Intro

Excelsior Installer is a simple solution for deployment of applications to end-user computers.

The toolkit includes

• Packager, a graphical tool that helps you create installation packages ready for distribution
• A set of utilities which automate the building of installation packages
• Installer, a graphical tool that allows the user to control the installation process

The deployment procedure is as simple as possible. You specify the application(s) and other files to be deployed, edit few settings, and the Packager generates a self-extracting installation executable.

In the interactive mode, the installer guides the users through the installation process allowing them to specify installation settings as usual. You can customize the installer to show an installation splash screen, end-user license agreement and to display installation interface in the English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Japanese languages, depending on your choice or the system locale settings.

• Packager
• System requirements

Packager

The Packager graphical tool is responsible for all stages of creating new installations. Its wizard-like interface guides you through the process of preparing the installation package step by step.

When creating a new package, you define the set of files (executables, resources, documentation, samples, etc.) which your application needs to work. As a result, your end users get self-installing archives that always create clickable executables on target machines.

You can also create updates to previous installations. This feature allows you to update or patch your products that have been previously installed on target machines. Packager assists you in tracking differences between the original and the changed packages so that the update will include only added and modified files. Finally, you get a self-extracting Excelsior Installer archive.

Here is the list of features available in Excelsior Installer:

• Excelsior Installer archives ready for deployment (new installation packages and updates);
• GUI installation wizard (installation from the command line is also possible);
• changeable view of the GUI installation wizard:
  • product name and version;
  • prompt for acceptance of your End User License Agreement;
  • installation splash screen;
  • installer language (English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian and Japanese are currently available);
  • installer logo and welcome message text
• installation settings under vendor’s control:
  • set of shortcuts in the Start Menu, Program Folder or Desktop;
  • registry key;
  • default installation directories;
• installation settings under end user’s control:
  • personal or common installation profile;
  • installation directories;
  • creating shortcuts;
• cumulative uninstallation (uninstalling the initial package along with the updates possibly installed later);
• customization:
  • after-installation runnable supplied by vendors (adding extra logic to installation process through running executable or batch file with an established command line interface).

System requirements

The system requirements for Excelsior Installer itself are as follows:

The system requirements for installation packages produced by Excelsior Installer are as follows: