How to make an app stand alone

[robvr6]

Hi I have been working on an app with somebody else and to show them I thought that just making the .exe file would work but certain things do not. What is the best way to overcome this.

[RhinoBull]

Visual Basic has tons of dependencies so your best bet is to create a distribution package that will include ALL runtime files. You may use any available utility including Package & Deployment Wizard (aka PDW) that comes shipped with VB but there are some alternatives exist such InstallShield and others ...

[robvr6]

will inno be OK?

[dglienna]

it should work. lots of people swear by it.

[RhinoBull]

Yea ... anything you have.

[robvr6]

which one is the easiest to use? or are they all similar

[RhinoBull]

Personally, PDW is good enough for me so give it the try. It has some issues but I don't think you're going to face them at this point.

[anotherVBnewbie]

Personally, I use a combination of Inno and the PDW..I use the PDW to create the dependancy list and then use Inno to actually build the distribution while referring to the dependacy list to insure I'm including everything needed. That's probably taking the long way but I sort of enjoy the scenic route at times

[dglienna]

I guess its ok if inno redoes the dependency check. if not, you may still have issues caused by P&D

[anotherVBnewbie]

Guess I should have mentioned this in my earlier post but one of the things I like about Inno is that it will warn you (when compiling) if you are attempting to distribute a system file which could cause problems - either due to the file itself, the file version or the installation flags you are attempting to use. Also, if you are going to use Inno you should visit their website's faq's for distributing VB apps. They provide pretty good info on files that need to be distributed which PDW won't, or at least I missed if it did, tell you about as well as the proper flags to set.

Now, I might very well run into a problem tomorrow but since being sure to include all VB dependancies I've had good results with Inno.

[dglienna]

Most people use P&D wizard untill they run into problems. I haven't as of yet.
Most problems stem from Crystal Reports, from what I've read. M$ seems to know their own controls.