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Create Setups With
Windows Installer
by Ken Cox
October 13, 2005
In a field crowded with time-tested and top-notch entries, InstallAware Studio 2005 Second Edition is a setup authoring package that aims to distinguish itself by isolating developers from the complexities of Windows Installer (see Figure 1). It offers a graphical interface to simplify development and a scripting environment to build in setup logic.
InstallAware's Project Wizard walks you through a basic setup, prompting for product information such as your company name and Web site, installation conditions including minimum operating system and available RAM, and runtime requirements such as the .NET Framework. Each screen includes a brief explanation of its purpose, but I needed more information on configuring optional product features. Unfortunately, there is no Help button. Not only is F1 disabled, but the modal dialog box blocked access to the online help file. With no option to save my progress and exit, I was forced to complete the final build process. Then, the wizard dumped me into the regular development environment with no indication of where to go next or how to restart the wizard.
In the absence of a tutorial to guide me, I explored InstallAware's menus and discovered two view options: visual and code. Code view shows the installation script as generated by the wizard and numerous templates. You can round-trip the VB-like scripting language so that your changes to the code appear in the visual view. Visual mode includes modules for setting up Web sites in IIS and executing database scripts in SQL Server, My SQL, and Oracle.
Once you fashion your installation routine in the IDE, you can turn production of the distribution package over to your build process by executing the setup script against InstallAware's API. You can even use your Web server to deliver custom-built packages on the fly with only the DLLs a user's machine requires.
InstallAware ships with an impressive array of dialog boxes for gathering pre-installation data, showing setup progress, and completing product registration. Simply launch the user interface editor to add, move, or tweak controls in a dialog box. The editor would be easier to use if it were docked with the main IDE rather than floating about as disembodied windows.
InstallAware hosts an online forum where the site administrator fields questions from evaluators and purchasers alike. The responses were timely and helpful, although many questions about unclear error messages and features could be avoided with better documentation. A relative newcomer to the installer scene, InstallAware has the features and scripting support that could make it a contender.
InstallAware Studio 2005 Second Edition
InstallAware Software
Web: www.installaware.com
Phone: 415-358-4094
Price: $899
Quick Facts: Visual and scripting environment for creating setups using MSI technology.
Pros: Scripting environment supports logic and variables while producing pure MSI; visual environment round-trips customizations; lots of sample dialog boxes and skins.
Cons: Project wizard leaves you hanging and doesn't restart; documentation lacks tutorials and context-sensitive help.
About the Author
Ken Cox is a programming writer and .NET developer. Contact Ken at .
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