Advanced Installer is intended to build installation packages for Windows operating system. The tool can create not only MSI and EXE files but also other types of packages. It has a modern and intuitive interface. Despite the evident complexities of the operations it supports, you will not feel overwhelmed. It is enough to select the kind of project and let the corresponding wizard lead the way. Yet, if you have any difficulties, it is possible to consult its excellent online user guide.
Besides from the desktop, the program can be used from the command line as well as a Visual Studio extension. It can build a wide range of packages. In this regard, there are installer templates for Visual Studio, ASP.NET, Real Studio, Visual Basic, .NET, RAD Studio and client/server applications, among others. Likewise, it allows creating Java applications, patches, add-ins, merge modules, as well as apps for Windows Store and Windows Mobile. Besides, the tool lets you convert between installer types. What is more, you can publish the apps on the Cloud for easy distribution.
When you create an installation package, you can add several identifying details as well as software identification. Similarly, you can set the target folders. It is good that the installer can detect and upgrade outdated versions which avoids installing two different versions of the same product on the same machine.
As to security, the program lets you use a license key or configure a trial period for shareware products. Fortunately, it also uses a strong standard (SHA256) to digitally sign the package and protect its integrity.
Good news is that the interface of the installation package is quite customizable. For instance, there are various themes to choose from. Also, you can build multi-language installers. Besides, you can have the package display a sequence of images while it is being installed.
To sum up, Advanced Installer is probably the best software of its type out there. It comes with multiple features, which can even be extended through writing your own code in various popular programming languages. Although it is good that the program can be evaluated for free, this is absolutely an expensive product and it is way beyond the reach of many users, particularly those working on low budgets.
v8.4 [Aug 17, 2011]
New features in this release:
- User Interface refresh for a modern, Windows 7 look and feel;
- SharePoint feature editor;
- Any CPU (32/64-bit) support for Java Launcher;
- Generate multiple instances GUID command line option.
Enhancements to existing features:
- Vital custom action information can no longer be modified for predefined actions;
- Added filter in property picker;
- Chained package command line support for maintenance;
- Automatically detect Product Version when adding an update;
- Added support for selecting a specific instance for multiple instance packages;
- Automatically use active Internet connection launch condition when using server-side serial number validation.
Bug fixes:
- Some command line interface errors used message boxes;
- Software launch conditions were not refreshed when use the launch condition wizard;
- Prerequisite feature was not removed when deleting a repository prerequisite;
- Office 2007 launch conditions were not evaluated correctly for Office 2010 x64;
- Extended searches were renamed when opening the project;
- File association target component was removed when deleting extension;
- Disable Repair option was ignored when overriding Windows Installer programs list entry;
- Launch application finish action did not support Unicode paths;
- Custom action condition was reset when shared between sequences;
- Old version language was not applied correctly when upgrading multilingual packages;
- Incorrect line endings were set for comment sections in imported XML files;
- Enhanced UI control conditions were not checked when editing a combo box.
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