Need to create installer - help? (maybe Delphi 5?)

There are other options besides Install Shield that might be better; I do suspect that using an install program, especially if you're a non-programmer, would be a lot easier.

I would recommend that you get all your requirements sorted out, and then try calling some of the install software manufacturers, asking them if they can meet your requirements. Some of them (e.g. PC Install) also may be willing to write it for you. But, if you can buy a commercial package and do it yourself, it's probably going to be a lot cheaper.

The Pro version of Install Shield does add a lot of functionality. I use PC Install at work; we have an older version, but it still works quite fine for us.

Some of the installers:
ZeroG (Java)
Install Shield
Wise for Windows Installer
Looks like 20/20 (PC Install guys) might be out of business (right now www.twenty.com doesn't get a response)

For more ideas, look at Programmer's software stores like Provantage and Programmer's Paradise.

Good Luck,

Tony

...to be of *some* help here. (I swear, I *was* going to reply earlier, but then I thought I'd look up the specific pages for you, and then I put that off until I was going to look up new stuff anyway, and then... Sorry.)

Craig B: I need to create something which will basically just run some CD-based user-optional setups of existing programs from their directories and one conditional (based on detected OS) driver install. It's all Win32 stuff.

Well, then there's lots of shareware and various kinds of freeware and Free Software that can do the job.

Much of it (of course! :-) built with Delphi.

I know that it could be done in Delphi which I own but I have no clue where to start and I am *not* a programmer.

Uh, this may be a stupid question, but what are you doing with Delphi then? I'll assume, in the hope that the rest of my reply will be useful to you, that you're just being modest, and *can* actually use Delphi at least as a simple drag-and-drop "Visual Programming" environment.

Once upon a time I managed to get thru some fairly complex installations using Knowledge Dynamics "wInstall" but they seem to have been eaten by the InstallShield folks. I have an eval copy of InstallShield Express (cuz it's the least expensive of their offerings) but it is not intuitive to me.

Me neither... Not that I looked at it very much, but it ("InstallShield Express", which I assume is an el-cheapo version) came free with Delphi Client-Server. This was with D3, and I only have the "Professional" version of D5, which doesn't include ISE (AFAICS), so I don't know what the latest versions are like. But anyway, here's hoping that won't matter...

Contract programming to achieve the goal is a good possibility.

...and that won't be necessary, because...

Any recommendations & etc would be greatly appreciated.

...there's loads of stuff at [link|http://www.torry.net|Torry's]. Mainly on the [link|http://www.torry.net/tools_install.htm|Installation Tools] page, but there's also an [link|http://www.torry.net/install.htm|Installation Components] page -- I gather the former is for "InstallShield"-type applications, and the latter for stuff that lets you build such a tool for (or rather, into?) your application.

Of the components, I'd say the first two look promising... Unless you run into trouble with Sven Bobrowski's licensing terms, "Free for non-commercial use"; this is for work, right? And you'd need the source for Ainars Skangals'TInstComp, to compile it for D5... Whoa, that'll set you back -- a whole tenner! :-) Rafael Aguilo's TStored doesn't say anything about being able to set Registry values, and Jason Swager's TSetup hasn't been updated in a while, so I dunno... Oh well, maybe both that and Sven's Setup Tool Kit would be overkill for your needs, anyway? In which case, that would go doubly for the "Youseful" Installation Components, which also cost more like real money (but still a pittance, compared to farming this out as a programming job). I assume the Web-based Installation Components page (link in the list on the left at Torry's) is of no interest to you, at least for now... But, hey, it's something to keep in mind, eh?

When it comes to the full-fledged installation tools, I have even less experience than with InstallShield (i.e, none). What little I know about them, is this: Chief's Installer Pro used to have a pretty good reputation, but I haven't heard much about it lately; and lo, the newest version on Torry's is over a year old. It's also one of those annoying shareware thingies that comes with no source, apparently not even at extra cost. Lars Arvidsson's "Create Setup" would be promising if you knew how to use Install Shield Express; I once used a set of shareware components from Lars (yes, properly licensed -- 30 bucks IIRC), and they did what they claimed to do well enough. The two freeware offerings from what looks like "real companies", [link|http://www.ginstall.com/|Ghost Installer] and [link|http://www.qsc.co.uk|GP-Install], certainly seem to be able to do all you want and more... I guess you better check those out on their corporate home pages.

But the ones you hear most about in the Delphi world are Richey Fellner's "INF-Tool" (shareware) and, above all, Jordan Russell's "Inno Setup" (free, source included/on request). They're both script-based, but for the latter there is Brad Stowers' "Inno Setup Express" graphical script generator. Brad is another guy whose free components I've used and liked, so the fact that he made the front-end for it would be enough to clinch the deal for Inno Setup, for me personally... OTOH, if you want to make it more programmable, there's also Martijn Laan's Inno Setup Extensions.

Sheesh, I see I'm barely past half the page... (And I'm not even going to *try* to critique what there might be on the "Upgrade Tools" and "Web Upgrades" -- again, in the list on the left -- pages!) But at a glance, the rest look either unfamiliar, outdated, or over-priced to me. Naah, that may be an unfair generalization -- go read all the way down for yourself! Well, anyway, I think my recommendation will have to be: Inno Setup + Express.

HTH!

mailto:c***g@cheetahu****et

Posted and mailed, in case you've given up looking here.

Again, sorry it took so long.

Post #8,594 by CraigB 9/12/01 12:09:34 PM Reply	Need to create installer - help? (maybe Delphi 5?) I need to create something which will basically just run some CD-based user-optional setups of existing programs from their directories and one conditional (based on detected OS) driver install. It's all Win32 stuff. I know that it could be done in Delphi which I own but I have no clue where to start and I am not a programmer. Once upon a time I managed to get thru some fairly complex installations using Knowledge Dynamics "wInstall" but they seem to have been eaten by the InstallShield folks. I have an eval copy of InstallShield Express (cuz it's the least expensive of their offerings) but it is not intuitive to me. Contract programming to achieve the goal is a good possibility. Any recommendations & etc would be greatly appreciated. craig mailto:craig@cheetahusa.net
Post #8,752 by tonytib 9/12/01 9:53:35 PM Reply	I'd look at installers more closely or maybe scripting lang There are other options besides Install Shield that might be better; I do suspect that using an install program, especially if you're a non-programmer, would be a lot easier. I would recommend that you get all your requirements sorted out, and then try calling some of the install software manufacturers, asking them if they can meet your requirements. Some of them (e.g. PC Install) also may be willing to write it for you. But, if you can buy a commercial package and do it yourself, it's probably going to be a lot cheaper. The Pro version of Install Shield does add a lot of functionality. I use PC Install at work; we have an older version, but it still works quite fine for us. Some of the installers: ZeroG (Java) Install Shield Wise for Windows Installer Looks like 20/20 (PC Install guys) might be out of business (right now www.twenty.com doesn't get a response) For more ideas, look at Programmer's software stores like Provantage and Programmer's Paradise. Good Luck, Tony
Post #8,950 by orion 9/13/01 5:11:45 PM Reply	One PHB option This is what they made me do at my work, create a batch file to install the DLL and OCX files needed for the program. Use Regsvr32.exe to register them after they get copied to the c:\\windows\\system or c:\\winnt\\system32\\ directory. It should look like this: xcopy %1:\\control\\dumbdll.dll c:\\windows\\system /v /c c:\\windiws\\system\\regsvr32 dumbdll.dll /s /c The /s on Regsvr32 will silence its output and /c will show results to the console.. call the batch file like so: install.bat e Put the drive letter after the batch file of the CD drive when you call it from your program. *Picking up the pieces of my broken life.*
Post #11,030 by CRConrad 9/30/01 8:00:56 PM Reply	Very sorry for the delay, Craig; hope it's not too late... ...to be of some help here. (I swear, I was going to reply earlier, but then I thought I'd look up the specific pages for you, and then I put that off until I was going to look up new stuff anyway, and then... Sorry.) Craig B: I need to create something which will basically just run some CD-based user-optional setups of existing programs from their directories and one conditional (based on detected OS) driver install. It's all Win32 stuff. Well, then there's lots of shareware and various kinds of freeware and Free Software that can do the job. Much of it (of course! :-) built with Delphi. I know that it could be done in Delphi which I own but I have no clue where to start and I am not* a programmer.* Uh, this may be a stupid question, but what are you doing with Delphi then? I'll assume, in the hope that the rest of my reply will be useful to you, that you're just being modest, and can actually use Delphi at least as a simple drag-and-drop "Visual Programming" environment. Once upon a time I managed to get thru some fairly complex installations using Knowledge Dynamics "wInstall" but they seem to have been eaten by the InstallShield folks. I have an eval copy of InstallShield Express (cuz it's the least expensive of their offerings) but it is not intuitive to me. Me neither... Not that I looked at it very much, but it ("InstallShield Express", which I assume is an el-cheapo version) came free with Delphi Client-Server. This was with D3, and I only have the "Professional" version of D5, which doesn't include ISE (AFAICS), so I don't know what the latest versions are like. But anyway, here's hoping that won't matter... Contract programming to achieve the goal is a good possibility. ...and that won't be necessary, because... Any recommendations & etc would be greatly appreciated. ...there's loads of stuff at [link\|http://www.torry.net\|Torry's]. Mainly on the [link\|http://www.torry.net/tools_install.htm\|Installation Tools] page, but there's also an [link\|http://www.torry.net/install.htm\|Installation Components] page -- I gather the former is for "InstallShield"-type applications, and the latter for stuff that lets you build such a tool for (or rather, into?) your application. Of the components, I'd say the first two look promising... Unless you run into trouble with Sven Bobrowski's licensing terms, "Free for non-commercial use"; this is for work, right? And you'd need the source for Ainars Skangals'TInstComp, to compile it for D5... Whoa, that'll set you back -- a whole tenner! :-) Rafael Aguilo's TStored doesn't say anything about being able to set Registry values, and Jason Swager's TSetup hasn't been updated in a while, so I dunno... Oh well, maybe both that and Sven's Setup Tool Kit would be overkill for your needs, anyway? In which case, that would go doubly for the "Youseful" Installation Components, which also cost more like real money (but still a pittance, compared to farming this out as a programming job). I assume the Web-based Installation Components page (link in the list on the left at Torry's) is of no interest to you, at least for now... But, hey, it's something to keep in mind, eh? When it comes to the full-fledged installation tools, I have even less experience than with InstallShield (i.e, none). What little I know about them, is this: Chief's Installer Pro used to have a pretty good reputation, but I haven't heard much about it lately; and lo, the newest version on Torry's is over a year old. It's also one of those annoying shareware thingies that comes with no source, apparently not even at extra cost. Lars Arvidsson's "Create Setup" would be promising if you knew how to use Install Shield Express; I once used a set of shareware components from Lars (yes, properly licensed -- 30 bucks IIRC), and they did what they claimed to do well enough. The two freeware offerings from what looks like "real companies", [link\|http://www.ginstall.com/\|Ghost Installer] and [link\|http://www.qsc.co.uk\|GP-Install], certainly seem to be able to do all you want and more... I guess you better check those out on their corporate home pages. But the ones you hear most about in the Delphi world are Richey Fellner's "INF-Tool" (shareware) and, above all, Jordan Russell's "Inno Setup" (free, source included/on request). They're both script-based, but for the latter there is Brad Stowers' "Inno Setup Express" graphical script generator. Brad is another guy whose free components I've used and liked, so the fact that he made the front-end for it would be enough to clinch the deal for Inno Setup, for me personally... OTOH, if you want to make it more programmable, there's also Martijn Laan's Inno Setup Extensions. Sheesh, I see I'm barely past half the page... (And I'm not even going to try to critique what there might be on the "Upgrade Tools" and "Web Upgrades" -- again, in the list on the left -- pages!) But at a glance, the rest look either unfamiliar, outdated, or over-priced to me. Naah, that may be an unfair generalization -- go read all the way down for yourself! Well, anyway, I think my recommendation will have to be: Inno Setup + Express. HTH! mailto:cg@cheetahu*et Posted and mailed, in case you've given up looking here. Again, sorry it took so long. Christian R. Conrad The Man Who Knows Fucking Everything

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