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Walkthrough: Deploying Your Program (C++)

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Now that you've created your application by completing the earlier related walkthroughs, the last step is to create an installer so that other users can install the program on their computers. For the installer, you add a new project to your existing solution. The output of this new project is a setup.exe file that can install your app on another computer.

The walkthrough shows how to use Windows Installer to deploy your application. You can also use ClickOnce to deploy an application. For more information, see ClickOnce Deployment for Visual C++ Applications. For more information about deployment in general, see Deploying Applications, Services, and Components.

Prerequisites

  • The walkthrough assumes that you understand the fundamentals of the C++ language.
  • It also assumes that you've completed the earlier related walkthroughs that are listed in Using the Visual Studio IDE for C++ Desktop Development.
  • The walkthrough can't be completed in Express editions of Visual Studio.
  • The walkthrough can't be completed without the Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Project extension. Instructions for how to install it follow.

Install the Visual Studio setup and deployment projects template

The steps in this section vary depending on which version of Visual Studio you have installed. To see the documentation for your preferred version of Visual Studio, use the Version selector control. The control near the top of the table of contents on this page.

If you haven't already done so, download the Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects extension. The extension is free for Visual Studio developers and adds the setup and deployment project templates to Visual Studio.

  1. When you're connected to the Internet, from the main menu in Visual Studio choose Extensions > Manage Extensions. The Manage Extensions dialog appears.
  2. Select the Online tab and type Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects in the search box. Hit Enter, select Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects, and click Download.
  3. Choose to run and install the extension, then restart Visual Studio.

Create the setup project

  1. From the Visual Studio main menu, choose File > Recent Projects and Solutions, and then choose to reopen your project.

  2. From the main menu, choose File > New > Project to open the Create a New Project dialog box. In the search box, type Setup and from the results choose Setup Project and then Next.

  3. Enter a name for the setup project in the Name box, such as Setup.

  4. In the Solution drop-down list, select Add to solution. Choose Create to create the setup project. A File System tab opens in the editor window.

  5. Right-click the Application Folder node in the left pane and select Add > Project Output to open the Add Project Output Group dialog box.

  6. In the dialog box, select Primary Output and click OK. (You won't see Primary Output if you forgot to change the Solution dropdown to Add to solution in the earlier step). A new item named Primary Output from Game (Active) appears.

  7. Select Primary Output from Game (Active), right-click and choose Create Shortcut to Primary Output from Game (Active). A new item named Shortcut to Primary Output from Game (Active) appears.

  8. Rename the shortcut item to Game, then drag and drop the item into the User's Programs Menu node on the left side of the window.

  9. In Solution Explorer, select the setup project and choose View > Properties Window to open the Properties window for the setup project.

  10. Specify the other details in the property window the way you want them to appear in the installer. For example, use Contoso for Manufacturer, Game Installer for Product Name, and https://www.contoso.com for SupportUrl.

Build the setup project

  1. From the main menu, choose Build > Configuration Manager.

  2. In the Project contexts table, under the Build column, check the box for the setup project, Setup. Click Close.

  3. From the menu bar, choose Build > Build Solution to build the Game project and the installer project.

Run the setup project

  1. In the solution explorer, press the button to Switch between solutions and available views to switch to folder view.
  2. Navigate to the setup folder and the Debug folder under that. You can run the setup.exe program there, which was built from the setup project, to install the Game application on your computer. You can copy this file (and Setup.msi) to install the application and its required library files on another computer.

To install the setup and deployment project template for Visual Studio 2017 and earlier

  1. When you're connected to the Internet, in Visual Studio, choose Tools > Extensions and Updates.

  2. Under Extensions and Updates, select the Online tab and type Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects in the search box. Hit Enter, select Microsoft Visual Studio <version> Installer Projects, and click Download.

  3. Choose to install the extension, then restart Visual Studio.

  4. On the menu bar, choose File > Recent Projects and Solutions, and then choose the Game solution to reopen it.

To create a setup project and install your program

  1. Change the active solution configuration to Release. On the menu bar, choose Build > Configuration Manager. In the Configuration Manager dialog box, on the Active solution configuration drop-down list, select Release. Choose the Close button to save the configuration.

  2. On the menu bar, choose File > New > Project to open the New Project dialog box.

  3. In the left pane of the dialog box, expand the Installed > Other Project Types nodes, and then select Visual Studio Installer. In the center pane, select Setup Project.

  4. Enter a name for the setup project in the Name box. For this example, enter Game Installer.

  5. In the Solution drop-down list, select Add to solution. Choose the OK button to create the setup project. A File Assistant (Game Installer) tab opens in the editor window.

  6. Right-click the Application Folder node and select Add > Project Output to open the Add Project Output Group dialog box.

  7. In the dialog box, select Primary Output and click OK. A new item named Primary Output from Game (Active) appears.

  8. Select the item Primary Output from Game (Active), right-click and choose Create Shortcut to Primary Output from Game (Active). A new item named Shortcut to Primary Output from Game (Active) appears.

  9. Rename the shortcut item to Game, then drag and drop the item into the User's Programs Menu node on the left side of the window.

  10. In Solution Explorer, select the Game Installer project and choose View > Properties Window or hit F4 to open the Properties window.

  11. Specify the other details the way you want them to appear in the installer. For example, use Contoso for Manufacturer, Game Installer for Product Name, and https://www.contoso.com for SupportUrl.

  12. On the menu bar, choose Build > Configuration Manager. In the Project table, under the Build column, check the box for the Setup project. Click Close.

  13. On the menu bar, choose Build > Build Solution to build the Game project and the Game Installer project.

  14. In the solution folder, locate the setup.exe program that was built from the Game Installer project, and then run it to install the Game application on your computer. You can copy this file (and GameInstaller.msi) to install the application and its required library files on another computer.

Next Steps

Previous: Walkthrough: Debugging a Project (C++)

See also

C++ Language Reference
Projects and build systems
Deploying Desktop Applications