I'd say any install tool that ships with the product should do more than meet the needs of the casual developer, whoever s/he is. It should flawlessly and easily install a simple VFP exe, a few DLL or OCX files, an ODBC driver, a help file, and create a desktop icon. We're not asking for the moon, just give us something we can actually use.

For installation of complex apps, or when selling a product, we can justify buying a professional installation tool. For simple in-house apps, we shouldn't need to.

The installer with VFP7 fell far short of this mark. Several Microsoft folks have suggested here that the version with VFP8 will come closer. Let's hope so.