Access 2003 VBA Programmer's Reference

19.4. Package Wizard

By now you've tried out the Property Scanner—a great little tool. It helps you feel more confident that you didn't miss some tiny thing during a big change that you made. And, you've used the Custom Startup Wizard to develop a cool startup to your equally cool user interface for your MDE. Now it's time to put the application in front of someone else . . . perhaps a lot of someone else's. Enter the Package Wizard.

The Package Wizard creates a Microsoft Windows Installation Package (MSI). It builds the cabinet files (CAB). It will include Windows System Register keys; it will even allow you to add your own keys to the register and to include your digital certificate if you created one. (See Chapter 20 for more information about digital certificates.) And, since it is an MSI file, you can manipulate the package with MSI Editors, such as Orca, allowing for even more customization.

You will see a similar look-and-feel between the Custom Startup Wizard and the Package Wizard. Like the Custom Startup Wizard, the Package Wizard is started from the Windows Start menu. Although the Package Wizard is a seven-step process, like the Custom Startup Wizard, after you've set up the template for a package you can rebuild the package without executing all seven steps. Again, like the Custom Startup Wizard you can also create a BAT file to build the installation package without going through the wizard.

Start the wizard from the menu option that was created when you installed ...