SSE Setup

SSE Setup could care less what programming language you used! It will work with .NET programs and is actually well-geared for most .NET programs. SSE Setup allows you to either include the framework or not, and if you don't, SSE Setup can prompt the user to download and install it from the Internet if they don't have it! (download links are maintained by SSE Setup)

What are its requirements? Will it work on Vista?

It will work on all 32-bit Windows systems from Windows 95 forward and should work on all x64, 64-bit versions of Windows. SSE Setup v4.4 and greater can install 32-bit programs to 32-bit Vista and both 32-bit and 64-bit programs to 64-bit Vista (Vista x64).

Hardware wise, SSE Setup needs at minimum a Pentium 133mhz w/16MB RAM (technology circa 1996), so obviously this is not a concern. Even with all its features, SSE Setup is very efficient, allowing it to still run well on old hardware!

How much extra filesize will SSE Setup add to my program distribution?

SSE Setup's total required overhead for your distribution packages is only about 260k (only 50k for patch installs). No big deal. FACT: SSE Setup creates final install packages that are smaller in filesize then many other installers (incl. some very popular ones) do! I have actually tested several other installers and even those that claim overhead's of less then this, I found to be completely misleading or downright lying.

Everything that SSE Setup needs is built directly into it, including uninstall support, multi-language support, upgrade and patch support, interface elements, other support files, etc.

For Win95/98 installs, it is recommended that the 1 MB VB6 runtime be distributed as well to ENSURE support for these OS's, but this is optional since many (but not all) Win95/98 machines already have it. You will have the ability to choose to include or not include this when creating your packages.

How stable is SSE Setup? What is its track record as far as bugs?

Without making any official representations, I'll just say this: Now in the 5.x series, SSE Setup has been released many many times. I think it is probably fairly safe to say that most or all of any kind of "serious bugs" have been dealt with. To date the bug count has been relatively low for this type of a program. With that said, it is of course always possible that new issues will crop up. That is the nature of ANY computer program.

Can I create an installation that will NOT be able to be uninstalled by the user?

Yes, you can, though this is not recommended. The user will be notified upon starting the Setup program that if they choose to install the program, it cannot be uninstalled.

Can I create an installation that will install silently to the user?

Yes and no. Currently, for user security reasons, I have chosen not to allow first time installs to install silently. However, subsequent installs of your program (upgrades) and patches (hotfixes) may be installed silently. In fact, the whole Internet Updating solution that SSE Setup employs installs upgrades and patches silently (while simply telling the user it is installing (after they've been downloaded).

How do I know which files I need to install with my program?

Depending on the scope of your program you may need to do a little investigative work. You should know the basic files that you'll need to install (such as your program's .EXE file, help file, etc.) but figuring out which .DLL or .OCX files you should include can be a little trickier and there is not one easy answer I can give because it can vary depending on your situation.

Generally speaking the rule of thumb is to install any DLL/OCX files that your program uses if they are not already a core component of the Windows systems you want your program to run on or if the versions of the components on your system are newer versions than the ones that are shipped with the versions of Windows you want your program to run on. (Is that a mouthful or what? :) )

How do you know what Microsoft products a particular version of a .DLL/OCX shipped with? Well, this isn't quite as easy as it used to be. Microsoft used to have a site that showed you this, but it has been revamped so that it only shows you some information (only some of the products a particular file shipped with). But you can try it out anyway by clicking here to go to Microsoft's DLL-search page and enter in the filename of the DLL/OCX to bring up at least a partial list of products each version was included with.

Many times to actually figure out which DLL/OCX files your program uses, it is a good idea to use some form of dependency walker that analyzes your program to determine this. If you are using Visual Studio, it comes with one. Alternatively, you can download a free one from here. Also, a handy little free program that will show you the dll's in use by any currently running program is here.

Why is SSE Setup only free for non-commercial use?

Well, because I have put a lot of hard work into SSE Setup. And while I am a huge supporter of free software, the reality is that there is commercial software out there. And my SSE Setup program can be used to install it. That means that there are people who would use SSE Setup for FREE while charging people to use their own software. This is wrong. If they are going to charge people to use their software, then they also need to pay to be able to use SSE Setup with their software. That is why SSE Setup is only free for non-commercial use.

Even so, though, the prices are extremely reasonable for commercial use and allow the user to use it for distribution with as many programs as they want, forever, and also use any updates to SSE Setup without a further cost. It is still an AWESOME deal for them. One payment for their software and they've recooped their cost. More info is in the license.

Can I set any file attributes on any files that I install such as read-only, hidden, etc.?

Yes. SSE Setup will install the files with the same attributes (if any) that exist on the source files. So, for example: If you want "file1.txt" to be installed with the read-only attribute, then just apply the read-only attribute to your source "file1.txt" file.

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