Special Folder “Common Application Data Folder” not available in my setup project. Why?

Question

I want to create a Visual Studio 2010 setup project that deploys some files to a folder where my application can use it from. I want it so, that all users h

Answer 1

Visual Studio setup projects do not have a predefined folder for common Application Data. However, you can install files in it like this:

• add a custom folder and select it
• in its Properties pane set DefaultLocation to:

[CommonAppDataFolder]

• in this folder add the files you want installed in common Application Data

During install CommonAppDataFolder will be automatically resolved by Windows Installer.

Answer 2

A more specific solution might be to set the DefaultLocation property to:

[CommonAppDataFolder][Manufacturer]\[ProductName]

Manufacturer and ProductName will be resolved from the values you assign to the corresponding properties of the setup project.