Installing Content


Content that you install on your computer using the Content Installer is contained in a file with the extension .vsi. This file is a compressed file containing all the files necessary to correctly install data onto your computer. The data that can be installed includes controls that you can drag and drop from the Toolbox onto a WinForm or a Web form; code snippets that make writing blocks of code as simple as pressing a few keys on the keyboard; templates for creating new projects and project items; or add-ins and macros, which are small programs that customize the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE). When you receive content from another user, installing that content for use is as easy as working through a wizard and selecting which items to install. After you receive a package of content enclosed in a .vsi file, you can open the file by either double-clicking the file if it is stored on disk, or, if you are downloading the file directly from the Internet, you can click the Open button on the download dialog box from your Web browser. Figure 4-1 shows the first page of the Content Installer showing a .vsi file that contains a control for the Toolbox.

image from book
Figure 4-1: The Content Installer with a content file open and ready to install

Controls do not have any configuration information to display to the user, so clicking the Next button will take you directly to the final page of the wizard. Some content elements, such as code snippets, do allow you to configure how they are to be installed, so the wizard includes a configuration page for them. After you have configured the installation, if applicable, you are ready to begin installing the content. The page indicating that content is ready to install is shown in Figure 4-2.

image from book
Figure 4-2: Ready-to-install content

Click the Finish button to install the files. During installation, there might be a conflict between a file to be installed and an existing file of the same name. If that happens, you are given the chance to overwrite the file, skip installing the file, or rename the file to a suggested file name. When installation is completed successfully or with errors, you will be presented with a dialog box like the one in Figure 4-3.

image from book
Figure 4-3: The content Installer after items have been installed

After installing an item, a hyperlink will appear next to the item that was successfully or unsuccessfully installed. You can click this link to see the Install status report, which consists of a list of files installed for that content item as well as any status message returned. If installation of any item failed, you can use the status information to correct the problems, and then return to the wizard to click the Finish button again to try to reinstall the unsuccessfully installed items.

Security

As with any file that you place on your computer, you should first make sure that you trust the files and know what you are installing; items installed by means of the Content Installer are no different. The first page of the wizard has a hyperlink labeled "View files in Windows Explorer…." Clicking this hyperlink will open a Microsoft Windows® Explorer window displaying the files that are within the .vsi file, allowing you to view the files and inspect the contents of those files to verify that they will do no harm. Also on the first page of the Content Installer is an area that displays information about the .vsi file. If the .vsi file to install was signed with an Authenticode® signature, the name of the company that created the content, as well as a link to more information about that content, will appear. If the file has not been signed, then this information will not be available.

Note 

Note If you click the Review button to view the files to be installed, you should be careful not to delete any of the files from within the Windows Explorer window. If you do delete any files, installing the content might fail.




Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005
ISBN: 0735623155
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 100

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