How do I set the default install path with a windows installer?

Question

How do I set the default install path when deploying a program using a windows installer.

Answer 1

In a Visual Studio Setup project, you control the default install path by setting the DefaultLocation property of the Application Folder folder, within the File System Editor.

This, in turn, as you've found, defaults to [ProgramFilesFolder][Manufacturer][ProductName]. You can either replace this property entirely (you should keep [ProgramFilesFolder], at the very least though), or you can modify these properties.

[ProgramFilesFolder] is built in, and correctly leads to the Program Files directory on the target machine, no matter how customized the setup of Window is. The other two properties are properties of the setup project (select the Setup project in Solution Explorer, and examine the properties grid to find them). These default to the company name you supplied when installing Visual Studio, and the name of the Setup project.