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I am looking for suggestions to an alternative setup application from Install Shield.

We are currently using Install Shield and I have never been impressed with it. It's way too bulky and the scripting system sucks.

Has anyone had any better luck with any of the other products like WiX, Inno Setup, NSIS or InstallAware, etc? I am not worried about the cost, but what I am looking for is a very lightweight, easy to use application to bundle up our .exe and about 20 support DLLs, registering a few, setting up some registry values and install help.

Can anyone recommend something they are using? It would be nice to hear from people who have switched from Install Shield as well, what makes the new app you're using better.

Stein Åsmul
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Jeff Lundstrom
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    What version and project type of InstallShield are you using? I haven't "scripted" an install since the 1990's as that's the polar opposite of how Windows Installer and InstallShield work. It's a declarative language not an imperative lanugage. – Christopher Painter Feb 03 '12 at 21:59
  • Hey Chris, the app is C#, with supporting dll's in C++ and C#. The current setup developer is leaving the group and I have been volunteered to take the work. It has been a long time since I worked in install shield, maybe the newest version is better. I just wanted to find out what is the best and easiest to implement as I plan on making big changes to the process. – Jeff Lundstrom Feb 04 '12 at 04:20
  • A similar "discussion" with a list of pros and cons per product: **[What installation product to use?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1544292/when-installing-different-technologies-on-clients-should-i-just-use-installshie/1546941#1546941)** – Stein Åsmul Aug 04 '17 at 19:15

4 Answers4

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WiX is the only MSI packager that truly meets the requirement of "very light weight".

It may have a steep learning curve (which can reduced by using some frontend designers) but being backed-up by Microsoft makes it the primary choice for the .NET environment installations.

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KMoraz
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    Really? How do you define "Very Light Weight"? You might also note that InstallShield LE is officially reccomended by Microsoft as the replacement to Visual Studio Deployment Projects. It doesn't matter if you choose InstallShield or WiX because the learning curve is a function of the underlying Windows Installer not the tool that you are using to author it. – Christopher Painter Feb 13 '12 at 15:31
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    @ChristopherPainter WiX is light weight in both code and output. The MSI it produces has nothing but the absolute required data for the installation whereas InstallShield generates redundant tables and properties. I've never tried the LE version but it's irrelevant as the asker was looking for InstallShield _alternative_. – KMoraz Feb 13 '12 at 20:33
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    Well, the poster also says the "scripting system sucks" which to me makes me wonder if he even understands InstallShield and/or what version and project type he is using. The "alternative" he is looking for could easily be a switch from InstallScript to Basic MSI. Also, while I agree XSD is better then DTD, I can also produce MSI's in InstallShield that don't have garbage table data and passes all MSI validation tests. – Christopher Painter Feb 13 '12 at 20:36
  • Thanks Chris, I have done very little with install shield so my description of the scripting system was more for observation than experience. I will let you guys know once I do a full evaluation of the tools we currently have and what I think I might try to replace it with. – Jeff Lundstrom Feb 16 '12 at 13:57
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You can start with this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_installation_software

There are also a similar question which may help you:

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Cosmin
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KMoraz already gave what would be my recommendation (WiX), so I'll just say this: Stay away from NSIS and other non-MSI-based installation systems. Yes, NSIS is customizable and scriptable as heck. But MSIs are well-established as the Windows package standard, and you don't want to stray from that standard unless you have an extremely unique reason to do so. Admins have come to rely on the homogeneity of MSIs and the robustness of their cleanups, and users have come to associate the Windows Installer UX with professionalism and quality. Think twice before you give up those advantages.

Sneftel
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AdvancedInstaller looks like a reasonable option but have yet to try it out https://www.advancedinstaller.com/ Still currently on InstallShield Express 2018 but since they've ditched the express products, InstallShield is far too expensive for what it delivers in my case.

Edit: Switched over to Advanced Installer since writing the above and finding it works well, is well priced for a perpetual license and has great support. Importantly, for me it was a very straightforward transition from Installshield Express that didn't require much work.

SmacL
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