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copied!<p>Well, there is the free way and the $$$ way. I cannot document everything here, but this should get you started.</p> <p>On a side note, yes, Windows Installer is a maddening technology. There are many times where I think a task will be straightforward, but it actually becomes complicated. You definitely have to immerse yourself to understand it. </p> <p>In any case, here goes:</p> <p><strong>Free: WiX</strong> (<a href="http://wix.sourceforge.net/" rel="noreferrer"><strong>here</strong></a>)</p> <p>This is a free tool to generate MSI files from a set of XML configuration files. I'll leave you to find tutorials online, but here is the crux:</p> <p>You can compress your EXE into the installer by using the following tag in the WXS file:</p> <pre><code><Binary Id="MYEXE" src="<path to my exe?"/> </code></pre> <p>Then you can create a custom action which launches your EXE file:</p> <pre><code><CustomAction Id="EXECA_CALLMYEXE" Return="check" Execute="deferred" BinaryKey="MYEXE" ExeCommand="my command line"/> </code></pre> <p>Then you insert your custom action into the <code>InstallExecuteSequence</code> in the appropriate spot (I almost always run mine somewhere between <code>InstallInitialize</code> and <code>InstallFinalize</code>)</p> <pre><code><InstallExecuteSequence> <Custom Action="EXECA_CALLMYEXE" After="InstallInitialize"><![CDATA[Not REMOVE]]></Custom> </code></pre> <p><strong>$$$: Get InstallShield</strong> (<a href="http://www.installshield.com/" rel="noreferrer"><strong>HERE</strong></a>)</p> <p>First create a "Basic MSI" project and make sure you say you want <em>no setup.exe generated</em>. You set this in the Release settings.</p> <p>Then you essentially do the same thing as with WiX, but you have a UI for it. </p> <ul> <li>You can specify your helper EXE file by using the Direct Editor and putting your EXE file in the 'Binary' table</li> <li>You can create a custom action to launch that EXE file from the "Custom Actions" Node in the tree on the left</li> <li>You can insert the custom action by selecting "Install Sequences" and putting it in the <code>InstallExecuteSequence</code> somewhere between <code>InstallInitialize</code> and <code>InstallFinalize</code> as I said before.</li> </ul> <p>Sorry, I could not be more detailed, but this should be a good start.</p>

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