Studio Installer.

  3. In the Templates pane, choose Setup Project for a standard setup, or Web Setup Project for a Web application.

To add an existing setup project to a solution

  1. On the File menu, point to Add, then click Existing Project.

  2. In the resulting Add Existing Project dialog box, browse to the location of the setup project and click Open.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Set Deployment Project Properties

How to: Add Items to a Deployment Project

Concepts

Setup and Deployment Projects

What's New in Deployment

Other Resources

Deployment Tasks and Walkthroughs