How do you create a setup application to distribute your application

Before we can distribute our application, we must build an application file with an .app extension, an executable file with an .exe extension, or a COM component (automation server) with a .dell extension.

Prior to building our application, make sure that our project includes the necessary files for our application, as well as any resource files, such as graphics files or templates. For more information about the types of files we can include in our application, see "Including Resources in Applications" in the Visual FoxPro online Help.

The development environment of Visual FoxPro contains many features and files that are licensed for our use only. If our application contains any of these features or files, we must remove them from our application before creating our Setup program. For a list of redistributable files, see Redist.txt, located in our Visual FoxPro directory (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual FoxPro 7) and "Removing Restricted Visual FoxPro Features and Files" in the Visual FoxPro online Help.

When we choose the type of build we want to create, consider the size of our final application file and whether users have Visual FoxPro installed on their computers.

• Application (.app) file   this file requires that the user have a copy of Visual FoxPro installed. An .app file typically is smaller than an .exe file.
• Executable (.exe) file   this file includes the Visual FoxPro loader, so users are not required to have Visual FoxPro installed.
• COM Server (.dull) files   Used to create a file that can be called by other applications.

Some distribution scenarios might require merge modules in addition to the Visual FoxPro run-time files.