Always up to date with latest technologies.In the same article I wrote about typical real-world design flaws in MSI files (a work very much in progress - just a 'memory dump' from experiencing 'both sides of software': development and deployment).

The article has grown too much, but is hopefully still relevant. Here is a description I wrote about the major corporate benefits of MSI (from ).The benefits are real - particularly for corporate deployment, but so are some of the problems. A lot of people seem to think MSI is more trouble than it is worth, and sometimes that can be understandable.Here is a general description of deployment tasks commonly supported in deployment tools, and a description of why deployment seems to become more and more complicated.Before delving into the review of the different tools, here are a few other links with information about the MSI technology itself.

All attempts have been made to make the descriptions as objective as possible - describing real world experience with positives and negatives. For all their similarities, these tools are actually quite different. This post provides an overview of the strong points of some of the different authoring tools as well as some snags to be aware of. UPDATE: If you find yourself in need of an MSI tool for comparing two MSI file versions, or just to extract information from an MSI file, you might want to read this answer: How can I compare the content of two (or more) MSI files? (focused on free MSI tools). There is also a page on Non-MSI Setup Authoring Tools. I have also used less common packaging and deployment tools such as Computer Associates Unicenter - probably off market by now. I have worked in software development as a release manager, build engineer, setup developer and as an application packager, SOE engineer and deployment engineer (SCCM) in large corporations.Īlong the way, I have used most of the major packaging tools (some in many different versions): InstallShield, Wise (off market, unfortunately), WiX, Advanced Installer (just testing), Orca and I have tested some other tools (link to 'Windows Installer Authoring Tools for Developers' from - a rather exhaustive list of tools). Well as mentioning some new, trending deployment technologies. UPDATE, Aug.2018, a new and shorter option: How to create windows installer.įocused on summarizing MSI and its major benefits and to list the major tools available (with download links), as

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