Summary: Learn how to add an add-in to a Microsoft Office Access 2007 deployment package created by using the Package Solution Wizard.
Applies to: Microsoft Office Access 2007, Microsoft Office Access 2007 Developer Extensions
Mike Stowe, Microsoft Corporation
September 2007
The Package Solution Wizard makes it easy to create a deployment package that contains your application, the Microsoft Office Access 2007 Runtime, and additional files. However, the Package Solution Wizard does not support deploying additional programs with your application.
This article describes how to modify a deployment package that you created by using the Package Solution Wizard to deploy an additional program when the user installs your application. To demonstrate this, you will add the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for 2007 Microsoft Office system programs to an existing deployment package created by using the Package Solution Wizard.
First, download the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in. Place a copy of this add-in in the Files subfolder of your deployment package.
Editing the Setup.ini File
To install the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in with your application, you must add information to the Setup.ini file that describes how to install the add-in. The Package Solution Wizard creates the Setup.ini file when you create your deployment package. This file is located in the Files\Setup subfolder of the deployment package.
To specify how to install the add-in, you must add a ChainedInstall_n section to the Setup.ini file. If you are deploying the Access 2007 Runtime with your application, Setup.ini already contains a ChainedInstall section named ChainedInstall_1, and you should name the new section ChainedInstall_2.
Double-click the Setup.ini file to open it for editing in Notepad.
Add the following settings to deploy the add-in with your application.
[ChainedInstall_2] TaskName=PDF & XPS Addin Setup TaskType=exe Path=\Files\SaveAsPDFandXPS.exe IgnoreReturnValue=0 cmdline=/quiet
Save and close the Setup.ini file.
The cmdline setting that is specified in this example (cmdline=/quiet) tells your application's Setup program to install the add-in in "silent mode," that is, without displaying the user interface or progress indicators. To discover the available command-line switches for a program, execute the program with the /? switch.
Table 1 describes the settings that you can specify in the ChainedInstall section of your application's Setup.ini file.
TaskName
Assigns a friendly name to the installation. Setup uses this name in the Setup log file. Optional.
Path
Specifies the path and file name of the .msi (Windows Installer) file or an .exe (executable) file. Required.
TaskType
Identifies whether the chained installation is an .msi file or an .exe file. Required.
MST
Specifies the path and file name of a transform to apply to the chained package (for .msi files only). You can specify only one transform in this entry; to specify multiple transforms, add the TRANSFORMS property to the Cmdline entry.
Display
Specifies a display setting for the chained installation; can differ from the global display level set for the core Office system package. If this value is not set, Setup uses the display level set for the core Office system package.
CmdLine
Add other options to the command line that Setup passes for the chained package. The value of CmdLine is limited to 1239 characters. Setup truncates the command line after it reaches that limit.
You cannot use CmdLine to override the installation type (/j or /i) set for the primary package; that setting is automatically applied to all chained packages.
Reboot
If set to 1, restarts the computer after a chained installation finishes. Setup restarts and then resumes the installation process. The default setting is 0, which suppresses computer restarts prompted by files in use.
IgnoreReturnValue
If set to 1, continues to install successive chained installations even if this installation fails.
If you inadvertently enter an incorrect name or path for the .msi file, Setup stops the installation process, and neither the chained package nor any subsequent chained packages are installed. This occurs even if IgnoreReturnValue is set to 1 (the only case in which IgnoreReturnValue is ignored). The installation failure is logged, but no error message is displayed.
Watch the Video
Video Length: 00:5:24
File Size: 3.47 MB WMV
Deploying Access 2007 Runtime-Based Solutions
Access Developer Portal
Introducing the Access 2007 Developer Extensions and Runtime
Microsoft Office Developer Center
Great article but I understand that there is a bug in the access runtime that prevents the export to PDF from working(?) Can someone confirm if this is still true as I haven’t found anyone that has managed to get it working, Thanks
I confirm i got this problem since a few month on a lot of configuration vista xp with or not office basic 2007. If the machine dont have office 2007 pro it's not working !! this is a shame
As of today - Dec 30 2007 - it is still not working - hopefully the Gurus at Microsoft will address this ASAP !Has anyone found a way to save an Access 2007 record that has pictures to a file that will display those picturesother than by printing and that works with the runtime package?
[Noelle Mallory - MSFT] Please post questions to the MSDN Forums at http://forums.microsoft.com/msdn. You will likely get a quicker response through the forum than through the Community Content.
I wonder if it is possible to display an messagebox (Yes/No) to ask whether the user wants to install the add-in or not.
Thanks