Steve Hebert's Development Blog

I've wanted to learn to use Wix but haven't found the time. The built in installer stuff in VS is tough to get used to, IMO.

We use Wix - Here is the tutorial that got us started
http://www.tramontana.co.hu/wix/

I usually resort to the VS installer. It's a bit tough to get use to, like Ben says, but I can do most things I want to do with it.

In the past I used Install Shield, which I liked a lot. But, I don't have a new version, so like I said, I've been using VS.

I've been checking out Wix as well and the level of control it gives is impressive. Thanks for the link to the Wix tutorial.

I agree on the VS Installer, it's tougher to get used to, but it does a number of things very well.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Hi Steve, I use the built-in VS.NET tools now, but then again I don't do many installs. Previously I used VS.NET first and then editted the package with Wise for Windows Installer version 4 (a bit old).

I'd like to know how to pull files out of an MSI package, without running the package.

Good luck with your article.

I use InstallShield. VS Installer is suitable only for simple tasks .

NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System)

You can find all the info at: http://nsis.sourceforge.net/

It's simple, compact, provided all functionnalities needed to install software and on top of that it's free.

Enjoy!

I also use NSIS for some things and the VS installer for others (depends on what I'm doing).

I use the standard setup kit for Windows Services, and NSIS for just about everything else.

Beyond the link mentioned above I also use the NSIS Workbench - http://www.techmarc.co.uk/fnsis.htm

Thomas Williams asked if you can pull the files out without actually running the install. Often times (not always) 7-zip can extract files from the msi. I think that 7-zip just scans the msi for a compression format it recognizes, and if it finds it, extracts the files from it.

I have been using Wise for VS .NET 5.x for our existing VB6 application for two years now, but I am not sure what I will be using when we do a re-write of our main application in .NET

I have already deployed a ClickOnce application using the GoLive license V2 2005 Beta 2 license, and found that it works quite well. I was concerned about more sophisticated installs requiring more customized actions, but I recently watched some MSDN webcasts that filled in some more blanks.

Initially I purchased Wise for VS .NET 4.x, but was able to get a free upgrade after reporting that I could not use their product at all - it would crash my IDE.

At the time that I originally evaluated InstallShield and Wise I found that wise had a much better interface, and would allow me to configure options in much fewer steps than in InstallShield. Since then however, I would be more inclined to try out an open source project or go with InstallShield.

The main reason? To say that that self-service KB on the Wise support website is bad would be paying it too much of a compliment.
- Documentation was fair to weak. It has gotten better, but of the last 5 major issues/problems I had, I was able to solve using the InstallShield KB.
- Their time to market with merge modules was very poor. I had to create my own merge module for Crystal 8.5, and their MDAC merge modules were 8+ months after InstallShield's.

Thanks Jeremey.

Another product that Thomas may want to check out is Qwerty.msi (http://www.qwerty-msi.com/index.htm?qwerty.htm). This allows you to pull out the files and examine the install process as well.

Hi all - some great suggestions for trying to look at files inside an installer. 7-zip works with some MSIs, but gives you cryptic file names (e.g. "_05A955FFCF1740388EABEEC2735EB25B") and no file type. I will try out Qwerty.msi. Thanks all!

InstallShield 10.5, but I wish I chose something else :-( See my blog for details as to why.