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InstallShield AdminStudio Professional 6.0 
by Bob Kelly

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 Process Assistant
  
The new Process Assistant is a great interface for getting the most out of what AdminStudio has to offer. From what I have seen in the field (and I am a bit guilty of this myself) is that people get comfortable with the tools they know and spend much or all of their time in that one tool- a good example being the InstallShield Repackager. Since the release of v5.5, the Repackager is robust enough to create, edit and compile MSI packages, so it is easy to find yourself not looking at the other tools until you run into a situation that forces you away.

The new Process Assistant guides you through the tasks to get from creation to distribution in a very logical and common sense interface. The first window asks you to select a file. When you do, the Process Assistant determines what the next step should be - if you have an MSI, you’ll want to customize it with a transform – if you have a legacy setup, you’ll want to repackage it and generate an MSI of your own. It then takes you through conflict resolution, testing and finally to the distribution phase (another enhanced feature in this release we will touch on later).

Even if you already know the steps to take and the tools to use, the Process Assistant may still be the way to go. The reason is that it collects most of the necessary information from you before launching the required tool, so you have a consistent interface for the entire procedure. Finally, because the Process Assistant knows what setup you are working with, there is no need to specify this in the various tools as you move through the process!
 

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