Member Avatar for murderotica

Hello there, I have already created an add in for my MS Outlook 2003 and I want to create an installer for it. When I run my code in VS 2008 it automatically installs my add in, but I want to install it to other pcs who doesn't have VS. How do I create an installer for my add in? I've been looking for tutorials but couldn't find any. I know some of you here have experience programming add ins. Hope you could give me a resource to start with or some guide on how could I work it out. Thanks!

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For a VS 2008 Outlook 2003 VSTO add-in the two practical deployment paths are a ClickOnce publish (easy, per-user, self-updating) or a Windows Installer/MSI (better for machine-wide installs and custom prerequisites). 's suggestion to use the Visual Studio deployment tooling is on the right track; the choice depends on whether you need per-user auto-updates or a centrally managed install.

If you go ClickOnce: publish from the project (use the Publish wizard), include prerequisites (.NET and the matching VSTO runtime), sign the deployment and application manifests with a certificate, and choose whether clients will get updates from a file share/web. Signing is important — without a trusted certificate the add-in will be blocked by trust/security dialogs. ClickOnce handles the per-user registration for the add-in so you avoid many registry hassles.

If you need an MSI: create a Setup project or use a third‑party installer. Add the VSTO runtime and .NET as bootstrapper prerequisites, place your assemblies where appropriate (or into the GAC if you need full trust), and create the registry entries Outlook reads so the add-in loads on start. For machine-wide installs the installer must ensure the add-in assembly is trusted for the account(s) that will run Outlook (either GAC or proper trust policy).

Troubleshooting notes for : test installs on a clean VM, confirm the VSTO runtime and .NET versions are present, check Outlook’s COM Add-ins and Disabled Items, and inspect the Application event log for .NET/VSTO exceptions. Verify the add-in’s LoadBehavior is set to load at startup and that manifests are signed/trusted. Microsoft’s deployment guidance covers both ClickOnce and MSI workflows in detail: .

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Member Avatar for Ramy Mahrous

Use Visual Studio Click Once Installer.
New project->Other Project Types->Setup and Depolyment->Setup Wizard

Member Avatar for murderotica

Yes, that is exactly what I'm looking for. Do you have a resource or tutorial for it? I found one in MSDN but I'm still having a hard time grasping it.

Member Avatar for Ramy Mahrous

Just tell me to where you reached and what's the problem facing you?

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