HOW TO: Deploy Smart Tag DLLs by Using the Visual Studio Installer (305110)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP Developer
  • Microsoft Visual Studio, Enterprise Edition 6.0
This article was previously published under Q305110

IN THIS TASK

SUMMARY

Smart tags are a feature introduced with Microsoft Office XP that allows Office developers to link text in Office XP-based documents to external resources, or to use text in Office XP-based documents in conjunction with other custom solutions. This article describes how to deploy smart tag dynamic-link library (DLL) files to Microsoft Office XP users by using the Microsoft Visual Studio Installer.

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Deploy a Smart Tag DLL by Using the Visual Studio Installer

To deploy a smart tag DLL, an Office developer could require an end user to copy the smart tag DLL to their local hard disk and manually alter their computer's registry, but this approach introduces opportunities for error and could cause maintenance headaches later.

A better approach is to use a deployment tool such as the Microsoft Visual Studio Installer. For technical information and download instructions for Visual Studio Installer, see the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/tools/vsi11/default.aspx

To deploy a smart tag DLL by using the Visual Studio Installer, follow these steps:
  1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, point to Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Tools, and then click Visual Studio Installer.
  2. On the New tab of the New Project dialog box, expand the Visual Studio folder and then click the Visual Studio Installer Projects folder.
  3. Click the Empty Installer icon, type a name for your new project in the Name box, type a path in the Location box that indicates where you want to build the new project, and then click Open.
  4. In the Project Explorer window, double-click Registry.
  5. Expand the Registry on Target Machine folder, and then expand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder.
  6. Right-click the SOFTWARE folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to Microsoft.
  7. Right-click the newly created Microsoft folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to Office.
  8. Right-click the newly created Office folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to Common.
  9. Right-click the newly created Common folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to Smart Tag.
  10. Right-click the newly created Smart Tag folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to Actions.
  11. Right-click the newly created Actions folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to the name of your smart tag DLL, followed by a period, followed by the name of your smart tag action class file, minus any file extensions. For example, if the name of your smart tag DLL is "MyFirstSmartTag" and the name of your smart tag action class file is "SmartTagAction", the name of the key would be MyFirstSmartTag.SmartTagAction.
  12. Right-click the Smart Tag folder you created in step 9, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to Recognizers.
  13. Right-click the newly created Recognizers folder, point to New, and then click Key. Rename the New Key #1 folder to the name of your smart tag DLL, followed by a period, followed by the name of your smart tag recognizer class file, minus any file extensions. For example, if the name of your smart tag DLL is "MyFirstSmartTag" and the name of your smart tag action class file is "SmartTagRecognizer", the name of the key would be MyFirstSmartTag.SmartTagRecognizer.
  14. In the Project Explorer window, right-click Files, point to Add, and then click File(s). Browse to the smart tag DLL you want to install on the end user's computer, and then click Open.
  15. On the Build menu, click Build.NOTE: If you receive error messages such as "The install dialog Welcome is invalid" when you click Build, you may have a mismatched version of a file named Mergemod.dll that ships with Visual Studio Installer. For additional information on how to resolve this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    281650 BUG: Cannot Compile VSI Project - 'Install Dialog' Errors

  16. Using Windows Explorer, browse to the path you created in step 3. In that path you will find a folder named Output. Open the Output folder, and then open the folder named DISK_1. In this folder you will find a file with the .msi extension. This is the Visual Studio Installer file you will distribute to end users. To install and register your smart tag DLL, end users must simply double-click the .msi file and accept the defaults that the Setup Wizard suggests.

Next Steps

Visual Studio Installer provides a rich set of installation dialog boxes and inserts an entry into the end user's Add/Remove Programs applet for uninstall or repair actions.

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REFERENCES

For more information on how to create smart tag DLLs, see the following articles:

Developing Smart Tag DLLs
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnsmarttag/html/odc_smarttags.asp

Microsoft Office XP Smart Tag Software Development Kit (SDK)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3d8edcee-0246-43ef-a70f-94c0899f1e8f&displaylang=en

For more information, see the following Knowledge Base articles:

286267 HOW TO: Create a Smart Tag DLL in Visual Basic for Use in Office XP

292596 HOWTO: Create a Smart Tag DLL in ATL For Use in Office XP

For more information on deploying smart tag DLLs, see the following article:

Deploying Smart Tag DLLs by Using the Visual Studio Installer
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnsmarttag/html/odc_deployst.asp

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Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/11/2006
Keywords:kbHOWTOmaster KB305110 kbAudDeveloper
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