To deploy a Windows application to the .NET environment

You can either use a setup file to deliver your application to customers or copy the application files directly.

When creating a setup file, you can use tool such as the WiX Toolset (either as a standalone application or an add-in for Visual Studio) or Microsoft's InstallShield Limited Edition to package. For example, here's how you would use InstallShield Limited Edition:

  1. Install Microsoft's Visual Studio and InstallShield Limited Edition. See the MSDN for more details.
  2. In Visual Studio, click File > New > Project.
  3. In the Create a new project dialog box, type setup in the search field, select a setup project and click Next.
  4. Uncheck Place solution and project in the same directory and click Create.

    This creates a solution and a project from the available templates in the specified location and opens them in Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.

  5. Select the InstallShield project type and click Create to create the project.
  6. Follow the instructions in the project in order to create the project. See the Visual Studio Help for details.

If you are deploying your application without a setup file:

  1. Use the Xcopy command (which copies a directory structure) to copy your application files from the project output directory to the directory containing your Enterprise Test Server installation.