looking for installer that will smartly download framework if it is not installed on users machine

[Thomas Miller]

I am deploying some software. I want the installer (wise,
installshield, or whatever you reccommend) to smartly analyze the
users computer and look to see if the .net framework is installed. If
it is not installed then download framework and when that is done it
will install my software. What installer package will do this the
best/most easily. Please give me all options. Especially interested in
hearing free ways to do this.

Thanks,

Tom

[Jerel]

If you really want a free and easy way to do it, you could follow what I did.

I wrote a C++ app that scans the regesitry to determine if .Net is
installed. If it finds it, it launches the setup routine from the microsoft
packager. If it is not found, it asks if the user wants to install the
framework, once the framework is installed, it launches the setup.

I have had much luck with the .Net packager. I have not tried very hard
either. But this way works for me. I even put the C++ app on a CD and created
and autorun.inf file that launched the app. It was all pretty automated and
worked rather well.

Hope that helps.

Jerel

"Thomas Miller" wrote:

I am deploying some software. I want the installer (wise,
installshield, or whatever you reccommend) to smartly analyze the
users computer and look to see if the .net framework is installed. If
it is not installed then download framework and when that is done it
will install my software. What installer package will do this the
best/most easily. Please give me all options. Especially interested in
hearing free ways to do this.

Thanks,

Tom

[Phil Wilson]

The Visual Studio 2003 installer will do this. In
View->Editor->LaunchConditions, you'll see a launch condition of .NET
Framework if your app needs it. F4 for properties, and InstallURL says where
to get it from, SupportedRuntimes the first is the version you want. Try it
with a dopey version like 1.1.5678 to test it, and you'll see a message
asking to get the runtime from that InstallURL.

For something fancier, there's this:
http://www.codeproject.com/dotnet/dotNetInstaller.asp

Whether you choose VS, InstallShield or Wise shouldn't be based on this
alone - those 3rd party MSI builders have a whole lot of functionality and
include this kind of download capability.

http://www.installsite.org/pages/en/msi/authoring.htm
--
Phil Wilson
[MVP Windows Installer]
Definitive Guide to Windows Installer
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...044380-4696760

"Thomas Miller" <th*****************@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5e**************************@posting.google.c om...

I am deploying some software. I want the installer (wise,
installshield, or whatever you reccommend) to smartly analyze the
users computer and look to see if the .net framework is installed. If
it is not installed then download framework and when that is done it
will install my software. What installer package will do this the
best/most easily. Please give me all options. Especially interested in
hearing free ways to do this.

Thanks,

Tom

[Thomas Miller]

Thanks Phil.
What InstallUrl can I use to download it directly from the MS website?
I do not want to use up my own hosting bandwidth. The MS website
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=23249 does not link directly to
the file. I examined the html source of the page and when the user
clicks the "download now" button they are taken to

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...nInstaller.msi

How do I know for sure that MS will not change the url?

[Zach Hodges]

You don't know for sure whether it will change, or you can ask them...
Get one of those free storage accounts, if those things still exist, and
link to that.

Zach

Thomas Miller wrote:

Thanks Phil.
What InstallUrl can I use to download it directly from the MS website?
I do not want to use up my own hosting bandwidth. The MS website
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=23249 does not link directly to
the file. I examined the html source of the page and when the user
clicks the "download now" button they are taken to

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...nInstaller.msi

How do I know for sure that MS will not change the url?

[Steve McLellan]

This isn't the URL for the distributable; it's the URL for the bootstrapper
that lets you package your application with the framework and distribute it
all together. Check that section more carefully; it does mention a link you
should put into an installer to download the framework from MS.

Steve

"Thomas Miller" <th*****************@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5e**************************@posting.google.c om...

Thanks Phil.
What InstallUrl can I use to download it directly from the MS website?
I do not want to use up my own hosting bandwidth. The MS website
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=23249 does not link directly to
the file. I examined the html source of the page and when the user
clicks the "download now" button they are taken to

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...nInstaller.msi
How do I know for sure that MS will not change the url?