Visual Studio 2010 integration and CI builds

[slomicka]

Our suite has about 40 products in it. Each product has its own install or ism file. We are using TFS2010 and the TFS rangers best practices for branching. When we do a feature branch from our main line all the install (ism) files get branched as well. The paths are all wrong. They point to the main line source not the feature branch source. I understand how “Path Variables” work and can get the installs to build in your IDE. We also use your stand-alone build on our build server and I can solve the pathing problem if I use command lines arguments.

Currently I build the source using a VS2010 solution then run the standalone build. Ideally what I would like to do is have one VS2010 solution with our source and an install project as a single solution. I’m not sure or its not obvious how much control I have over the included build project in the solution. How can I set things like the “Path Variables” and “Output Folders” if I am using InstallShield integrated into Visual Studio? Is this even supported – using the standalone build product from with a Visual Studio solution on a build server?

Thanks in advance…

[slomicka]

How can I set variables like path variable and version numbers using the IS standalone build if I am using the VS2010 integration? Does the IS standalone build product support the VS2010 integration or is the VS2010 integration only intended to be run from VS2010?

[slomicka]

So no one runs IS with TFS2010?

[slomicka]

Polo .

[slomicka]

Anyone have IS working with TFS2010 and builds running on the build server? Specifically TFS puts the production binaries in a folder that is different from development., Because we have a multi CPU build box the folder for the output is only known at build time by the build agent. Ideally the paths in IS would be able to be set by TFSBuild so TFSBuild/build agent could tell IS where to find the binaries. Using environment and registry Paths won’t work well because only the build agent knows the path at runtime. We could do something where the product application build writes the TargetDir to the environment or registry but I hoping for something a little better than that.
Any suggestions are appr,
Steve

[gbaltazar]

Unfortunately, I've run into the same problem as you. I'm not aware of any elegant way to integrate InstallShield with TFS and CI. If I'm not mistaken though, there is a way to specify in MSBuild a specific output directory for a CI build. How to pass this directory automatically into IS is another matter.

[slomicka]

I have resorted to creating custom build activities in Team. I am working on it now. I'll let you know how I make out. I guess that "integration" only means "UI". Really disappointed that not a single IS employee chimed in since 9/24.

Steve

[CodeGuru]

How are you guys updating the version in your InstallShield projects when using TFS 2010 build?

The lack of support is frustrating to say the least. 😞

In their PDF, http://www.installsite.biz/en/desc/ix/rn_IS2011_exp_en.pdf it says:

You can also use Team Foundation Build to compile, test, and deploy your InstallShield projects and your Visual
Studio solutions on a regular basis, or on demand. Your installation is automatically updated with your latest
source files every time that your solution is built.

That is pointless if the installer is always the same version. 😞

The reason I post in your thread is it seems as if we're the only few actually working with Installshield and TFS 2010. Look at all the other threads in this forum with only 1 view and 0 replies. 😞

*sigh*

Hope your deployment isn't going as difficult as ours is.

[Roman1]

HI,
we are also working with TFS.
Our builds are made nightly.

It is a pity there is not any documentation about building setups
using TFS. There is NULL about configuration of TFS and IS.

[CodeGuru]

Roman, at this point I really wish I went with another product. 😞 *sigh* I've spent literally 2 weeks trying to figure this out, as well as having my lead dev do the same.

I might have finally made some progress, but of course lack of documentation and new errors keep coming up.

[slomicka]

and will detail the solution i developed if you are still out there...

[mloebl]

We'll be facing this soon too. I finally got TFS2008/IS2010 working last year after spending a couple weeks piecing together several posts in the IS forums and thru Google searches. We're probably not going to transition over to TFS2010/IS2011 until early next year.

-Mike