I have binaries that make up the framework for which I am providing guidance. What's the best way to deploy those binaries with my guidance package so that I have one msi per functional area that installs the guidance and the corresponding binaries?

Thanks!

It largely depends on the deployment strategy for your framework.
If you want to version the framework independently of the package, and that framework is reused across multple guidance packages, you should have a separate MSI for it, as that makes for easier corporate-wide push deployments, as well as easier patch deploys, etc. From your guidance package setup project you just specify a prerrequisite for its installation.

If you want to include the binaries with your package, you can also do that. Put your binaries in a Lib folder in the package, set its Build Action to Content and Copy to Output as Copy if newer. Then, you can simply copy them from the guidance package to a corresponding Lib folder in your end product (the developer solution) through an action (use the IConfigurationService.BasePath to locate the package installation location where you will take the binaries from). After that, you simply add a reference to the library from the necessary projects, again using another action.

HTH

It largely depends on the deployment strategy for your framework.
If you want to version the framework independently of the package, and that framework is reused across multple guidance packages, you should have a separate MSI for it, as that makes for easier corporate-wide push deployments, as well as easier patch deploys, etc. From your guidance package setup project you just specify a prerrequisite for its installation.

If you want to include the binaries with your package, you can also do that. Put your binaries in a Lib folder in the package, set its Build Action to Content and Copy to Output as Copy if newer. Then, you can simply copy them from the guidance package to a corresponding Lib folder in your end product (the developer solution) through an action (use the IConfigurationService.BasePath to locate the package installation location where you will take the binaries from). After that, you simply add a reference to the library from the necessary projects, again using another action.

HTH