Advanced Installer #1 alternative to the WiX Toolset
Download Free Trial30-day, Fully featuredNo credit cardThe very extended open-source WiX looked good but required a steep learning curve.
At the time of making our final decision, we decided to focus on our main goal: to save the precious time of our developers.
Hans-Leo Teulings
Phd - Ceo, Neuroscript, Llc
Advanced Installer helps software engineers coming from WiX Toolset speed up their packaging process and drastically flatten the learning curve. And this is what makes us the best WiX Toolset alternative!
Visual Studio & Azure DevOps integration.
GUI-based interface with shortest learning curve in industry
Dedicated wizard to migrate WiX projects
Free version that can be used for commercial purposes.
Built-in features monthly updated
CLI option for automation-coding enthusiasts enabling integration in the editing packaging process
From WiX Toolset to Advanced Installer - software packaging scenarios
Explore common Wix Toolset scenarios and learn how easy it is to implement them within your new Advanced Installer project.
- CAB Embedding Options in MSI
- Updated installers in WiX Toolset
- Custom Actions In WiX Toolset
- Windows Services with WiX Installer
- Set WiX Installer Version to the Current Build Version
- Remove Files and Folders when Uninstalling with WiX
- How to set a WiX Toolset custom action to run only on uninstall
- How to create non-advertised shortcuts for all users / per machine with WiX Toolset
- How to Remove Files on Uninstall Using WiX Toolset
- How to create major upgrades for MSI packages using WiX Toolset
- How to pass CustomActionData to a CustomAction using WiX
- How to build an installer without a license page using WiX Toolset
- How to create a WiX KeyPath attribute
- How to Create a Desktop Shortcut using WiX Toolset
- How to Use WiX MSI to Update an Installed Application
- How to correctly set the install folder in Wix
- WiX Toolset Visual Studio Extension
- How to create a custom dialog in WiX for user input
- How to create an MSI installer with WiX
- How to use WIX MSI to do a silent install or uninstall of a web app
WiX to Advanced Installer Migration Guide
If you prepare the migration from WiX to Advanced Installer - this is what you need to know:
You get full support to import WiX Toolset projects in Advanced Installer
You don’t have to start from scratch - Advanced Installer supports Wix projects through its dedicated WiX Import Wizard.
Just go in the Start Page-Developers-Import and select WiX Project.
The obvious differences between WiX Toolset and Advanced Installer
Windows Installer XML Toolset builds the Windows Installer package with the information defined in the WiX source file (XML based).
Advanced Installer GUI approach.Advanced Installer reduces the complexity and manages the power of Windows Installer through the dedicated GUI.
Open-source versus commercial.- Reducing costs and development time are two key factors in delivering a successful product.
- Save time and money by using a packaging software that allows you to focus on developing your product, instead of how to build the installer for it.
What should you pay attention to when migrating your WiX installer to Advanced Installer?
WiX Scripting - there is a limitation in importing wix build scripts.
Advanced Installer offers alternative options like templates or bundles to eliminate manual scripting and everything is supported through GUI.
Going Further with Advanced Installer
Once you have your new Advanced Installer project, these articles are a great way to start optimizing your packaging process.
- Build your projects in Visual Studio
- Azure DevOps Integration
- Using WiX DTF C# custom actions in your Advanced Installer project
- Build MSI and MSIX packages from a single project
- Import your WiX project directly into our VS extension
