Creating an installer using InstallJammer

InstallJammer is a multiplatform GUI installer designed to be completely cross-platform.

It features a very powerful install builder with support for multiple themes and a high level of configurability for installers. Installers are built as single executable files for easy distribution over the web and handle installing everything you need for your application in a simple, cross-platform way.

 

 

Features

Rapid Development – InstallJammer includes a very powerful install builder for building your installs that lets you take control of everything in your installer, but with a very shallow learning curve, you can have an installer up and running in just minutes! Customization – InstallJammer will let you customize your installs any way you like both in its look-and-feel and its functionality. Multiplatform Support – InstallJammer installers are native binaries that can run on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, HP-UX and AIX with more platforms added whenever possible.  If we don’t support your platform, you can download the source code and build the platform yourself! Multi-language Support – InstallJammer supports multiple languages in installers with ease.  Many translations already exist, and more are added with each release. Fast Installers – InstallJammer installers are built to be fast and light.  They startup and get your users installing faster because they don’t require the extra step or disk space to extract temporary files before starting. Lightweight Installers – InstallJammer installers are built to be lightweight with no real external dependencies.  You shouldn’t have to lug around the entire Java runtime just to install your software.  Distribute your software with the confidence of knowing that it will run on any platform your customers throw it at. Custom Actions – InstallJammer includes a wide variety of built-in actions to do the most common tasks.  Twiddle the Windows registry, install an RPM on Linux systems, install shortcuts everywhere, or locate the correct Java runtime for your software, all from the built-in actions.  And, if you don’t find an action that does what you want, you can write or script your own! Simple Project Files – InstallJammer project files are simple, plain text that can easily be stored in source control systems and quickly compared for differences when collaborating with other developers. Multiple User Interface Options – InstallJammer can run in a Standard, Default, Console or Silent install mode depending on what the user chooses.  Default will accept all of your build settings at default while still providing a GUI installation, and Silent will install without a GUI and without the need for interaction from the user.  Console allows your user to install on a UNIX system from a console window without a GUI.  And best of all, InstallJammer will choose the best option for you! Dialog Editing – InstallJammer lets you customize every pane of your install, right down to the code that created it.  You can literally make your installer look any way you want. Command Line Control – InstallJammer projects can be built and tested from the command-line, providing easy integration with current build environments and scheduled build configurations.  Any supported platform can be built from any other platform.  Setup a single build machine that builds all of the installers for your company regardless of their target platform. Theme Control – InstallJammer allows you to choose from different themes for your installers with the inclusion of default themes that resemble popular, commercial installers.  You can even create your own themes and use them for all of your installers! Native Look-and-Feel – InstallJammer installers provide native-looking installers for all of the supported platforms. Uninstall Capabilities – InstallJammer will automatically create an uninstaller during installation if you choose. FREE TO USE, FREE TO DISTRIBUTE – And best of all, it’s all free!  InstallJammer is open source and 100% free to use and distribute.  InstallJammer does not require you to pay money or homage for the privilege of distributing your software.  It doesn’t matter if what you are distributing is open source, freeware, shareware or commercial.  You are free to distribute your installers any way you like without owing us a thing.

 

 

Product URL :

http://www.installjammer.com/download

 

Create a simple installer using NSIS

NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) is a professional open source system to create Windows installers.Many plug-ins and scripts are already available: you can create web installers, communicate with Windows and other software components, install or update shared components and more.

List of features: This article explain how to create an installer using NSIS:

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/install/CreatingAnInstaller.aspx

 Product URL :

http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Main_Page 

 

 

• Generates self-contained executable installers
• Support for ZLib, BZip2 and LZMA data compression (files can be compressed individually or together)
• Uninstall support (installer can generate an uninstaller)
• Customizable user interface (dialogs, fonts, backgrounds, icons, text, checkmarks, images etc.)
• Classic and Modern wizard interface
• Fully multilingual, support for multiple languages (including RTL languages) in one installer. More than 40 translations are already available, but you can also create your own.
• Page system: You can add standard wizard pages or custom pages
• User selection of installation components, tree for component selection
• Multiple install configurations (usually Minimal, Typical, Full), and custom configuration
• Installer self-verification using a CRC32 checksum
• Small overhead over compressed data size (34 KB with default options)
• Ability to display a license agreement in text or RTF format
• Ability to detect destination directory from the registry
• Easy to use plug-in system (lots of plug-ins for creation of custom dialogs, internet connections, HTTP downloading, file patching, Win32 API calls, etc. are included)
• Installers can be as large as 2GB
• Optional silent mode for automated installations
• A preprocessor with support for defined symbols, macros, conditional compilation, standard predefines
• A lovely coding experience with elements of PHP and assembly (includes user variables, a stack, real flow control, etc.)
• Installers have their own VMs that let you write code that can support:
  • File extraction (with configurable overwrite parameters)
  • File/directory copying, renaming, deletion, searching
  • Plug-in DLL calling
  • DLL/ActiveX control registration/unregistration
  • Executable execution (shell execute and wait options)
  • Shortcut creation
  • Registry key reading/setting/enumerating/deleting
  • INI file reading/writing
  • Generic text file reading/writing
  • Powerful string and integer manipulation
  • Window finding based on class name or title
  • User interface manipulation (font/text setting)
  • Window message sending
  • User interaction with message boxes or custom pages
  • Branching, comparisons, etc.
  • Error checking
  • Reboot support, including delete or rename on reboot
  • Installer behavior commands (such as show/hide/wait/etc.)
  • User functions in script
  • Callback functions for user actions
• Completely free for any use. See License.