Adding Programs to Access 2007 Deployment Packages

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Summary: Learn how to add an add-in to a Microsoft Office Access 2007 deployment package created by using the Package Solution Wizard.

Office Visual How To

Applies to: Microsoft Office Access 2007, Microsoft Office Access 2007 Developer Extensions

Mike Stowe, Microsoft Corporation

September 2007

Overview

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.

Code It

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.

To add installation instructions to Setup.ini

  1. Double-click the Setup.ini file to open it for editing in Notepad.

  2. 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

  3. 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.

Read It

Table 1 describes the settings that you can specify in the ChainedInstall section of your application's Setup.ini file.

Table 1. Available ChainedInstall section settings
PropertyDescription
TaskNameAssigns a friendly name to the installation. Setup uses this name in the Setup log file. Optional.
PathSpecifies the path and file name of the .msi (Windows Installer) file or an .exe (executable) file. Required.
TaskTypeIdentifies whether the chained installation is an .msi file or an .exe file. Required.
MSTSpecifies 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.
DisplaySpecifies 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.
CmdLineAdd 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.
RebootIf 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.
IgnoreReturnValueIf set to 1, continues to install successive chained installations even if this installation fails.
NoteNote
If you accidentally type 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.
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