Creating a custom MSI setup

HI,

I have been developing programs for a while now in both VB.NET and C#.NET.

I have used the VB.NET setup project to produce the required setup files for these projects.

How can you customise the installation further?

For example; if you install SQL Server Express 2005 it has fancy graphics in the installer, and looks really good - how do you do that?

I find the setup project installer forms have a basic layout, which if your program name is too long the banner image you add can be over written by text.


What i want to know is how do you make a really decent install program that people are going to find easy to use, intuitive and professional, rather than amateurish?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, for example can you use the Installer class to create your own install program?

Just what can be done to get the type of results Microsoft are getting, without going to a third party package such as installshield (which i doubt they are using!)

thanks in advance,

Will