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MSIStudio
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Win64 Ready
Feature Comparison Chart
This page provides a objective comparison between the features of MSIStudio and some of the other setup authoring applications on the market.
MSIStudio provides a comparable or superior feature set for a fraction of the price of other products.
| MSIStudio 5.0 | InstallShield Professional 2011 | InstallAware Developer 10 | AdvancedInstaller Enterprise 8.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 | $1999 | $1499 | $999 |
| 100% Windows Installer Compatible Setups Create and edit application installations which are 100% based on Windows Installer technology, an important step towards obtaining Windows Logo product certification. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Merge Modules Create and edit merge modules. Include third party merge modules in your own projects. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Patching Create Windows Installer .MSP patch files for updating previously installed applications. Additional bootstrapping functionality (Update.exe) is provided so end users do not have to deal directly with .MSP files. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Integrated Development Environment Never have to leave the development environment whatever the task. A fully integrated environment for setup development, testing and debugging. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Visual Studio style User Interface IDE and workflow closely resemble Visual Studio with property sheets, integrated dialog editing, control events, and more making it easier and more intuitive for software developers to create setup packages. |
Yes | |||
| Integrated Dialog Editor Create and edit dialog boxes visually within the development environment. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Digital Signing Sign installation packages using Authenticode digital signatures thus discouraging software tampering and piracy. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Dynamic Folders and Registry Keys Include File, Folder and Registry data in the setup package by copying the structure and content from the development machine at build time. |
Yes | |||
| Validation Ensure the setup package conforms to Windows Logo standards by running the setup against Internal Consistency Evaluators (ICEs). |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Languages Translate installations into other languages. Create single language or multi-language installation packages. MSIStudio includes translations for 35 of the most commonly used languages as standard. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Standalone Build System Compile the setup packages on a clean machine different from the one used to create and edit the project files. |
Yes | Yes | ||
| MSI File Debugger Allows comprehensive native debugging of Windows Installer packages. Includes property and condition watches, log file analysis, breakpoints and much more. |
Yes | |||
| 64-bit Support Create installation packages that are fully 64-bit compatible. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Release Management The ability to maintain and build multiple release configurations within the same project. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Preinstall .NET Framework and Windows Installer Can install all versions of the .NET Framework and upgrade Windows Installer as part of package installation. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Command Line Build Tools Initiate the building of setup packages from within automated command line batch jobs. |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Detailed Setup Comparison Use the integrated .msi package comparison functionality to examine in full color-coded detail the differences between two setup packages. Includes both table data and summary information stream data. |
Yes | |||
| Intelligent Resource Grouping File based resources such as typelibs, services and extensions are integrated into the File System view. Component based resources such as environment variables and .ini file changes are integrated into the Components view. |
Yes | |||
| Custom Data and Tables Add custom tables and data rows to the finished package. This helps the development of custom actions. |
Yes | Yes | ||
| Project Preview Preview the content of the setup database tables without having to build the project. |
Yes | Yes | ||
| XML File Format The project file format is XML allowing easy modification outside of the MSIStudio IDE for advanced users. |
Yes | |||
| Log File Analysis Inspect and analyse the content of Windows Installer log files. This helps to pinpoint errors during installation development. |
Yes | |||
| Custom MSI Installation Create an installation that contains multiple installation packages including mixes of 32-bit and 64-bit platforms and select the package to install based on conditions evaluated at run time on the target machine. |
Yes |