User Interface Management in Deployment

The User Interface Editor can be used to specify and set properties for predefined dialog boxes that are displayed during installation on the target computer.

The User Interface Editor is a tree control containing two sections: Install and Admin. The Install section contains dialog boxes that will be displayed when the end user runs the installer; the Admin section contains dialog boxes that will be displayed when a system administrator uploads the installer to a network location.

A default set of predefined dialog boxes is displayed in the editor; you can rearrange or delete these if you choose. The default set of dialog boxes varies according to the type of deployment project.

Predefined dialog boxes are divided into three categories:

  • Start dialog boxes are displayed before the installation begins. Common uses are to gather customer information or to allow the user to change the installation directory.

  • A Progress dialog box is displayed to provide feedback on the progress of an installation.

  • End dialog boxes are displayed once the installation has finished successfully. Common uses are to notify the user that the installation is complete or to allow the user to launch the application.

Note

Visual Studio Setup and Deployment projects do not support custom dialog boxes or other user interface elements that you create yourself. Also see Installation Dialog Box Restrictions.

Dialog boxes can be moved between category nodes by dragging with the mouse or by using the Cut and Paste commands on the Edit menu.

Tip

If you do not want to display a user interface, delete all dialog boxes from the User Interface Editor.

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