Use WIX without visual studio

Question

I am trying to create installer of my c# application.

I found that installer can be created using Visual Studio but not using express edition.

So i wanted some free tool.

So i tried to use WIX but i found it also needed to integrate with visual studio and visual studio 2010 express do not allow to extend it.

I found following link but unable to work because i am having visual studio 2010 express.

http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/votive/authoring_first_votive_project.html

So is there any way how to use WIX without visual studio?
And directions how to use WIX?

I am creating installer first time so i am new to this.

Thanks for support.

Answer 1

You don't need Visual Studio to create Wix projects you can use any editor (Notepad) of your choice it's just that you will miss IntelliSense and building from within VS. I believe you can still use VS to edit .wxs/.wxi (xml) files.

To build you just need Wix Toolset and MSbuild (.net).

Working with MSBuild documentation: http://wixtoolset.org/documentation/manual/v3/msbuild/

Answer 2

See if WiX edit works for you:

http://wixedit.sourceforge.net/

and WiXAware may be an option, if it's still available, do your research first:

http://www.installaware.com/news-installaware-wixaware-200.htm