This is a complete* list of tools for software developers (ISVs) to create setup programs that use Microsoft's 'Windows Installer' technology, also known as 'MSI'. Not included in this list are tools in the following categories, which are listed on separate pages on InstallSite:

1. Msi Editor Open Source Linux
2. Microsoft Msi Editor
3. Msi Editor Free
4. Msi Editor Orca
5. How To Open Msi Files

• Windows Installer Tools forSystem Administrators - Tools to (re-)package, examine, modify, transform and manage MSI based packages that are intended to be used by IT administrators.
• Non-MSI Setup Tools - Tools that create setups for Windows but are using proprietary technologies instead of Microsoft's 'Windows Installer' (MSI) techology.

Orca is a tool to edit entries of MSI files. It's very useful to inspect msi files and to make some small changes in msi files (modify or add table rows). The simplest case is changing a property that affects the behaviour of the installer or of the installed product, for example to. § About WixEdit WiXEdit is an editor for XML source files for the Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset to build MSI and MSM setup packages. WixEdit tries to make the editing of WiX XML source files simple and comprehensible for everyone. Without any or little knowledge of WiX or even XML, you can create MSI installer packages for your software!

*Is a tool missing on this page? Let me know.

Status Information

• [ Active ] indicates that the product is under active development and maintenance.
• [ Timeless ] is used for relatively low-level freeware tools that are useful even when they are not updated frequently.
• [ Inactive ] indicates that development has stopped, but not too long ago, so the product may still be useful.
• [ Outdated ] means that, while the software is still available, it seems to be no longer maintained. For details see the 'Status' entry.
• For items without this indicator please see the respective 'Status' entry for details.

The status information has been updated on November 24, 2017.

Microsoft Windows Installer SDK

Transfer files from phone to computer. Technically you don't need to buy a toolkit to build MSI packages - the required tools are available in Microsoft's Platform SDK. Even if you are using one of the tools listed below you should download the Windows Installer SDK as it includes the latest documentation from Microsoft and useful tools like Orca.

License: Free

Microsoft Windows InstallerSDK (Platform SDK download)
Windows Installer in the MDSN Library (online documentation)

Advanced Installer[ Active ]

Description from the company:
Advanced Installer is a Windows Installer authoring tool which enables developers and system administrators to easily build and repackage complex applications into reliable, ready to deploy MSI and EXE installers, patches and on-line updates. (The Java and Enterprise editions can create install packages for Mac OS X in addition to MSI setups. The Architect edition can create Microsoft App-V packages in addition to the features in the Enterprise edition.)
Uniquely focusing from its very beginnings on the ease of use, Advanced Installer is completely GUI-driven, with intuitive and simple access to all the powerful functionality it offers. Friendly wizards, smart assistants and re-packagers allow even non-experts to produce complete, valid and reliable installers in mere minutes, saving enterprises tens of thousands in training and implementation costs.
By using exclusively the industry standard Window Installer engine without proprietary scripting languages, and by carefully following its recommendations and best practices, Advanced Installer strives to create some of the cleanest, most correct MSI packages which effortlessly pass validation tests and logo certifications.
Advanced Installer is built on standard, open formats. Project files are XML, easily checked in source control systems. Multiple installer types can be defined to be built from a single project. Command-line mode operation allows integration in build scripts. Extensions always follow the Windows Installer recommendations and are provided in native modules for compliant, dependency-less installers.
Advanced Installer can import Inno Setup projects and can also create virtualized application packages for Microsoft App-V.
Advanced Installer is available in five editions, starting with the Freeware community edition and offering a 30-day trial period for the other editions.

Manufacturer: Caphyon LTD (Romania), Caphyon LLC (USA)
License: Freeware / Commercial
Status:Active, updates are being released almost monthly

AKInstallerMSI [ Active ]

This product is only available in German language

Beschreibung des Herstellers:
Der AKInstallerMSI erstellt robuste Setup-Pakete auf Basis des weltweiten Standards der Windows Installer Technologie (MSI). Zahlreiche Assistenten erleichtern Ihnen die Erstellung selbst komplexer Setups, damit Sie sich mit Ihrem Produkt und nicht mit der Setup-Erstellung beschäftigen müssen. Der AKInstallerMSI unterstützt Sie beim Einsatz aktueller Technologien wie .NET 4.0, DIFx 2.1 oder SQL Server 2008. AKInstallerMSI erlaubt den Import von Visual Studio-, Inno-Setup -Projekten oder MSI-Dateien und sogar den späteren Abgleich von VS-Projekt und Setup-Projekt. Durch einen Mausklick ermitteln Sie die Abhängigkeiten einer Datei und binden diese ein. Systemvoraussetzungen oder die Suche nach bestimmten Produkten lassen sich einfach per Maus auswählen und bereits in der IDE des AKInstallerMSI testen.
Der AKInstallerMSI erweitert den MSI-Funktionsumfang und ermöglicht Ihnen das Anlegen von Benutzern und Benutzergruppen sowie deren Rechten, die Installation von Gerätetreibern über das DIFx 2.0 und das einfache Anlegen von 'Geplanten Tasks', die Änderung von Text-Dateien über Regular Expression, die Änderung von XML-Dateien inkl. XPath-Unterstützung, die Konfiguration der Windows Firewall, die Konfiguration des Internet Information Services (IIS), Ausführen von SQL-Skripten sowie das Aufzeichnen von Installationen, um diese in das MSI-Format zu überführen.

Hersteller: AKApplications (Deutschland)
Lizenz: Kommerziell
Status:Aktiv, mehrere Updates pro Jahr

FireGiant WiX (FG-WiX)

Description from the company:
FG-WiX is everything you love about open-source WiX with additional testing and validation—making it the most stable and most functional version of WiX available. FG-WiX is available exclusively to our Enterprise Support customers. Reduce risk by relying on a WiX build tested right here at FireGiant. Get WiX bug fixes right when you need them. Influence the direction of WiX itself with custom feature requests.

Manufacturer: FireGiant (USA)
License: Commercial
Status: see WiX Toolset

InstallAware

Information can be found on installaware.com.

InstallConstruct [ Inactive ]

Description from the company:
Creating packages for setup and file delivery on all Windows platforms is made simple with InstallConstruct. With the step-by-step interface, you can create simple or advanced installers quickly, without time-consuming training or complex technical manuals. The latest release (6.5) also lets you create or rewrap your program as Windows Installer (MSI) with Elevated Privileges.
InstallConstruct gives you all the tools you need to create sophisticated installers easily. Select from one of the package formats, and create an easy-to-assemble installer or setup package with only the components you want to use. Customize the look with colors, fonts and graphics, edit the Windows Registry, create icons, Program Groups, Uninstallers and more - with the easy-to-understand wizard interface.
Included with the program are sample message scripts for English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. You may use them 'as is' to distribute your package in these languages or you may customize or edit it the way you like it.

Manufacturer: FileStream, Inc. (USA)
License: Commercial
Status: After almost 3 years without new releases, a new version was published in November 2016, but nothing since then.

InstallShield[ Active ]

Description from the company:
InstallShield, the most popular software installation tool combines power and flexibility with ease-of-use. First-time developers find it easy to create installations, while power users find its depth and flexibility perfect for developing complex software installations. Used on over 500 million PCs worldwide, InstallShield is the market-leading solution for Windows, servers and mobile devices. InstallShield can also create virtualized application packages for Microsoft App-V.
Available in Premier, Professional and Express Editions plus a Limited Edition which owners of Visual Studio can download free of charge.

Manufacturer: Flexera Software (USA). Previous company names include Acresso and Macrovision.
License: Commercial
Status: Active, typically one release per year

InstEd[ Timeless ]

Description from the company:
If you use Orca, you will love InstEd. If you use some of the more expensive tools, you may find that InstEd makes you more productive for the bread and butter packaging tasks.

InstEd was previously sold by Camwood Ltd. under the name appEditor.

Manufacturer: instedit.com (Australia)
License: Freeware
Status: Last release was in April 2012, but given the nature of the tool new versions would only be required if Microsoft made significant changes to MSI.

Note: The commercial síbling product InstEd Plus with additional features can no longer be purchased.

IsWiX[ Active ]

Description from the author:
IsWiX is a Windows Installer XML (WiX) document editor. It enables non-setup developers to collaborate with setup developers using WiX projects.

Project Leader: Christopher Painter
License: Open Source
Status: Active

izfree[ Timeless ]

Description from the author:
izfree is a collection of free tools for authoring Windows Installer .MSI installation databases. izfree is designed for use in conjunction with the Orca database editor included in the Platform SDK.
Hands off 3 2 2 download free. izfree, formerly known as 'msidb', automates some tasks specific to the authoring of MSI installation database files with Orca. Orca provides a basic way to edit database tables, but doesn't create them automatically. izfree automates the following tasks:

• Create new Windows Installer compatible GUIDs
• Create a blank MSI package for editing
• Create features and components that install a directory tree of files
• Preview and clone user interface dialogs

izfree assumes that you are already familiar with Windows Installer and the MSI SDK documentation. If you are completely new to Windows Installer, you might want to start with Visual Studio Installer and experiment with creating some simple installations and examining the msi with Orca.

Author: Rich Thomson, Microsoft MVP for DirectX and MSI
License: Open Source
Status: Last release was in 2001, but given the nature of the tool new versions would only be required if Microsoft made significant changes to MSI.

MakeMSI[ Active ]

Description from the author:
MAKEMSI is a freeware tool which allows you to quickly and automatically create MSI based installers. Once set up subsequent rebuilds take minutes and in general require no MSI skills. MAKEMSI can actually build or update any Windows Installer database types, for example ICE validation suites or merge modules. It is the simplest tool available for MSI automation.
MAKEMSI should be considered as a replacement for anyone who currently manually builds or updates MSIs with table editing tools such as ORCA. Its main purposes are to consistently produce (or edit) MSIs in a simple manner and without user interaction. It promotes reuse and can gather required information from virtually anywhere (such as SQL databases or text files).
MAKEMSI includes a number of useful tools including one to dump or compare Windows Installer databases (an 'MSI to TEXT' utility). The output (see see sample) is in a human readable format (unlike that of all other tool I have seen). The output can also be understood by MAKEMSI! Other tools include easy MD5 and Windows Installer GUID generation.

Author: Dennis Bareis
License: Freeware
Status: Active

Web Site

Microsoft Visual Studio

There are multiple options for creating Windows Installer setups with Visual Studio:

Setup & Deployment Projects / Visual Studio Installer

Starting with version 2003, Visual Studio (Professional Edition and higher) included a Deployment project type that creates MSI packages. For Visual Studio 6 Microsoft offers Visual Studio Installer with similar functionality as a free download. However Visual Studio does not expose all the Windows Installer functionality.

With the release of Visual Studio 2010 Microsoft announced that Visual Studio Installer will be retired in favor of InstallShield Limited Edition. Here's the announcement that was posted in Microsoft's ClickOnce and Setup & Deployment Projects forum:

Retirement of Visual Studio Installer Projects from future versions of Visual Studio
Candy Chiang MSFT Thursday, July 15, 2010 8:07 PM
In Visual Studio 2010, we have partnered with Flexera, makers of InstallShield, to create InstallShield Limited Edition 2010 just for Visual Studio 2010 customers. The InstallShield Limited Edition 2010 offers comparable functionality to the Visual Studio Installer projects. In addition, you can build your deployment projects using Team Foundation Server and MSBuild. For more information, see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/deployment_technologies/archive/2010/04/20/installshield-limited-edition-is-available-for-download-in-visual-studio-2010.aspx.
With InstallShield available, the Visual Studio Installer project types will not be available in future versions of Visual Studio. To preserve existing customer investments in Visual Studio Installer projects, Microsoft will continue to support the Visual Studio Installer projects feature that shipped with Visual Studio 2010 and below as per our product life-cycle strategy. For more information, see Expanded Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy for Business & Development Products.

License: Retail product, part of Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual StudioInstaller home page
Visual StudioInstaller Documentation

Add-Ins for Visual Studio

Starting with Visual Studio 2010 Microsoft includes a link to a free limited edition of InstallShield. Some of the other tools listed on this page can also be integrated in the Visual Studio IDE.

In June 2014 an Extension for Visual Studio 2013 was released to support Visual Studio Installer projects.

MSI Factory

Description from the company:
MSI Factory makes the task of creating professional installers faster, easier and hassle-free. What makes MSI Factory different is the unique file-centered design view. You aren’t forced to deal with the complexity of MSI database tables, sequences and components (unless you want to – MSI Factory is as flexible as you need it to be). Most developers simply drop in their application files, customize a few dialog boxes using the visual dialog editor and then click “build”. MSI Factory includes all the advanced installer capabilities you want, plus the next generation power of WiX, an intelligent development environment, a revolutionary fully scriptable .EXE bootstrap wrapper and access to world class technical support.

Manufacturer: Indigo Rose Corporation (Canada)
License: commercial
Status: Unknown. There' is no release information on the web site, latest release was in or before January 2017.

Nvn Installer[ Inactive ]

Description from the company:
Nvn Installer is a professional tool for creating great-looking installation packages. Installers made with Nvn Installer work on all Windows systems and are fully MSI compatible.
Nvn Installer has multi-language support, it can install prerequisites and also has a command line interface. Nvn Installer internally uses WiX toolset to generate MSI packages, and you can view and save Wix Code generated while building installation package.

Manufacturer: Naveen Hegde
License: Open source
Status: Unknown, there's no information about release dates on the web site, last release was built in November 2013. In February 2018 the project has been made open source with no activity since then.

PACE Suite[ Active ]

Description from the manufacturer:
PACE Suite is a fast and easy-to-use software packaging tool for MSI authoring, creation and editing of virtual packages (App-V, ThinApp), automation of routine tasks, creation of documentation and installation instructions. PACE Suite can create packages from scratch or repackage EXEs

Manufacturer: Infopulse (Ukraine)
License: Commercial

QSetup PRO [ Active ]

Description from the company:
QSetup PRO can produce setup files in the form of an MSI file as well as a traditional EXE file. Also the user can decide at anytime whether to generate an EXE or MSI installation from the same project definition. QSetup is unique in it's ability to create setup that will AUTO-UPDATE from the Internet when a new version of the program is available. QSetup PRO supports multilingual installations without the need to purchase additional language package.

Only the PRO edition includes MSI support. The Lite and Studio editions create non-MSI setups.

Manufacturer: Pantaray Research
License: commercial
Status: Active, last release was in March 2017.

SharpSetup[ Inactive ]

Description from the author:
SharpSetup is a framework and a set of tools that allows you to create complete application installer solutions for Windows platform using well established technologies like Visual Studio, .NET, C#, C++, Windows Forms, Windows Installer XML and MsBuild. It can be treated as a way to create flexible graphical user interface (GUI) for your Windows Installer XML (WiX) based installer quickly and easily, but it is much more than that.

Manufacturer: SharpSetup Systems (Poland)
License: Free (purchase link for commercial editions not working)
Status: Latest stable release was in December 2015. Development was stopped.

WiX (Windows Installer XML) Toolset[ Active ]

The Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset is composed of a compiler, a linker, a lib tool and a decompiler. It generates MSI and MSM files from XML input. It doesn't include a GUI frontend to create the project files, but there are a couple of projects that plan to fill this gap. Votive, which is part of the WiX project, is a Visual Studio extension. It allows you to create 'WiX projects' that act like any other project in a VS solution.
WiX was created by Rob Mensching, at the time a Microsoft employee and former member of the MSI team, in his free time and released as open source. It is used by several teams inside Microsoft to create their setups.
After leaving Microsoft, Rob co-foundedFireGiant, a company offering services, anExpansion Pack and a commercial version of WiX.

Project Leader: Rob Mensching
License: Open Source
Status: Active. Approximately one or two stable releases per year plus several pre-release versions.

See also:

• Xeam Visual Installer is a bootstrapper to add an advanced UI to setups that are created with the WiX Toolset.
• SharpSetup is a Visual Studio add-in to create a custom UI for your WiX based installer.

While WiX doesn't include an IDE, there are free and commercial IDEs that build upon WiX:

Read Rob Mensching's comments on some of the WiX editors.

A couple of GUI projects for WiX have been started on open source platforms, but there's no active development going on, many are stuck in planning or pre-alpha stage:KHIX,WinWIX,WiXer,WiX GUI,WiXShield,wixstudio,WixTool,WixTool Red Edition (aka WixTool 2 by Sebastian Mark) ,WiXTrim,WixWizzard.Search SourceForge.net for 'wix' to get the latest list.
Nvin Installer (on Google Code) has been replaced by Nvn Installer.

Another approach to create a front end for WiX is Wix# (WixSharp). It's a syntax translator that translates from C# syntax into WiX syntax.
Web Site

WiXEdit

Description from the project page:
WixEdit is an editor for XML source code of the Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset. WixEdit lets you create MSI and MSM setup packages with the WiX Toolset. It provides a visual representation of the dialogs and an easy way to edit the WiX source files.

Author: Jasper Keuper
License: Open Source
Status: Last release was in March 2011, but development activity resumed in early 2018 on GitHub

WixPie[ Active ]

Description from the company:
Creating windows installers with the WiX Toolset can be a challenge but with WixPie it doesn't have to be. WixPie is the tool to create and edit your files and only focus on what you want to achieve.

Manufacturer: WixPie
License: free and commercial
Status: Active

Xeam Visual Installer[ Active ]

Xeam Visual Installer is a bootstrapper to add an advanced UI to setups that are created with the WiX Toolset.

Description from the company:
Next Generation Installation Experience with animated UI based on WPF, based on WiX Toolset technology. Xbox app download for windows 10. No need to change your existing MSI's. Visual Installer is a bootstrapper to build on top of them. Extended UI and end user help features like IIS configuration, system check. Integrated in Visual Studio, easy to use: Add you existing MSI or setups -> adjust configuration -> done!

Manufacturer: xeam (Germany)
License: Commercial
Status: Version 17.12 was released in December 2017

Inactive Open Source Projects

Several open source projects for MSI authoring tools have been started on SourceForge.net, but many of them have become inactive. There are also closed-source products where development has stalled before they have been released to manufacturing. Such projects are listed here only briefly:

• Fireworks is an open source open source installer project. The project's goal is to provide an open source alternative to expensive packages such as InstallShield. The project provides a GUI as well as a .NET object model to ease the creation of MSI packages.Started: November 2005, no significant activity since then. Web Site
• Installer Toolkit for Java Applications is a tooltik to generate installer packages for Java applications. Currently supported are Windows Installer packages (MSI) and Debian Packages (DEB). Started: March 2006, last activity June 2006. Web Site
• InstallFree is an open source project to create an application equivalent to products like InstallShield or WISE. This project will initially specifically target using the Windows Installer technology. Started: November 2003, no files or other significant activity since then (Web Site). Note: There's also an application virtualization tool named InstallFree.
• MSImaker is a program designed to easily generate WindowsInstaller Packages (MSI). It's available in English and German. Manufacturer: AKS DataBasis (no address on web site, domain owner lives in Germany).Status: Beta (last update in November 2003). Development stopped, source code to be published on SourceForge. Web Site
• Muise is an open source user based automated software (MSI) distribution and installation tool for Microsoft Windows Installer.Started: February 2004, no files or other significant activity since then. Web Site
• NInstall (formerly known as ChimpInstall) is an open source application to create and editMicrosoft Installer (msi) files. The main project goal is to provide developers with anOpen Source tool that can be used instead of the expensive commercial tools that areavailable.Started: April 2001,development stopped since October 2002. Web Site
• WinMSI is a Win32 / Win64 open source freeware utility to create and edit Windows Installer MSI packages (.msi file extension) for securely distributing applications. The WinMSI GUI will be familiar to users of InstallShield products.Started: November 2004, no files or other significant activity since then. Web Site
• The following SourceForge projects no longer exist: Install-It-All, WixExtra.

Renamed, Replaced, and Discontinued Products

The following products have been renamed or replaced by successor products:

• AInstallerby Ainars Skangalsis no longer available for download.
• ActiveInstall has been renamed to InstallAnywhere .NET when it was acquired by Zero G in 2004. One year later it was discontinued when Zero G was acquired by Macrovision.
• appEditor is no longer available from Camwood Limited. Development of this tool continues under the name InstEd.
• Corner House msicreateis no longer available for download.
• Dacris ActiSetup is no longer available.
• Desktop Authority MSI Studio has been renamed to Quest Workspace MSI Studio and has been acquired by Dell, Inc.
• DigitalWeb InstallWizard appears to be abandoned. The web site still exists but the product is no longer available for purchase.
• FLEXnet InstallShield dropped the prefix and is now simply called InstallShield.
• GkSetup Professional is no longer available.
• Installer Design Studio has been renamed to Desktop Authority MSI Studio in September 2006.
• Installer2GO by SDS was formerly known as Setup2Go for Windows Installer. On 18th Septemer 2007 wItem Software acquired certain rights to distribute, maintain, and further develop Installer2Go.
• InstallAnywhere .NET has been discontinued after Zero G Software, Inc. has been acquired by Macrovision Corp. in 2005.
• Installer Design Studio has been renamed to Desktop Authority MSI Studio by ScriptLogic Corp.
• InstallShield for Windows Installer has been superseded by InstallShield Premier and Professional.
• InstallShield Developer has been superseded by InstallShield Premier and Professional.
• InstallShield DevStudio has been superseded by InstallShield Premier and Professional.
• Instyler Setup is no longer available.
• MaSaI Installer has been renamed to Installer Design Studio (now Desktop Authority MSI Studio) when MaSaI Solutions Ltd. was acquired by ScriptLogic Corp. in November 2005.
• MSI Studio Pro has been discontinued and is no longer supported by Dell as of 31 August 2014.
• MSIBuilder by myncos. Web site unavailable since November 2007.
• MSIStudio manufacturer Avatar Software GmbH (Switzerland) went out of business in November 2006. The main developers started a new company, Fastgrid Ltd. in UK, and re-started the product in April 2011. Later (ca. 2015) the Fastgrid web site has been removed, the domain is no longer registered.
• PopulateMSI by Object Design Labs, Inc. is no longer available.
• QuantumGraphica by TransWest Data Corporation is no longer available.
• Quest Workspace MSI Studio has been renamed to MSI Studio Pro when Quest was acquired by Dell in 2012.
• Qwerty.Msi is no longer available.
• Setup Factory for Windows Installer is now called MSI Factory.
• Tarma ExpertInstall has been discontinued. Tarma recommends that users upgrade to Tarma Installer 5, which however doesn't create MSI based setups.
• War Setup web site is no longer available.
• Wise for Visual Studio .NET has been absorbed by Wise for Windows Installer.
• Wise for Windows Installer has been moved to Wise Installation Studio and Wise Installation Express.
• Wise Installation Studio and Express have been discontinued by Symantec in April 2010.
• wItem Installer (formerly wItem Installer2Go) and wItem Installer for Java are no longer available, the web site has been turned off (ca. 2015).
• WiXAware is no longer available.

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Windows Installer XML Toolset (WiX, pronounced 'wicks'), is a free software toolset that builds Windows Installer packages from XML. It consists of a command-line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to build MSI and MSM packages. WiX was the first Microsoft project to be released under an open-source license,^[2] the Common Public License.^[3] It was also the first Microsoft project to be hosted on an external website.

After its release in 2004, Microsoft has used WiX to package Office 2007, SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005/2008, and other products.^[4]

WiX includes Votive, a Visual Studio add-in that allows creating and building WiX setup projects using the Visual Studio IDE. Votive supports syntax highlighting and IntelliSense for .wxs source files and adds a WiX setup project type .wixproj to Visual Studio.

Tools[edit]

Candle[edit]

Candle compiles the XML documents to .wixobj object files that contain symbols and references to symbols.^[5]

Light[edit]

Light takes one or more object files and links the references in the object files to the appropriate symbols in other object files. Light is responsible for collecting all of the binaries, packaging them appropriately, and generating the final MSI or MSM file.^[6]

Lit[edit]

Lit combines multiple object files into a library for convenience.^[7]

Dark[edit]

Dark takes existing MSI and MSM files and generates XML documents that represent the package.^[8]

Heat[edit]

Heat creates WiX file list code from a file, directory, Visual Studio project, website, VB6COM component, performance counter category, or Registry file.^[9] It produces a .wxs file that can be compiled and linked with other .wxs files. WiX 3.0's Heat replaced WiX 2.0's more limited Tallow tool.^[10]

There is also a third-party tool called Paraffin, available under the Common Public License, which offers several features not present in Heat. In particular, Paraffin can keep the GUIDs assigned to each file the same even when the tool is run multiple times. Paraffin can also exclude files by extension or regular expression.^[11]

Pyro[edit]

Pyro creates Patch files (msp) without the Windows Installer SDK.^[8]

Burn[edit]

Burn is a prerequisite bootstrapper and installer chainer tool, was first released in version 3.6.^[12] Features include small size, proper elevation support for Windows Vista and Windows 7, a very customizable UI and progress indicators, and automatic download of required dependencies. The old Burn source code was abandoned in July 2009 and reimplemented based on NETFX4 bootstrapper.^[13]

History[edit]

WiX was the first Microsoft project to be released under an open-source license,^[2] the Common Public License.^[3] Initially hosted on SourceForge,^[1] it was also the first Microsoft project to be hosted externally.

Rob Mensching, the original author and lead developer of WiX, works on WiX in his spare time. When he released the first version of WiX on April 5, 2004, he commented, 'I did not feel that many people inside Microsoft understood what the Open Source community was really about and I wanted to improve that understanding by providing an example.'^[1] As of 2006, several other Microsoft employees from various product divisions of the company worked on WiX with Mensching, meeting after business hours once a week to coordinate development efforts and write code.^{[citation needed]}

WiX version 2.0 was released in 2007.

WiX version 3.0 was released July 4, 2009.

On June 6, 2010, WiX moved from SourceForge to CodePlex.^[14]

WiX version 3.5 was released January 31, 2011.

On August 14, 2012, Microsoft transferred the WiX copyright to the Microsoft-sponsored Outercurve Foundation. At the same time, the license was changed from the Common Public License to the Microsoft Reciprocal License.^[2]

Msi Editor Open Source Linux

WiX version 3.6 was released September 3, 2012 and has a focus on Burn.

WiX version 3.7 was released December 24, 2012. Version 3.7 supports Visual Studio 2008, 2010 and 2012.

WiX version 3.8 was released November 28, 2013. Visual Studio 2013 support is one of the major new features.

WiX version 3.9 was released October 31, 2014.

WiX version 3.10 was released September 3, 2015.

Microsoft Msi Editor

On May 4, 2016, WiX was transferred to the .NET Foundation.^[15]

WiX version 3.11 was released May 5, 2017.

WiX version 3.12 was released September 18, 2019.

Since Visual Studio 2012, the traditional setup project type has been removed from Visual Studio (available only as an extension since Visual Studio 2013). WiX is a recommended alternative.^[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Msi Editor Free

1. ^ ^abcMensching, Rob (5 April 2004). 'Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset has released as Open Source on SourceForge.net'. RobMensching.com /Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
2. ^ ^abcMensching, Rob (14 August 2012). 'Outercurve Foundation and WiX toolset together, at last'. RobMensching.com /Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
3. ^ ^abMensching, Rob (20 August 2012). 'The WiX toolset license'. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
4. ^Robbins, John (18 October 2007). 'WiX: Hints for New Users (Part 1 of 3)'. Wintellect. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
5. ^'Compiler'. WiX Toolset. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
6. ^'Linker (light)'. WiX Toolset. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
7. ^'Library Tool (lit)'.
8. ^ ^ab'List of Tools'. WiX Toolset. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
9. ^'Harvest Tool (Heat)'. WiX Toolset. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
10. ^Halvorson, Loren (29 July 2004). 'New 'tallow' tool included in latest WiX'. Loren Halvorson's Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
11. ^Robbins, John (14 November 2012). 'Wintellect/Paraffin'. GitHub. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
12. ^Mensching, Rob (3 September 2012). 'WiX v3.6 released'. RobMensching.com /Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
13. ^Mensching, Rob (15 January 2010). 'Burn moves to a new foundation'. RobMensching.com /Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
14. ^Mensching, Rob (6 June 2010). 'WiX toolset source and releases move to CodePlex'. RobMensching.com /Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
15. ^Mensching, Rob (4 May 2016). 'WiX toolset joins the .NET Foundation'. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
16. ^Hodges, Buck (17 March 2011). 'Visual Studio setup projects (vdproj) will not ship with future versions of VS'. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

External links[edit]

Msi Editor Orca

• Official website

How To Open Msi Files