Custom Actions Management in Deployment

The Custom Actions Editor allows you to specify additional actions to be performed on the target computer at the end of an installation. For example, you might want to run a program that associates a server component with a particular message queue.

Custom actions must be compiled as a .dll or .exe file, or added to a project as a script or assembly before they can be added to a deployment project. Actions can only be run at the end of an installation.

Note

We do not recommend running scripts in a custom action. Scripts are not robust on end-user computers, which can be in an unknown state. Debugging scripts in Windows Installer is difficult, and antivirus software can disable scripts when they are considered viruses. For more information, see Error Handling in Custom Actions.

The editor contains four folders, each corresponding with a phase of installation: Install, Commit, Rollback, and Uninstall.

Custom actions are run in the same order that they are displayed in the editor. Custom actions can be reordered by dragging with the mouse or by using the Cut and Paste commands on the Edit menu.

In This Section

Topic	Description
How to: Add and Remove Custom Actions in the Custom Actions Editor	Describes how to specify custom actions to be run during installation, and how to specify the order of execution for custom actions.
How to: Add Predefined Custom Actions in the Custom Actions Editor	Explains how to add custom actions that are included in Visual Studio.
Error Handling in Custom Actions	Describes how to add error-handling code to a custom action.

Related Sections

Topic	Description
Walkthrough: Creating a Custom Action	Guides you through creating a custom action to send a user to a Web site following installation.
Properties for the Custom Actions Editor	Describes properties available in the Custom Actions Editor.
How to: Open the Deployment Editors	Explains how to open the deployment editors.
File Installation Management in Deployment	Describes the File System Editor, which allows you to add project outputs, files, and other items to a deployment project and specify where they will be installed on the target computer.
Registry Settings Management in Deployment	Describes the Registry Editor, which allows you to specify registry keys and values to be added to the registry of the target computer.
File Types Management in Deployment	Describes the File Types Editor, which is used to establish file associations on the target computer.
User Interface Management in Deployment	Describes the User Interface Editor, which can be used to specify and set properties for predefined dialog boxes that are displayed during installation on the target computer.
Launch Condition Management in Deployment	Describes the Launch Conditions Editor, which allows you to specify conditions that must be met in order to successfully run an installation.
What's New in Deployment	Describes new features related to setup and deployment.