How do I start using Wise and what Suite do I d/l?

[smlull]

I'm a network engineer by trade (started with DOS) and have never really done any "programming". I can write a pretty mean batch file, but it's just simple stuff.

Anyway, Windows is obviously here to stay... so I've been reading about using an installer to assist me in application distribution. Is this the product I need? It needs to be relatively "fool proof".

And what can this Wise Installer do for me? Real world, not sales stuff.

Thanks,
Exchngnewguy

 

[Tech4U]

There a quite a few things that you can do with Wise Installer.

1.) Repackage - This basically scans your machine, runs the application install that you specify, and then scans the systems again creating what Microsoft would call a sysdiff file (EXE or MSI). So it looks at the changes made after the product is installed.

2.) Application Watch - This watches the application as it installs and notates the changes that it makes and places that into a file (EXE or MSI).

3.) Import scripts - This will also take scripts that you have created through SMS Installer and Visual Basic. It will then take those scripts and make it into a file (EXE or MSI)

4.) MSI Shell - It will also allow you to start from scratch and create a MSI "shell." This is basically a blank MSI that will "call" a custom action to run an executable of your choosing. This way you can publish via Active Directory while still only running that EXE. (this is somewhat complicated and requires the use of certain properties to work correctly ARPSYSTEMCOMPONENT and ARPNOREMOVE)

This isn't a fool proof tool by any means and really I don't think that you are going to find one of those around. It will take trial and error to get through this application. Once that period is over it isn't very hard to run through this application with ease. Plus there are these great forums to help out!

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[mmv]

You want to look at say Wise Package Studio. Theres a 4,5 eval to download from wise.com. Read the Getting started pdf.
Windows Installer rocks, You can do a lot on a system with it.

Martin