.Net download from the web

[Rene]

I am currently using Installshied Express (bought 1 week ago and I think I still have time to ask for my money back)

By far the most annoying thing about the stupid installer is that when you distribute the setup file to install the .Net 2 as a download from the web only if needed, the stupid thing goes out and starts downloading files from the web without asking the users permission and is freaking out some of our customers.

My question is: Is your installer capable of creating setup files that can download the .Net 2 from the web only if needed (so that I don’t have to package the .Net with my setup) and if it does, do the users get a polite message saying something like:

“This app requires .Net 2 framework to be installed in your computer. Would you like to download and install the .Net 2 now? If you click no the setup will be canceled”

Then, only after the user clicks “Yes” should the installer fetch the .Net from the web.

Is this possible to do with the Express version of your installer?

Thanks.

[CandiceJones]

Dear Rene

This cannot be done with the Express version, but can be very easily done with Developer and above.

Also, if you would rather distribute a single monolithic EXE that contains the .NET 2.0 runtime inside itself (so it doesn't have to be done with a seperate download), you can indeed do that with our Express version. Just choose the single file compressed build option for the project - you don't need to do anything else. And, the .NET 2.0 installer will be 33% smaller as well, thanks to our superior compression!

Of course, Developer lets you see and edit the setup script, so you could build a web installer which would ask for permission, etc...

[Rene]

Dear Rene

the .NET 2.0 installer will be 33% smaller as well, thanks to our superior compression!

I remember reading about the amount of compression that you guys do to the .Net and to be honest with you, that kind of scares me a little…. why you may wonder?

Well, because I am sure that nobody would want the .Net distributable to be as small as it can than to Microsoft people themselves, never the less, Microsoft .Net distributable is bigger that yours!!

I would assume that Microsoft is doing everything in their power to make that file as small as they can, never the less, although they have billions of dollars and all kinds of technology available, you guys are able to compress the .Net 33% more that them!

Why?? What’s going on?? Why wasn’t Microsoft able to do the same thing?? Makes you wonder what you guys are doing.

Could you please make me feel at easy and explain to me how this is possible?

Thanks.

[CandiceJones]

Dear Rene

Because Microsoft is a very large company, it can sometimes take time for them to adopt the latest technologies. Microsoft uses an outdated form of compression called CAB-LZX, which they themselves invented back in 1997. Until 2001-2002 this was indeed the best compression format available, which was then superceded by the new RAR 3.0 and ACE 2.0 formats. These formats were then superceded by the newest 7ZIP format, which is the technology InstallAware uses in compressing setups.

We are a company dedicated to bringing you the latest installation technologies - TODAY - so it is only natural that we offer you the latest and greatest, going far beyond what is made available by the giants in our industry. Just look at what InstallShield, Wise, and other Windows Installer products are offering, in comparison - what we have again has gone beyond the capabilities of these great products, which are no longer on the leading edge of technology. InstallAware is pushing the envelope in terms of what can be done with installers...so you may have further pleasant surprises along the way, in terms of the innovations our product brings to you.

The net result for you will always be saved time and money - be that costs incurred during development, deployment, or bandwidth usage.

More technical information on InstallAware's compression magic is available on our website:

http://www.installaware.com/web-deploym ... ession.htm

This page also has even more amazing compression rates - as much as 67% better! - for a wide variety of Microsoft runtimes.

Please feel free to ask Microsoft why they are not using InstallAware

[Rene]

It looks like it takes an looooong time to compress the .Net in max compression rate, do you guys offer the .Net pre-compressed so that the build engine can pick the compressed file when it builds the project and not have to bother to compress it every time I compile my installation project?

Thanks

[CandiceJones]

Dear Rene

If you were doing web builds, you could choose to skip compressing the .NET web media block using the Web Media Blocks view, after you've created it once.

Unfortunately when doing single file builds, this is not an option, as the compressor compresses everything going inside the single file in a single pass.

We recommend you use the Uncompressed build option during testing and development; when you are satisfied with the final setup, only then choose the Compressed option. This way you won't be wasting any time.