How to create an NSIS installer from Visual Studio?

[tangam]

Any ideas on how to create an NSIS installer from Visual Studio instead of using the setup project?

NSIS will have to automatically detect the dependencies of my .exe and package them. Is this possible?

Thanks.

[helix400]

NSIS doesn't automatically detect dependencies. It's up to you to know what files are needed for your app.

I've used other installers that try to find dependencies for you, but often, the list of needed dependencies was ridiculously high. For example, InstallShield X said that one of my small apps needed 50MB worth of dependencies. In reality, we had no problems when he only used 4 MB of them. It did require us to know exactly what each "dependency" did, and if our app needed it, or if it comes pre-installed on Windows machines, etc. That time researching was definitely worth it.

If you are looking for a tool to automatically generate your installer for you (such as what MSI wizards will do for you), I personally do not know of any. I believe there are tools that help you build an installer, but ultimately, you'll still need to get involved coding some portions of your NSIS script.

Ultimately, if all you need is just to copy files and register some dll's, you shouldn't have much trouble making an NSIS installer script to do that, if you use other tools or sample installers to help you get started.

[Kraiggy]

Hey tangam,

Originally posted by tangam
Any ideas on how to create an NSIS installer from Visual Studio instead of using the setup project?

You might be interested in trying add-in is named Votive (http://wix.sourceforge.net/votive.html) and it integrates WIX toolset (http://wix.sourceforge.net/) into Visual Studio. This one produces MSI installers as standard Setup Project does but it's much more powerful and flexible.

There is also beta version of Lexpa (http://www.lexpa.com/). It's an add-in for Visual Studio which integrates Inno Setup (http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php) into that IDE. Maybe they are also going to create something for NSIS later?

[T.Slappy]

Sorry for bringing up old topic but I suppose this tool called Visual & Installer is exactly what you need: http://www.visual-installer.com

Some features:

• New project types: NSISProject
• Full integration into Visual Studio IDE
• Visual Studio 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012 support
• Build installers directly with other project types
• NSISProject and InnoSetupProject properties
• Syntax highlighting (coloring)
• IntelliSense Complete Word support
• IntelliSense Parameter Info
• IntelliSense Quick Info
• Navigation Bars support
• Complete linkage to the solution build process
• Quick jump from Error List window
• Go To support
• Hints and tips for writing scripts*
• Code optimizations*
• Opening script files (Go To file)
• IntelliSense Code Snippets support
• Creating custom Code Snippets
• Plug-ins recognition*
• Full version control system support
• Dynamic help system
• Cross-version compatibility for all Visual Studio versions

Download and try. Contact me in case of any questions, I spent some time on develomnet of it

You can find more info into this thread: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=342898