I want to deploy a installer package to my customers. My application is basically a website, but I want them to have the optimal experience via. Chrome or Mozilla Prism. I would like to give them an installer (win:msi/exe) that puts an icon on the desktop and launches my app. They may or may not have chrome and Firefox already installed.
I have done some shallow searches but have come up dry. I cant help but think I am not the first to want to do this. I think Adobe Air has this sort of thing, but I have had issues with Air in the past.
Download the stand alone installer of chrome:
http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?standalone=1
Open your %temp% folder, it helps if you empty it first.
Launch the installer. It will extract to a folder “GUM(something).tmp”
In this folder quickly find a file along the lines of “249.78_chrome_installer.exe.{8A69D345-D564-463c-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}” and move it out as chrome shortly cleans up the “GUM(something).tmp” folder.
Rename this file to “chrome_installer.exe”
You can now bundle this file in an installer and launch it as “chrome_installer.exe /S –do-not-launch-chrome” for a silent install. After this copy a pre-made app shortcut or program your installer bundle to create one along the lines of: “C:\Users…\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe –app=”http://localhost/”