C# – Target both x86 and x64 in the Windows Installer (VS2008)

coperating systemtarget-platformvisual studiowindows-installer

Is there any way to create a Windows Installer using Visual Studio 2008 to target both x86 and x64 operating systems.

In the TargetPlatform property, I have just : x86, x64, Itanium. And I know that there is another one somewhere called Any CPU but I can't find it.

Also, I don't want to create two Setup.

Any ideas ?

Thanks.

Best Answer

It can be done, but not directly with Visual Studio. The general approach is this:

create a generic MSI which contains both 32-bit and 64-bit resources
create MST transforms (one for 32-bit and one for 64-bit) which modify the MSI based on the target platform
use an EXE bootstrapper to dynamically detect the platform and apply the correct transform to your MSI

You can create transforms with Orca. If you want a commercial solution, you can try Advanced Installer or InstallShield.

If this seems too complicated, you can simply use separate 32-bit and 64-bit packages.

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