# Deploy Windows Application

This topic guides you through the process of deploying a Windows application that includes XCopy deployment and MSI Installer deployment.

## Content



Before deploying a Windows application, for the report files, change the **Copy to Output Directory** property to **Copy always** from the Properties window.

It is also good to be sure that all of the packages you need for your reports are included.

## XCopy Deployment

1.  Open your project in Visual Studio, and set the **Solution Configuration** to 'Release'.
2.  From the **Build** menu, select **Build Solution**.
3.  In File Explorer, navigate to the project's bin directory, and copy all the files from the **Release** folder into a zip file.
4.  Distribute the zip file.

## MSI Installer Deployment

### Create an installer project

1.  Open an existing ActiveReports project or create a new one.
2.  From the Visual Studio **Build** menu, select **Build** **_YourActiveReportsProjectName_** to build your report project.
3.  From the **File** menu, select **Add**, then **New Project**.
4.  In the **Add a new project** dialog, select **Setup Project**, rename the file if you want and click **Create**. The **ProjectName** that you enter determines the name that is displayed for the application in folder names.
5.  In the **File System** editor that appears, under File System on Target Machine, select the **Application Folder**. 
	> type=note
	> **Note**: To show the File System editor at any time, drop down the **View** menu and select **Editor**, then **File System**.
6.  Right-click **Application Folder** and from the context menu, select **Add**, then **Project Output**.
7.  In the **Add Project Output Group** dialog that appears, choose your ActiveReports project name from the drop-down list.
8.  In the list, select **Primary output** and click **OK**. This adds all of the existing package dependencies to your project.<br />
	> type=note
	> **Note**: If you would rather use the ActiveReports .msm file, please contact our [technical support team](https://developer.mescius.com/forums/channel-activereports).
9.  In the **Select Component** dialog that appears, select the components that you want to add and click the **OK** button.
10.  From the Visual Studio **Build** menu, select **Build _YourInstallerProjectName_**<br /> to build your Installer project.

### Deploy the installer application

1.  Right-click the Installer project in the Solution Explorer and select **Install**.
2.  The Installer application runs and installs the project on your computer. The distributable exe and msi setup files appear in your installer project **Debug** folder.