visual studio .net general: How can I remove the VS.NET installer launch condition for requiring .NET framework on a target machine? I have several components, in separate exe's, that are in the setup package. The main program does not require .NET - and when I only have that in the package, it works fine. Then, I add in another exe, written in VB.NET (which is the only component which uses the .NET features), and now it makes every single target machine have the .NET framework on it

Ideally, I'd like to have my main program (which does not use .NET) check if .NET is installed. And, if it is not, it would not launch the second program (which *is* .NET), and prompt the user to install .NET

I tried editing the setup project file and removing the LaunchCondition, however it puts it right back in when it loads up again. Inserting the VB.NET application as a "file" (even renamed to .ex_) still makes it insist on inserting the .NET launch condition

The reason I want to do this is that most of the program does not use .NET, and I don't want to force users to download 23 MB if they don't need to use that feature. I've found that adding the step to make users download .NET to even use the non-.NET features lowers my sales

Thanks for any help. On a side note, it's a bit disappointing that .NET was not included in the XPSP2 - we're seeing the same problem as the old "vbrun200.dll problem" again with the .NET files, only 10 years later - developers are forced to either include a massive 23 MB file with their installation, or else force the user to download the file themselves. It doesn't make much sense, especially when speed/ease-of-installation is very important to customers today

The only way I think you can do this is to use Orca (the MSI editor from the
Windows Installer section of the Platform SDK) and go to the
InstallUISequence and InstallExecuteSequequence tables and set the Condition
to 0 for DIRCA_CheckFX, the custom action that does the check. Of course VS
will still add it back at every build. You could automate this in a post
build step - there are APIs (automation and Win32) to update MSI files.
--
Phil Wilson
[MVP Windows Installer]
Shamless Plug: Definitive Guide to Windows Installer
http://apress.com/book/bookDisplay.html?bID=280

[quoted text, click to view]
framework on a target machine? I have several components, in separate
exe's, that are in the setup package. The main program does not require
..NET - and when I only have that in the package, it works fine. Then, I add
in another exe, written in VB.NET (which is the only component which uses
the .NET features), and now it makes every single target machine have the
..NET framework on it.
[quoted text, click to view]
if .NET is installed. And, if it is not, it would not launch the second
program (which *is* .NET), and prompt the user to install .NET.
[quoted text, click to view]
however it puts it right back in when it loads up again. Inserting the
VB.NET application as a "file" (even renamed to .ex_) still makes it insist
on inserting the .NET launch condition.
[quoted text, click to view]
..NET, and I don't want to force users to download 23 MB if they don't need
to use that feature. I've found that adding the step to make users download
..NET to even use the non-.NET features lowers my sales.
[quoted text, click to view]
was not included in the XPSP2 - we're seeing the same problem as the old
"vbrun200.dll problem" again with the .NET files, only 10 years later -
developers are forced to either include a massive 23 MB file with their
installation, or else force the user to download the file themselves. It
doesn't make much sense, especially when speed/ease-of-installation is very
important to customers today.
[quoted text, click to view]