How to: Add Items to a Deployment Project

In order to create an installer, you must first specify what needs to be included in the installer and where to install it on the target computer. You do this by adding items to the deployment project.

The types of items that can be added to a deployment project include the project outputs, files, merge modules, and assemblies.

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 Visual Studio Settings.

To add a project output or file to a deployment project

  1. Open the File System Editor. For more information, see How to: Open the Deployment Editors.

  2. Select a folder on the target computer where the item will be installed.

    Note

    You can also create new folders on the target computer. For more information, see How to: Add and Remove Folders in the File System Editor.

  3. On the Action menu, point to Add, and then click Project Output or click File. In the resulting dialog box, select the item that you want to add.

    Note

    You can also add items to a deployment project by right-clicking the project node in Solution Explorer. Any items added in this manner will be placed in the default folder — for standard applications the Application folder is the default; for Web applications the Web Application folder is the default. You can then move the items to another folder.

To add a merge module or assembly to a deployment project

  1. Select the deployment project in Solution Explorer.

  2. On the Project menu, point to Add, and then click Merge Module or click Assembly. In the resulting dialog box, select the item that you want to add.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Open the Deployment Editors

How to: Set Deployment Project Properties

How to: Add and Remove Folders in the File System Editor

Concepts

What's New in Deployment

Other Resources

Windows Installer Deployment Tasks

File Installation Management in Deployment