Windows Installer Services are used to install the Microsoft Dynamics GP application. In addition to being the standard installation tool for Microsoft applications, using the Windows Installer provides the following benefits:
We suggest that you use the Windows Installer to create an installer for your Microsoft Dynamics GP integration. Users will have a consistent experience installing your integration, as well as the other benefits of the Windows Installer.
Several products are available for creating an installer based on Windows Installer Services. They include:
Any of these products could be used to create an installer for your integrating application. For Microsoft Dynamics GP, a shared-source toolset named WiX is used to create the installer. A sample WiX template is included with this documentation. It provides an example of how to install a basic integration.
To begin working with Windows Installer Services, we recommend that you install the Windows Installer SDK. This is included in the Windows Platform SDK, and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN®) web site. Go to msdn.microsoft.com and search for “Platform SDK”.
If you have limited experience creating installers, the quickest path to a successful installer will be to use the WiX template provided with this documentation. This template is described in detail in Installer Template.