InstallMate 9 features
InstallMate 9 contains many features that you otherwise only find in products 5-10 times its price, plus some features that you will not find anywhere else
- Windows Logo compliance
- InstallMate complies with the latest Microsoft Windows Logo requirements for software installation so your installers operate smoothly in the Windows environment. More information...
- Installation on all Windows 32-bit and 64-bit Desktop and Server systems
- In contrast to most other installers and MSI, InstallMate is compatible with all 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows desktop and server systems from Windows XP* through to Windows 11, including all Server editions (plus Core) and the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE). You therefore only need one installer package, no matter which platforms you target.
*InstallMate 9.4 supports Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000 as well, but is only intended for legacy platforms. - Fully self-contained, compact installers
- All InstallMate installers are fully self-contained and require no additional support files or runtime installation, thus greatly simplifying your product deployment. Compression is excellent and overhead very low, which makes your installation packages smaller than a .zip file.
- Supports full GUI, progress-only, and hidden installation
- All InstallMate installers can be run with a full graphical user interface (the familiar Setup wizard steps), or with only a progress box visible, or even completely hidden. This allows you to deploy your product both in interactive and in automated environments.
- Flexible packaging for easy deployment
- Each installer can be built as a single .exe package, as a small .exe loader with separate installation archives, with automatic download of installation components, or any combination thereof. Disk spanning is also supported. This lets you deploy your product in any manner that suits you and your customers. More information...
- Fully localized
- InstallMate installers come pretranslated in 19 languages, use Unicode through-and-through, and allow localization of all installer aspects for any language, including right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. Your installers are ready for world-wide deployment from the start.
- Total control over all installation actions and dialogs
- InstallMate allows you full access to all aspects of the installer with its build-in dialog editor and action sequence editor. This enables you to customize your installers exactly as you need them, with no scripting required.
- Extensive preflight checks
- More than 500 different preflight checks are performed each time you build an installer package to alert you to potential installation problems before they happen. This helps you build better installers and reduces your support costs. More information...
Full list of features
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Audience | Professional developers |
| Approach | Full-featured and fully authorable |
| Trial period | Unlimited |
| Royalty-free | Yes |
| Technical support | Free |
| Windows Logo compliance | Fully compliant |
| Installer types | InstallMate v9 .exe installers (with optional download) Windows Installer .msi package wrappers |
| MSI support | MSI wrapper output |
| .Net support | Yes |
| 64-bit Windows support | Yes |
Technical features
| Feature | InstallMate 9.0-9.4 | InstallMate 9.5 and later |
|---|---|---|
| Installation platforms (Desktop) | Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and later, including x64 editions | Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, 11, including x64 editions |
| Installation platforms (Server) | Windows NT4 Server, Server 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012, and later, including x64 editions and Windows Server Core installations (both GUI and console modes are supported on Core versions) | Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, and later, including x64 editions and Windows Server Core installations (both GUI and console modes are supported on Core versions) |
| Other Windows platforms | Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) 1.0 - 3.0 supported | |
| Development platforms | Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, 7, 8.x, 2012, 10, and later, including x64 and Server editions. | |
| Windows SxS support | Yes | |
| Windows Vista/7/8 Restart Manager support | Yes | |
| Installs and removes | ...programs, documents, images, multi-media files, TrueType® and OpenType® fonts, ActiveX controls, COM servers, type libraries, WinHelp files, device drivers, services, registry updates, INI files, environment variables, program groups, shortcuts, and third-party tools, with many options and additional support for .Net assemblies, automatic .Net and MSI prerequisite installation, and Windows side-by-side assemblies with automatic fallback on older systems. | |
| Platform-dependent installations | ...allow you to specify the exact Windows versions for each installation item | |
| Multilingual support | ...in any language supported by Windows, for any text and screen in the installer. Translations into 19 languages included. | |
| Single-file distributions | ...with Authenticode® signatures for secure Internet downloads, CD-ROM distribution, or any other channel, plus loader + archive, loader + download, and plain file distributions. | |
| Password-protected | ...installation packages for greater security | |
| Digital signatures | Yes, Authenticode® digital signatures | |
| Context-sensitive help | Yes (HTML Help) | |
| Project file format | QML format; full Unicode support (UTF-8 encoded) | |
Development environment
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Approach | Full-featured and fully authorable |
| User interface style | Explorer-style with direct-access project pages |
| Editing style | In-place editing of all installation items |
| Dialog editor | Yes |
| Localization editor | Yes |
| Action sequence editor | Yes |
| Smart defaults | Yes |
| Preflight checks | More than 500 |
| File and project import | Tarma QuickInstall 2.x Tarma ExpertInstall 3.x Tarma Installer 5.x InstallMate 7 InstallShield Wizard Visual Basic 5/6 projects REGEDIT4 and RegEdit 5.00 files |
| Dynamic file inclusion | Yes, per-folder watch lists allow you to specify wildcard patterns of files for automatic inclusion in the project. |
| Multiple build configurations | Yes |
| Build-time variables | Yes, you can define package-specific variables for use in build-time conditions and as regular variables. |
| Build-time conditions | Yes, components can be selectively included or excluded from a build based on build-time conditions |
| One-keystroke project builds | Yes |
| Preflight checks only | Yes |
| GUI build mode | Yes |
| Batch build mode | Yes |
| Custom build actions | Pre-all, pre-check, pre-build, post-build, post-all |
| Build log | Yes, plus separate build manifest |
Installer development
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Predefined dialog boxes | 13, all editable |
| Custom dialog boxes | Yes, unlimited |
| Built-in dialog box editor | Yes |
| Predefined actions | More than 40 |
| Custom action types | More than 15 |
| Custom action sequences | Yes, unlimited |
| Localizable elements | All installation items and resources |
| Languages included | 19 (see list) |
| Built-in localization editor | Yes |
| Per-language installers | Yes |
| Multilingual installers | Yes |
Project variables
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Predefined | 250+ |
| Custom variables | Unlimited |
| Platform dependent | Yes (9x, NT4, NT5 32/64, NT6 and later 32/64) |
| Recursive | Yes (max 32 deep) |
| Localizable | Yes |
| Runtime access | Registry values, INI files, environment variables |
| Runtime functions | 39 |
Installer features
| Feature | InstallMate 9.0-9.4 | InstallMate 9.5 and later |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Full-featured and fully authorable | |
| User interface style | Setup wizard (fully authorable) | |
| Interactive install | Yes | |
| Quiet/Unattended install | Yes | |
| Hidden install | Yes | |
| Group Policy Software Installation | Yes, with ZAP file or MSI wrapper | |
| Fully isolated Current User | Yes | |
| Customization | Everything can be customized | |
| Setup stubs | 32-bit ANSI, 32-bit Unicode, x64 Unicode | 32-bit Unicode, x64 Unicode |
| Compression method | Deflate or LZMA | |
| System requirements | Desktop: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and later, including x64 editions. Server: Windows NT4 Server editions, Server 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012, and later, including x64 editions and Windows Server Core installations (both GUI and console modes are supported on Core versions). |
Desktop: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, 11, including x64 editions. Server: Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019 and later, including x64 editions and Windows Server Core installations (both GUI and console modes are supported on Core versions). |
| Platform-dependent installation | Yes | |
| Language-dependent installation | Yes | |
| Component-based installation | Yes | |
| Feature-based installation | Yes | |
| .Net assembly installation | Yes | |
| Installation of Windows side-by-side assemblies (e.g. VS2005 and VS2008 runtime libs) | Yes | |
| Conditional installation and actions | Yes, full conditional expression syntax with further enhancements | |
| Nested installations | Yes | |
| Reboot management | Manual, automatic, or programmatic; interacts with Vista/7/8/10 Restart Manager where required. | |
| Uninstaller options | Normal, Hidden, Add-on, None. A/RP Change option can be suppressed. | |
Installation package
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Packaging styles |
All packaging options can be mixed in each installer; see Installer packaging. |
| Package identification | VERSIONINFO resource reflects product name, version, copyright, etc. |
| Custom icon | Yes |
| Password protection | Yes |
| Digital signatures | Yes (Authenticode) |
File and folder installation
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| General installation | Yes, with many options |
| Version checks | Yes |
| Reference counting | Yes |
| Windows File Protection (WFP) compliance | Yes |
| Automatic rollback and restore | Yes |
| Delayed file copying for in-use files | Yes, with additional protection |
| Folder installation options | Create on demand, Create always |
| Folder removal options | Remove if empty, Remove with files, Remove with files and subfolders |
| File installation options | Always, Newer, Not modified, Already present, Not present |
| File removal options | Always, If installed, Restore original, Keep |
File registration
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| DLL registration | Yes (DllRegisterServer and DllInstall) for both 32-bit and x64 DLLs |
| EXE registration | Yes (/regserver) |
| Typelib registration | Yes, embedded and stand-alone |
| WinHelp registration | Yes |
| Font registration | Bitmap, TrueType®, OpenType®, TrueType collections |
| Post-boot registration after delayed file copying | Yes |
Shortcut installation and removal
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Program group creation and removal | Shortcut creation is fully configurable; shortcuts can be created anywhere on the target system. |
| Shortcuts in program group | |
| Shortcuts on Desktop, Start menu, Programs menu | |
| Shortcuts in arbitrary locations | |
| Common (all users) or current user shortcuts | Automatic |
System editing
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| App Paths registration | Yes, any executable file |
| Registry keys and values | Yes, any type; many options |
| INI files | Yes, with many options |
| Environment variables | Yes, with many options |
| Key installation options | Create on demand, Create always |
| Key removal options | Remove if empty, Remove with values, Remove with values and subkeys |
| Value installation options | Overwrite, Append, Prepend, If present, If not present |
| Value removal options | Remove always, Remove if not modified, Remove partial, Restore original, Keep |
| File types (incl. extensions and shell verbs) | Yes |
| MIME types | Yes |
| COM classes and servers | Yes |
| DCOM servers | Yes |
| Typelibs | Yes |
| Services and drivers | Yes |
| Installer extensions | Extension DLL, Custom actions (many) |
Pre-installation features
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Installation levels | Administrator, All Users, Current User, or no check |
| Target system requirements | Yes, including CPU architecture |
| Installation of prerequisites | Most popular runtime prerequisites predefined, plus unlimited custom handlers |
| Readme information | Yes |
| License Agreement | Yes |
| Customer registration with validation | Yes |
| Previous version uninstall | Yes, plus arbitrary product uninstalls |
Post-installation features
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Start application | Yes, optional (with original un-elevated account) |
| Show Readme information | Yes, optional |
| Restart system if necessary | Yes |
| Perform post-boot file registration | Yes |
Multilingual support
| Feature | InstallMate 9 |
|---|---|
| Language selection | User or automatic |
| Localized Readme and License Agreement texts | Yes (all installer resources are localizable) |
| Language-dependent file installation | Yes (all components can be language-dependent) |
| Language model | Multilingual or per-language installers |
| Languages included | 21 languages included (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish); you can add your own translations with the built-in localization editors |
Copyright © 2021 David Adams. All rights reserved. Page last modified on 2021-10-06 10:39
