InstallShield Converter

Post specialized setup scripts you have created here.
zchris
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InstallShield Converter

Postby zchris » Tue Apr 12, 2005 10:22 am

Do you know when you will release a InstallShield Converter?

I'd also need to convert merge modules.

If you got a beta I'd like to test it! :D

sinan
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Postby sinan » Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:10 am

Its in the works - nothing testable so far :)

vipul
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Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:54 am

Postby vipul » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:00 am

Do you have the installshield script converter?

MichaelNesmith
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Postby MichaelNesmith » Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:20 am

Unfortunately we don't. Differences in technology as well as their obfuscated project format has made this a very challenging task.

There are two approaches you can still use:

PackageAware: Convert ANY setup, regardless of technology (EXE/MSI/native/Windows Installer), into a ready to build InstallAware setup project. Works with pre-install and post-install snapshots, encapsulating the delta into a ready to build setup, which you may of course also further tweak and edit in the InstallAware IDE.

Database Import Wizard: Convert any MSI setup or MSM merge module to InstallAware. Note that custom actions are not converted but the entire database table structures, files, directories, and everything else are successfully migrated into an MSIcode script.

Both of these tools are available with InstallAware Studio Admin.

I should note that PackageAware has been in continuous development for the past 4 years and has been optimized over time and proven itself in real world usage re-packaging very complex application installations. So that is definitely your recommended route.
Michael Nesmith
InstallAware
Home of The Next Generation MSI Installer
Get your free copy today - http://www.installaware.com/

Bikedude
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:02 am

.ism project format

Postby Bikedude » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:07 am

MichaelNesmith wrote:Differences in technology as well as their obfuscated project format has made this a very challenging task.


Their XML code looks almost readable for the .ism files. Are you referring to their binary format, or also their XML?

CandiceJones
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Postby CandiceJones » Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:04 am

The binary would seem to be the tough nut to crack?

If anybody has any ideas, we're all ears :)
Candice Jones
InstallAware
Home of The Next Generation MSI Installer
Get your free copy today - http://www.installaware.com/

Bikedude
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Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:02 am

Postby Bikedude » Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:54 am

CandiceJones wrote:The binary would seem to be the tough nut to crack?


But why crack the nut when you are big enough to swallow it whole?

I fiddled around with IS 10.5 for an hour (total usage) and finally found their "save as XML" option.

Someone more experienced with IS (your target customer) would presumably have found this too, or would be able to perform this extra step. The XML format is much more preferable when dealing with version control systems.

Keep It Simple... no? :) A simple "we can only import .ism projects saved as XML" notice will suffice.

I am currently evaluating IA now, and although .ism import would be helpful, I think I am better off rewriting our install project from scratch. My predecessor was ambitious and a lot of the stuff he did simply doesn't work very well. Time to implement this thing from scratch.

So I think I can manage without IS import. Personally, I would like to see SQL Anywhere support before IS-import... ;) (running SQL-Anywhere scripts is one of the areas my predecessor didn't manage 100% :P)

MichaelNesmith
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Postby MichaelNesmith » Thu Jun 11, 2009 5:31 am

As an InstallShield user, do you know how far back (as in version numbers) the "save as XML" option goes, and also whether it is able to save all kinds of projects as purely XML? (basic MSI/InstallScript MSI/etc.)
Michael Nesmith

InstallAware

Home of The Next Generation MSI Installer

Get your free copy today - http://www.installaware.com/

Bikedude
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:02 am

Postby Bikedude » Thu Jun 11, 2009 5:43 am

MichaelNesmith wrote:As an InstallShield user


I'm just some guy that was asked to maintain an old InstallShield project and add some new features.

My conclusion was that IS 10.5 is probably not suited to our needs (it has no Windows Server 2003 knowledge, nor any of the new .Net framework runtimes, etc...), so I contacted the IS guys to talk about an upgrade. They refuse to upgrade such an old version...

So that is why I am here now, to figure out what I need so I can make a clean escape from IS. :)

Long story short: I haven't used IS before.


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