I have and am using InstallShield 2009 for our existing product but for new
product I started using Wix and there are some good and bad about each
Installer.
InstallShield - Good : Visual editor, scripting (by the way it is readable)
Bad: Pricy, can't add newer technology unless you
upgrade your installshield. Say for example I need to add SQL 2008 support
its not there( of course you can manually do it).
Support is expensive (we had to shellout around 5k to upgrade a year
back and now they say upgrade to 2010 for another 3k-4k
and I say I use Wix for $0.0 with unlimited use license. All developers can
build it).
InstallAWare : I have not used it.
Wix :Free, no visual editor(yes, you have lots of third party editors) and if
you find bugs email it to the list or you can manually fix it with source. It's
Scripting and more of a xml look. There is a learning curve for this if you are
coming from Installshield.
Standard install screen but can be changed. Wix does not have its own
installer engine as InstallShield instead it depends on Windows Installer
engine which has its own limitations but we need these Windows Installer team
guys to work closely with Wix Team to make it even better.
I even took a Wise installer product and converted that to Wix.
Bottom-line: I can suggest 3 options
1. if you are looking for quick and easy way but price is not a issue I
say go with InstallShield 2010 (expensive Support) or InstallAware
2. if you like to learn to twist and turn the Installer the way you
want, go with Wix (free mailing list will give you support)
3. If you already have existing InstallShield, use that for simpler
install and for complex installation use Wix.
Once you learn Wix, you will like it even though in the beginning you will feel
like as though Wix is a piece of Sh*t(no offense guys). That's how I felt but
slowly Wix got me going. It's simple and easy to learn if you have Visual
studio or get express edition its free.
In this economy, saving money however possible is the new motto for companies,
I am sure if you present this options to your boss, my guess will be he/she
will either go with Item 2 or item 3.
Good Luck.
Arun Perregattur
-----Original Message-----
From: John L Krupka [mailto:john.kru...@nmwco.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 12:32 PM
To: wix-users@lists.sourceforge.net
Subject: Re: [WiX-users] InstallShield 2010 vs InstallAware 9
I would add WiX to the list of considerations. I have used InstallShield and
Wise in the past. We decided several months ago to either migrate to WiX or
upgrade Wise. We chose WiX and have not looked back.
Unless you use the scripting engine of IS, which I would heavily advise
against, WiX will do everything the other guys do and having the source
being xml make it much more understandable and better for version control.
The other guys may now save the source in readable format now, but I am not
sure.
Another benefit our company got out of the switch is that it can now be part
of everyone's build process. So, now a dev can build an installed version
of the product at their desk, which they have liked.
Best of all, if cost is a concern, you can't beat the price of WiX. $0.00
Good Luck with your decision.
-john
Matt Walker wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
>
>
> I'm new to the group and was pointed here by an individual from whom
> I've received valuable assistance on many .NET, install related topics
> over the past several years. I know this is a Wix users group, but I'm
> hoping someone can give me some insight, guidance, etc.
>
>
>
> We as a company are looking to switch our install build product. The
> company whose product we use has undergone several company
> takeovers/changes recently and it doesn't look like the development
> effort is there for this particular product.
>
>
>
> We've been focusing on InstallShield 2010 and InstallAware 9. I've used
> InstallShield products in the past and never really had any major
> problems to speak of. IS seemed fairly easy to use and suited all of
> our needs. This seems to be the case with InstallShield 2010.
>
>
>
> InstallAware is a tool of a different kind as it appears to be primarily
> script based but does have a Visual interface as well. It might be
> because I could be subconsciously hooked on InstallShield, but
> InstallAware seems cumbersome to me. I guess that may also be that I'm
> just not used to their way of doing things. Conversion for us would
> take a larger amount of time with this product, but if it works and is
> stable, that really won't matter much to me.
>
>
>
> What I've heard and from what I already knew, they are both major
> players with InstallShield having a longer lifespan so far. I've been
> told that InstallAware claims to be on the cutting edge, but their
> installs at times display weird behavior.
>
>
>
> I'm trying to find an individual(s) that has used both or similar
> products for a compare and contrast of sorts. What are the pros and
> cons? Early on,
>
>
>
> Of course price will be a factor for us, but I just want to be sure
> after making a selection I don't miss major advantages of the product
> that is left behind by our decision.
>
>
>
> Please help if you can.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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