Yes another MSI authoring tool, but this time one you may not have heard about- and one with a few gems wrapped in that make it worth taking a closer look. What sets InstallAware apart from the competition the most is how it goes about building an MSI. The graphical choices such as adding files and registry entries are provided as most tools offer. However, when you switch to the “script view” you do not see a list of sequences and actions, but an easy to read (and manipulate) script that spells out each action to be taken by the MSI and under what condition (see image at right). When everything is just as you wish, InstallAware builds a fully compliant Windows Installer setup requiring no scripting runtimes or distributable.

Installation
Being an MSI authoring tool itself, you may find yourself looking closely at the installation of InstallAware itself- and without disappointment. The installation dialogs look good and standing out was a Destination Folder dialog that included a folder browse window, which is normally launched as a separate dialog.

In an attempt to both take advantage of (and to show off) its cool Web Media Blocks feature (click here for details- it really is cool), the installation looks to the web to obtain certain features and does not proceed if offline. When online, several plug-ins are downloaded and, depending upon your bandwidth, it can take quite some time to complete. The benefits of this feature are discussed later in this review, however seeing it in action illustrates a potential downside: the installation took a very long time to complete and the progress bar started over for each plug-in that was downloaded. For the upside of this feature click here to jump ahead.

To install InstallAware on a disconnected system, you either need the single file installer (a 132mb version of the setup), or the web based installer configured with the Minimum setup option (if you choose Minimum in the wizard, it will automatically select only the features that are installable offline).
 

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