Advanced Installer 21.1 Release Notes

On October 4th, 2023 Caphyon Ltd. is proud to announce the release of Advanced Installer 21.1 in Free, Professional, Enterprise and Architect editions. This release is available for download on the Advanced Installer website.

We are thrilled to introduce a groundbreaking feature in Advanced Installer - the ability to test your installation packages directly within Windows Sandbox.

With Testing Installation in Windows Sandbox, you can efficiently assess your installation packages in a secure and isolated environment, without affecting the host system or other applications.

This integrated feature accelerates your testing process, helping you quickly identify and address any installation issues.

By seamlessly incorporating Windows Sandbox into Advanced Installer, we enable you to save time, reduce risks, and enhance the overall quality of your installation packages.

Watch our video tutorial now to discover how to leverage Windows Sandbox for efficient and hassle-free testing.

New features, bug fixes, and general improvements are included in the current release. See the full list below.

New features
  • Testing Installation Packages in Windows Sandbox
Enhancements
  • New command to set the "Condition" field of a Component

  • Requested by customer
    PowerShell automation support for "Call function from DLL" custom actions

  • Requested by customer
    Command line for basic SQL operations

  • Requested by customer
    Optimized "SqlDatabases" view loading time

  • Requested by customer
    Option to skip SQL scripts installation if SQL connection fails

  • Requested by customer
    Command line support to set Azure KeyVault signing parameters

  • Requested by customer
    Validate the "UpgradeCode" property format when using the "SetProperty" command
  • Support to copy & paste in MSIX Manifest Editor

  • Requested by customer
    UI improvement: open the current location when selecting a new package in the Updates configuration project
  • New parameter for "/SetDigitalCertificateFile" and "/SetAzureKeyVaultParameters" commands to activate digital signing
  • Improved import of .pri file created by Visual Studio for WinUI apps
  • Display projects outputs detection errors in the output window
  • Registration improvement: prioritizing the last registration method used
Bug fixes

  • Reported by customer
    DLL vulnerability fix: Prevent unauthorized access while loading comctl32.dll

  • Reported by customer
    Translations didn't work on v21.0.1 when EUI was enabled

  • Reported by customer
    An incorrect message is shown for a reboot initiated by prerequisites

  • Reported by customer
    Crash when opening the Themes page after conversion
  • Fixed UI bugs on the framework prerequisites category
  • The UAC icon is missing when using "InstallTypeDlg"

  • Reported by customer
    Registry keys related to the Context Menu in Windows 11 are not correctly removed for the Sparse Package signed with a certificate that has spaces in the name

  • Reported by customer
    The "Enable Log" option does not work for chained prerequisites
  • The extracted prerequisite's name is cropped at the beginning

  • Reported by customer
    Increased the size of the "Launch when ready" control for advinst.msi

  • Reported by customer
    The prerequisite command line field is replaced with the arguments of a previously selected prerequisite
  • Project Summary issues incorrectly listed package prerequisites

  • Reported by customer
    The synchronized folder is not updated correctly in the latest versions
  • Paste operation does not work for Transactions and folders in SQL Databases view
  • The order of the scripts is the same as before the drag & drop operation
  • An error message is thrown when a pre-install prerequisite is set to skip

  • Reported by customer
    The "PrerequisitesDlg" dialog is displayed after reboot even if all prerequisites are installed

  • Reported by customer
    Issues with the SQL Server Express prerequisites in v20.9.1
  • SQL Script can be placed outside the connection

  • Reported by customer
    MSIX Package Version was no longer in sync with the Product Details view from MSI

  • Reported by customer
    Advanced Installer was hanging after the "Run in VM" operation
  • Advanced Installer now provides correct values in the Summary Information for the "Last Printed" and Last "Saved Time/Date" fields, eliminating discrepancies during Orca validation
  • Headers for unsigned files are modified during signing process