Golmuri

Ever wondered if you could actually create an installer for your application to give it a more profession look and make the installation possible by a single click?

An installer is a small exe file will open up like a wizard and let you select the directory where in you could install the application for which the setup is created. I have used a lot of such tools and here’s how you too can create an installation file absolutely free.

I started with Inno Setup which is a free source , pretty simple to use and supports all Windows versions. It also has the uninstallation feature. It provides full control so you can configure your icons and images which would be displayed on the setup wizard. The only disadvantage is that you need to write small scripts (easy to write for anyone) while configuring the software.

2. Nullsoft Scriptable Install System is also free and is similar to Inno Setup. Nullsoft also supports plugins giving it more functionality and is very famous for free installers. In fact Winamp setup is created using NSIS. NSIS has also come up with a plugin for eclipse for creating, compiling,and editing the NSIS scripts in Eclipse.

3. IzPack is an installer especially made for applications to be deployed across multiple platforms . So if you are creating an installer for your Java application , this one is a really good one to opt for.The only catch is that requires Java virtual machine to run and works very well on Windows XP,Vista, Mac, Linux,Solaris etc.

4. Install Maker is another free tool . But the only drawback is that it will pop up an ad once installation is complete.

5. Advanced Installer is another installer which lets you create a MSI with absolutely no scripts. You can divide your installation in components.It also provides and updater module which checks for auto updates to new releases. Also supports cross platform installation.

Let me know if you have used any other free source and found it really easy to use.. I would be happy to add it to this list.