packaging projects question(and self contained EXEs)

[dognosh]

hi guys,new here
been writing VB(using VB6) for 2 years now,still a noob,mainly in the field of comms ,simple file manipulation and data handling,so nothing like rocket science or juggling midget african elephant fleas

also i did look at FAQ and i did a search but i didn't find my answer

i am doing a new project with a small difference to my previous ones.
all my previous software where written using the package and deployment wizard i made the setup files for distribution
which is fine but now i have a new mandate,write a piece of software that doesn't require the setup thing,as in keep everything self contained(obviously except the vbrun dlls ? )

this simple project requires microsoft comm control and microsoft rich textbox control DLLs which i presume are registered when using setup(package and deployment wizard files)

so is there any way of incorporating the 2 controls above in to my EXE or do i have no choice but to go the route of the proper install?

p.s. i did make an exe and try it on an XP machine that has never had any VB installations on it and it cried fowl wanting a DLL

thanks

[Hack]

Welcome to the forums.

this simple project requires microsoft comm control and microsoft rich textbox control DLLs which i presume are registered when using setup(package and deployment wizard files)

Correct.

so is therer any way of incorporating the 2 controls above in to my EXE or do i have no choice but to go the route of the proper install?

There are two ways and only two ways to successfully roll out a VB application.

1. Package your project
2. Preinstall and register every component a VB project could use on all client machines. This way, you only need roll out the Exe. I worked for a small manufacturing plant once that did exactly this. All VB runtimes and component files were included with the their machine setup packages so when a new machine got rolled out to an employee, everything was already there. The hardservices guys, however, had to do an installation of the components.

Bottomline is: whether your deployment package rolls them out, or some other deployment package rolls them out, an installation/registration of all runtimes and components MUST be done.

[dognosh]

thanks you kind sir

hmmm,i will have to look at other languages then for this windows project
any hints on another language that might be able to accomodate me for this project?
(i have visual studio 6)

ideally i DONT want to install it,just click and run on "virgin" PCs,and want it to be less than 1 meg,thanks

[Hack]

No idea on what to use, just an idea of what not to bother considering, and that is any Microsoft development platform.