Advanced Installer is a powerful and easy-to-use tool for creating installation programs in MSI / EXE / CAB format in minutes. The Advanced Installer solution is based on the use of standard open formats. Project files are saved in XML format, which simplifies their integration with source control systems. Advanced Installer is a professional tool for creating MSI application installers for Windows operating systems.
Features:
- Windows Mobile/CE support;
- Import NSIS scripts;
- Extension of installer user interface;
- Cleanup of application generated resources and parameters on uninstallation;
- Persistence of custom application data changes through updates and patches;
- Built-in custom actions for testing if port is free (not associated with the application);
- Built-in custom actions to close applications;
- Custom name in the “Install and Uninstall Programs” control panel applet.
The settings sections are arranged in this strict tabbed sequence. First you specify data (Files), dialog text content (Wizard Text), window format (Window), advanced settings (Options), uninstaller settings (Uninstaller), and distribution size (Build). After clicking on Build the compilation of the installer starts, you only need to specify its location.
The installer takes up 65 KB, including the uninstaller it is 105 KB. In addition, Install Creator uses one of two compression algorithms (zipper/differiator), the optimal variant is determined automatically. If necessary, the data can be bundled separately from the installer.
Clickteam Install Creator functionality is unified, but some important options are missing. Integration with third-party solutions is not provided, so working with large projects (implying many links in the system) will be inconvenient. The program does not allow you to create updates and patches. However, in the latter case, you can use Patch Maker, a Clickteam development.
The unregistered version of Install Creator contains advertising. The professional version, in addition to removing this limit, allows you to include several editions in the distribution, set a license limit for the installer user.
The capabilities of Install Creator will be in demand when working with simple projects. The resulting installers contain a basic set of user options, among which there is no choice of languages or installation profile. Definitely, this is the simplest solution among all the installation packages mentioned in this review.