Bootstrapper

MSIStudio comes with a fully featured bootstrapper. This is a .exe that the user can run that contains additional user interface and installation features above that provided by Windows Installer. The bootstrapper allows the setup to perform the following additional tasks before calling the embedded .msi package. The bootstrapper is enabled when the user selects the Release Type to be "Setup.exe" or "Setup.exe and MSI"

• Visual Styles. You can add additional eye candy to your installation using the bootstrapper. There are option to create a shaded full screen background. Specify the 2 colours to use and a gradient background window will be displayed with the product name. A background image can also be used and this can be centered or tiled. The standard setup icon can be changed to something that better reflects the company. This icon can be selected here.
• Internet Based Installation. The bootstrapper can be used to install the application from the internet. In this case all the CAB files are stored in a remote location and are downloaded as required. This allows you to minimize the size of the setup when distributing to end users.
• .NET Framework Installation. The bootstrapper can be used to install any version of the .NET Framework. Different versions of Windows come with different versions of the .NET Framework preinstalled. To include the .NET Framework with the bootstrapper, it must first be downloaded from the Microsoft website (free).
• Driver. A separate executable can be used to drive the installation. The purpose of this executable is to gather properties for the installtion. These properties are written to a file and then the installation is run silently with these properties. This gives the effect of replacing the somewhat limited Windows Installer user interface with potentially something a lot richer and more flexible.
• Windows Installer Installation. Setup packages require a certain version of Windows Installer in order to install. Older versions of Windows may not have the Windows Installer runtime pre-installed. This option allows you to install the runtime before installing the application.