Good Windows application installer software.

Question

Possible Duplicate:
What is the best choice for building Windows installers?

Being domain agnostic on the application type, which installer software do you suggest to use to provide an application to users? Why?

I heard a lot about Nullsoft, InstallShield etc. Even just a zip (but that don't make you look serious from the client point of view so lets say we talk about installer softwares only).

But most of the time there is no clear argument why one would be "better" than another. I'd like you advice and your experience trying what you tried.

If there is not a "better" solution for all cases at the moment (as i guess there is not) it would help to specify for wich type of problem you choose wich solution.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I've heard great things about Inno Setup but I have not yet used it myself.

Answer 2

Inno Setup is a great installer for windows and its free:

http://www.innosetup.com/isinfo.php

I have used it for some complex installations and its works well.

Answer 3

Have a look at NSIS. A very flexible and customize, script oriented one.
You can create very complex installer and it's free and open source !

Answer 4

WiX is free, open-source, and pretty easy to use.

Answer 5

Inno Setup is much better and easier to use than all the others, and it's free. This one is a no-brainer. I would have children with Inno Setup if Inno Setup were a beautiful woman.

Answer 6

I have heard good things about Wix, which is free

http://wix.sourceforge.net/

Answer 7

Well I've used InnoSetup for about 3 years now, and I believe it's the greatest installer on planet Earth.

It's easy to use if you want it to be, and if you want scripting it's got some really cool scripting features and tools that can let you do practically anything. These days all my setups are on Innosetup and that includes setups for programs that are made on VB6 as well as .Net 3.5. That should tell you something about its versatility.

Answer 8

InstallSheild is a bit too expensive to use for simple projects. It is great for projects with moderate complexity. It is a huge headache to create complex installers with it.

One of the biggest headaches with InstallSheild is that the UI scripting is done with a language called InstallScript. It's not hard to learn, but it has some annoying syntax structures that will drive a C# developer crazy.