InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition User Guide

Chapter 19: Integrating InstallShield with External Applications
Integrating with Microsoft Visual Studio
Building Releases in Microsoft Visual Studio
Building a release of an InstallShield project in Visual Studio is different than building a release in
InstallShield. When you are building in Visual Studio, you have the option to either build your entire
solution, including the installation project, or build only the installation project.
Before you can build a release, the release must be associated with a solution configuration. The
Configuration Manager in Visual Studio is where you associate a release with a solution configuration.
Task To build a release from within Visual Studio:
1. Use the Configuration Manager in Visual Studio to map a release to the appropriate solution
configuration.
a. On the Build menu, click Configuration Manager.
As an alternative: On the Standard toolbar, in the Solution Configurations list, select
Configuration Manager.
b. In the Active solution configuration list, select a configuration.
c. In the Project contexts box, map the project configuration to the appropriate release in the
Configuration column.
Note: If the Build check box is cleared and you build the solution, the deselected project configuration is not built.
d. Click the Close button.
2. On the Build menu, select the appropriate command:
Table 19-1: Build Menu Commands
Command Description
Build Solution Build the entire solution, according to what is mapped in the Configuration Manager
for each project that is included in the solution.
Build Installation Project
Name
Tip: To build the entire solution, you can also press CTRL+SHIFT+B.
Adding .NET Assemblies to a Project
Build only the installation project, according to the release that is specified in the
Configuration column of the Configuration Manager. This option is available if your
installation project is selected in the Solution Explorer.
InstallShield enables you to add a .NET assembly to your installation project by adding the .NET
assembly file to a feature.
370 ISE-1900-UG00 InstallShield 2012 Spring Express Edition User Guide