Feature request: An exe installer is needed

[youcefv]

There must be a exe windows installer, the only way to use the app currently is download the zip or 7z packages from releases page,
The installer must have these feature:

• Registers the program entry alongside the other installed programs on:
  (Setting > Apps > Apps & features) and (Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features).

• Adds register entries for the app only if needed.

• It shouldn't begin installation automatically after being executed, it MUST have a start button to begin or proceed the installation process.

-It must have the option to choose the path of installation, with the default path being "C:\Program Files\DS4Windows".

Note: Most installers have these feature, I'm just being quite explicit.

[Masamune3210]

There are a lot of demands here but I don't see a lot of willingness to help or do it. You don't NEED a installer, portable apps have been a thing almost since the start of computers and will continue being a thing for probably quite a bit longer lol

[Ryochan7]

The idea of DS4Windows ever being considered a portable program was a bad one. It has caused so many problems with people outright putting the program in bad places were permission issues come up constantly. Also, any app that requires custom drivers to be installed on the PC should not be considered portable.

Been evaluating installer frameworks but not much has been done yet. Made the most progress with NSIS out of all the options I have tried. Inno Setup would likely not do what I want and Qt Installer Framework is too bulky and not well supported anyway. At least now I have a general idea of how the installer will work out.

Ryochan7/SteamControllerTest#11

Lots of checks need to be in place in the installer (.NET installation, drivers check, possibly previous install check).

[youcefv]

I will see what I can do to help or make it entirely, even though currently I have so little to no knowledge about C# and .NET.
Same can be said about my experience with installers such as NSIS or Inno Setup.

[Ryochan7]

It should be noted that any accompanying program used by the installer will likely have to be written in C or C++. AFAIK, on a standard Windows 10 install, .NET Framework 4.5 is the only guaranteed .NET version that programs will have access to. .NET Framework has been deprecated for a long time so it should not be relied upon for new programs.

[Ryochan7]

Had a day to play around with NSIS. Here is my attempt at an installer. It works but it could use more tweaking. NSIS might be fine for this project but I might want to look back into using WiX for other projects. Upgrade path is pretty much nonexistent with NSIS and entails uninstalling the old version then installing the new one.

DS4Windows_installer.exe
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uiAn9EbCZ12niuZggiRXf-ZdRjiJcURs/view?usp=sharing

DS4Win_NSIS_files.7z
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xtWoWyNl5YwBPGbITEpJRlPZyB2JZgIL/view?usp=sharing

[Ryochan7]

Made an attempt at making a similar installer for another project using WiX Toolset. Did not quite work out the way I wanted; I could not get full parity with the NSIS version of the installer. Also, I had to resort to use C# Custom Actions even though I wanted to avoid doing so. Still not sure which installer system I would end up using.

SteamControllerTest_installer.exe (NSIS)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v6s2MGen53k2RL_J3ZmhKHiTNhGqTVwp/view?usp=sharing

SteamControllerTest_SetupProject.msi (WiX)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FonUNLBGnhPSHFoQMz3L6xrZ-gCGdhux/view?usp=sharing

SteamControllerTest_NSIS_files_20230506.7z
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wvgZqbMP_lrOD-CWYKeNh3Tlum0ht8Ld/view?usp=sharing

WixSteamControllerSource_20230506.7z
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q2xH5O-hiZKZO3dCREdFRYe8GnJdYDqB/view?usp=sharing

[youcefv]

I would suggest you go with NSIS.