How to create an NSIS installer from Visual Studio?

tangam
10th August 2007 15:48 UTC

How to create an NSIS installer from Visual Studio?
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
10th August 2007 17:32 UTC

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
28th September 2007 13:27 UTC

Re: How to create an NSIS installer from Visual Studio?
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
26th July 2012 13:03 UTC

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

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 ;)