Visual Studio Shell Redistributable

The Visual Studio Shell Redistributable package is intended to allow developers to deploy their applications based on the Visual Studio Shell. It contains the required runtime binaries and other components that are mandatory in the distribution process.
The redistributable package is compatible with any version of Visual Studio, as Microsoft is offering installation files for Visual Studio 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
The package comes in two different versions, one dedicated to the integrated mode and the other to the isolated mode, depending on the developers choice. The difference between the two stands in the possibility to create custom tools that will work alongside Visual Studio and remove features that you dont want to include in your application.

Visual Studio Shell (Integrated) Redistributable Package

Projects created with the integrated shell can integrate with a full version of Visual Studio upon deployment and do not include other components (such as programming languages) aside from the IDE, the debugging tools and the source control integration.
As such, you can use it to implement your own programming languages or tools into Visual Studio. This mode is compatible with Visual Studio Professional and above.

Visual Studio Shell (Isolated) Redistributable Package

On the other hand, the isolated shell allows the deployment of standalone applications that only make use of Visual Studios services, with various customization possibilities both in appearance and functionality. The isolated version of Visual Studio Shell Redistributable also includes the .NET Framework 4.5 and relies on the Visual Studio IDE in order to ease the development process.
Regardless of your project type, the Visual Studio Shell Redistributable package must be included within the setup program that can successfully deploy your application on the final users computer. With this utility bundled inside the installation pack, Visual Studio is no longer a prerequisite for your applications.System requirementsComputer that has a 1.6GHz or faster processor
1 GB RAM for x86
2 GB RAM for x64
An additional 512 MB RAM if running in a Virtual Machine
2 GB of available hard disk space
5400 RPM hard disk drive
DirectX 9-capable video card that runs at 1024 x 768 or higher display resolution