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Create Windows Installer (MSI) Installations

InstallShield has unparalleled Windows Installer support, giving you complete control over your MSI installations.

Use InstallShield's powerful wizards, task-based views, and a full Direct Table Editor to easily enable your installs to leverage Windows Installer service benefits (such as install-on-demand, auto-repair, and installation rollback). With InstallShield you can easily create or edit an MSI file directly using rich views and create or edit a transform based on an existing MSI file. Plus InstallShield gives you enhanced control and error management capabilities with a MSI debugger, MSI differencing tools, and instant access to InstallShield Error Central.

InstallShield offers you maximum power and flexibility by enabling any level of install customization. Source code control integration makes MSI project versioning possible, while the automation interface dramatically increases the number of ways in which projects can be updated programmatically. InstallShield's simplified patch and upgrade creation, clean build system support, debugging, and build report tools also assist in your product lifecycle management.

Complementing InstallShield's vast functionality and tool selection is its remarkable ease of use. You can use the Project Assistant to walk you through any MSI installation-authoring process, saving you significant development time. InstallShield can also add the latest source files at build time via linked folders, automatically find required file dependencies, and intelligently add third-party technology dependencies using over 70 technology modules. You can reuse existing project elements, create project templates, and choose one of 35 languages to display messages. InstallShield does it all!

Plus, only InstallShield gives you the power to also develop InstallScript installations with the same IDE. InstallShield to lets you author reliable and flexible MSI, InstallScript or cross-platform installations using a single, easy-to-use interface. For those developers debating between MSI or script-based options, InstallShield's Welcome Assistant helps you make the right decision.

What is MSI?
The Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) service is a native service of Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows Server 2008, and more. It is also available as an add-on service for Windows NT 4, Windows 98, and Windows 95. The Windows Installer service enables the operating system to track installed applications and manage components that are shared by various applications.

* Automatically repair key product files that have been corrupted
* Advertise applications without initially loading software on a system
* Install/uninstall applications with component-level management
* Roll back to a computer's original state during an interrupted installation

Windows Installer can be described as a combination of two major components:

1. A set of guidelines and APIs for software developers, and
2. The services designed to process commands put forth by the APIs; these services include a Client Install
It is also an Install Service that can run with elevated administration privileges.

Learn About Installation Technologies

All installation tools consist of three main technologies:

1. Development Environment
All InstallShield products feature a visual development environment to create installations. You add files, create registry settings, build custom installation logic, support third-party technologies, and more via an intuitive graphical interface.

The next step for the installation project is to compile all data into a media.

2. Media Format
For products that use Windows Installer (MSI), the media consists of a series of database tables and files compiled into a single MSI file. The MSI format is an open standard created by Microsoft.

For products that use the InstallScript engine, the media consists of a compiled script file and a series of CAB files that store the data files. The CAB file data is stored in a secure InstallShield proprietary format.

3. Installation Engine
For products that use Windows Installer (MSI), Microsoft's Windows Installer engine processes the database and files and installs the application. The Windows Installer engine is pre-installed on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Me, and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, but can be shipped with your media to operate on any Windows system.

For products that use the InstallScript engine, the InstallScript engine processes the script file and CAB data and installs the application. The InstallScript engine has been used for over 12 years and is shipped with your media. The InstallScript engine will run on any Windows system.

InstallShield includes project types for both types of installations (InstallScript or MSI), as well as for smart device installations. The Welcome Assistant in InstallShield provides guidance regarding the most appropriate project type to meet your requirements.