Get rid of the bloat - Fast, small, easy to use software installation
Get rid of the bloat - Fast, small, easy to use software installation
Don't let the bargain price fool you, this is a full-on installer product. It can generate a professional setup program from many sources, including a VB6 .vbp file. There are handles that allow you to create very complex setups over a variety of Windows versions and spoken languages, but you can also have a working installer in a few minutes. I had my (non-working) 32 bit project installed in Windows 7 64 bit an hour after getting Tarma Installer. There is ample, clear documentation and a pre-flight mode that does a good job of analyzing your choices and finding potential omissions or errors. -- Anonymous customer review on the Softpedia download site
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Price | US$49 (per developer) Buy online  |
US$69 (per developer) Buy online |
US$89 (per developer) Buy online |
| Audience | Casual developers | Professional developers | Professional developers |
| Approach | Ready-made installer | Full-featured and fully authorable | Full-featured and fully authorable |
| Trial period | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Royalty-free | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Technical support | Free | Free | Free |
| Windows Logo compliance | Partly | Partly | Fully |
| Installer types | Tarma native v2 installers | Tarma native v3 installers MSI installers |
Tarma native v5 installers |
| MSI support | n/a | Yes | Only merge module import |
| .Net support | n/a | Yes (ExpertInstall 3.1 and later) | Yes |
| 64-bit Windows support | n/a | Yes, with some limitations | Yes, fully supported |
| Windows Mobile support | n/a | n/a | Yes (Installer 5.2 and later) |
Efficiency. (a) Build time, even with added diags, puts InstallShield to shame. (b) I don't have to spend 20+ minutes digging through layers of UI just to find a single data field I'm looking for. (c) Final product is an EXE that doesn't have MSI dependencies, so no concerns about missing external libraries. (d) Installer engine doesn't bloat my distribution package .. InstallShield has about 4MB overhead if you're playing it safe and including MSI runtime bits. -- Mike Welch, Sr. Systems Engineer, HP iPAQ Support Engineering
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation platforms | Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, and later | Tarma: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000,
XP, 2003, Vista, and later including x64 editions MSI: Windows 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, including x64 editions |
Desktop: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000,
XP, Vista, 7, and later, including x64 editions. Server: Windows NT4 Server editions, Server 2000, 2003, 2008, and later, including x64 editions and Windows Server 2008 Core installations (both GUI and non-interactive modes are supported on Core versions). Mobile: PocketPC and SmartPhone 2003 and later, including Windows Mobile 5 and 6. |
| Development platforms | Windows 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, and later | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, and later | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, 7, and later, including x64 editions and Server editions. |
| Windows SxS support | n/a | n/a | Yes (Installer 5.1 and later) |
| Windows Vista Restart Manager support | n/a | n/a | 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 | Same, with many new options and additional support for .Net assemblies | Same, with many new 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 | ...allow you to specify the exact Windows versions for each component | Same, with additional processor options (x86, x64, ia64) |
| Multilingual support | ...in 27 languages, including localized Readme and License texts and language-dependent file installation | ...in any language supported by Windows, for any text and screen in the installer. Translations into 12 languages included. | ...in any language supported by Windows, for any text and screen in the installer. Translations into 16 languages included. |
| Single-file distributions | ...with Authenticode® signatures for secure Internet downloads, CD-ROM distribution, or any other channel | Same | Same, plus additional loader + archive, loader + download, and plain file distributions. |
| Password-protected | ...installation packages for greater security | Same | Same |
| Digital signatures | Yes, Authenticode® digital signatures | Yes, Authenticode® digital signatures | Yes, Authenticode® digital signatures |
| Context-sensitive help | Yes (WinHelp) | Yes (HTML Help) | Yes (HTML Help) |
| Project file format | Based on Windows .ini files; uses current ANSI code page. | XML format; full Unicode support (UTF-8 or UTF-16 encoded) | XML format; full Unicode support (UTF-8 or UTF-16 encoded) |
As I said, this package is wonderful. I downloaded several install constructors and tested them and this was the only one with an interface and flow that I actually liked to work with. -- Joe B.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | Ready-made installer | Full-featured and fully authorable | Full-featured and fully authorable |
| User interface style | Explorer-style with direct-access project pages | Same, with many enhancements | Same, with many enhancements |
| Editing style | In-place editing of all installation items | Same, with many enhancements | Same, with many enhancements |
| Dialog editor | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Localization editor | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Action sequence editor | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Smart defaults | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Preflight checks | More than 200 | More than 450 | More than 500 |
| File and project import | Tarma Setup 1.x Visual Basic 5/6 projects REGEDIT4 files |
Tarma Installer 2.x MSI databases MSI merge modules Visual Basic 5/6 projects REGEDIT4 and RegEdit 5.00 files |
Tarma Installer 2.x Tarma ExpertInstall 3.x MSI merge modules Visual Basic 5/6 projects REGEDIT4 and RegEdit 5.00 files Windows Mobile .cab archives |
| Dynamic file inclusion | n/a | Yes, per-folder watch lists allow you to specify wildcard patterns of files for automatic inclusion in the project. | Yes, with enhanced recursive per-folder watch lists. |
| Multiple build configurations | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Build-time variables | n/a | Yes, you can define configuration-specific variables for use in build-time conditions and as regular variables. | Same |
| Build-time conditions | n/a | Yes, components and features can be selectively included or excluded from a build based on build-time conditions | Same |
| One-keystroke project builds | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Preflight checks only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GUI build mode | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Batch build mode | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom build actions | Pre-and post-build | Pre-all, pre-check, pre-build, post-build, post-all | Same |
| Build log | Yes | Yes, plus separate build manifest | Same |
Easy to customize everything. User interface intuitive enough that I quickly guessed my way through most of what I needed, only had to dig into the help for a small part. I especially like the flexibility and simplicity of the UI customization. -- Pieter Branderhorst, Amthor Technologies Inc.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Predefined screens | 8 | 11 (Tarma) + 28 (MSI), all editable | 13, all editable |
| Custom screens | n/a | Yes, unlimited | Yes, unlimited |
| Built-in dialog editor | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Predefined actions | 12 | 40 (Tarma) + 75 (MSI) | More than 40 |
| Custom action types | 1 | 14 (Tarma) + 9 (MSI, with many subtypes) | More than 15 |
| Custom action sequences | n/a | Yes, unlimited | Yes, unlimited |
| Localizable elements | Readme and License text | All installation items and resources | All installation items and resources |
| Languages included | 27 | 12 | 16 |
| Built-in localization editor | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Per-language installers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multilingual installers | Yes | Yes (Tarma) | Yes |
It is very flexible .. I need to create very unusual installers for different purposes, and Tarma seems to handle it all. The Actions are especially useful, as are the named variables that can be defined by registry/INI entries. Overall a great product! -- Scott Prentice, President, Leximation, Inc.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Predefined | 80+ | 290+ | 250+ |
| Custom variables | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Platform dependent | Yes (9x and NT) | Yes (Tarma only; 9x and NT) | Yes (9x, NT, x64/IA64) |
| Recursive | Yes (max 15 deep) | Yes (max 32 deep; Tarma only) | Yes (max 32 deep) |
| Localizable | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Runtime access | Registry values, INI files, environment variables | Registry values, INI files, environment variables
(Tarma) Environment variables (MSI) |
Registry values, INI files, environment variables |
| Runtime functions | n/a | 15 (Tarma only) | 26 |
Anyway, we haven't spoken before, but I just wanted to drop you a note and say that I love your installer product! Small and to-the-point! With code bloat at amazing levels these days, it's cool to see that people know how to make things tiny and powerful still. -- Brian M.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | Ready-made installer | Full-featured and fully authorable | Full-featured and fully authorable |
| User interface style | Setup wizard (predefined) | Setup wizard (fully authorable) | Setup wizard (fully authorable) |
| Interactive install | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quiet install | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hidden install | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fully isolated Current User | Yes | ||
| Customization | Customizable graphics | Everything can be customized | Everything can be customized |
| Setup stubs | 32-bit ANSI | Tarma: 32-bit ANSI, 32-bit Unicode MSI: System-provided |
32-bit ANSI, 32-bit Unicode, x64 Unicode |
| Compression method | Deflate | Deflate or LZMA (Tarma), Cab/LZX (MSI) | Deflate or LZMA |
| System requirements | Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, 2003 | Tarma: Windows 95, 98,
Me, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, and later including x64 editions MSI: Windows 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, including x64 editions |
Desktop: Windows 95, 98,
Me, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, and later, including x64 editions. Server: Windows NT4 Server editions, Server 2000, 2003, 2008, 7, and later, including x64 editions and Windows Server 2008 Core installations (both GUI and non-interactive modes are supported on Core versions). Mobile: PocketPC and SmartPhone 2003 and later, including Windows Mobile 5 and 6. |
| Platform-dependent installation | Yes | Yes (Tarma only) | Yes |
| Language-dependent installation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Component-based installation | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Feature-based installation | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| .Net assembly installation | n/a | Yes (3.1 and later) | Yes |
| Installation of Windows side-by-side assemblies (e.g. VS2005 and VS2008 runtime libs) | n/a | n/a | Yes (Installer 5.1 and later) |
| Conditional installation and actions | Limited | Yes, full conditional expression syntax | Yes, full conditional expression syntax with further enhancements |
| Nested installations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reboot management | Manual or automatic | Manual, automatic, or programmatic | Manual, automatic, or programmatic; interacts with Vista Restart Manager where required. |
| Uninstaller options | Register/Do not register | Normal, Hidden, None | Normal, Hidden, Add-on, None. A/RP Change option can be suppressed. |
The completed package was compact, the software was well thought out and easy to use. [...] There should be more software like it -- Roger D.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packaging styles |
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All packaging options can be mixed in each installer; see Installer packaging. |
| Package identification | VERSIONINFO resource reflects product name, version, copyright, etc. (self-extracting installers only) | VERSIONINFO resource reflects product
name, version, copyright, etc. (self-extracting installers); Summary info reflects product name, version, copyright, etc. (standard .msi packages) |
VERSIONINFO resource reflects product name, version, copyright, etc. |
| Custom icon | Yes | Yes (not on standard .msi packages) | Yes |
| Password protection | Yes (self-extracting installers only) | Yes (not on standard .msi packages) | Yes |
| Digital signatures | Yes (Authenticode), self-extracting installers only | Yes (Authenticode) on all package styles | Yes (Authenticode) |
Not a lot of installer packers give you a full control over that many file aspects, not to mention the full customization of the pop-up windows. After carefully going through each set of configuration options, you will be able to create a fast and optimal software installer for any product. Tarma Installer is a must have for experienced software developers who need to deliver their products in a professional and secure way. -- Adrian Arsene, official reviewer for developer products, Softpedia download site
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General installation | Yes | Yes, with many new options | Yes, with many new options |
| Version checks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reference counting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows File Protection (WFP) compliance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic rollback and restore | n/a | Yes | Yes |
| Delayed file copying for in-use files | Yes | Yes, with additional protection | Yes, with additional protection |
| Folder installation options | Create on demand | Create on demand, Create always | Create on demand, Create always |
| Folder removal options | Remove if empty | Remove if empty, Remove with files, Remove with files and subfolders (not all supported by MSI) | Remove if empty, Remove with files, Remove with files and subfolders |
| File installation options | Always, Newer, Already present, Not present | Always, Newer, Not modified, Already present, Not present (not all supported by MSI) | Always, Newer, Not modified, Already present, Not present |
| File removal options | Always | Always, If installed, Restore original, Keep (not all supported by MSI) | Always, If installed, Restore original, Keep |
I tested several low cost, third party install creation programs and ExpertInstall (even QuickInstall for that matter) was the only program with the ability to install and register all my packaged components accurately. -- Neil Axe, Exalien Software
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLL registration | Yes (DllRegisterServer) | Yes (DllRegisterServer and DllInstall) | Yes (DllRegisterServer and DllInstall) for both 32-bit and x64 DLLs |
| EXE registration | Yes (/regserver) | Yes (/regserver) | Yes (/regserver) |
| Typelib registration | Yes, embedded and stand-alone | Yes, embedded and stand-alone | Yes, embedded and stand-alone |
| WinHelp registration | Yes | Yes (Tarma only) | Yes |
| Font registration | Bitmap, TrueType®, OpenType®, TrueType collections | Bitmap, TrueType®, OpenType®, TrueType collections | Bitmap, TrueType®, OpenType®, TrueType collections |
| External registration | REGEDIT4 files | n/a | n/a |
| Post-boot registration after delayed file copying | Yes | Yes | Yes |
There are a lot of features I like, but I'm most pleased with the dependability of the installer. It always works the way I expected in creating installation packages, and I have never had an install problem. Great product -- keep up the good work! -- Clifford A.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program group creation and removal | Yes | Shortcut creation is fully configurable; shortcuts can be created anywhere on the target system. | Shortcut creation is fully configurable; shortcuts can be created anywhere on the target system. |
| Shortcuts in program group | Yes | ||
| Shortcuts on Desktop, Start menu, Programs menu | Yes | ||
| Shortcuts in arbitrary locations | Limited | ||
| Common (all users) or current user shortcuts | Limited | Automatic | Automatic |
Tarma Quick installer was only one installer which resolved my problem and correctly installed all libraries on Vista. I've downloaded about 15 installers from Download.com (free and about $50-100) e.g. Austrum IW, Actual installer, Smart installer, Installer2Go, Nullsoft, Install Us etc.) and spent about 2-3 days trying to install my program on Vista. Finally only Tarma worked for me, special thanks to program information messages and warnings, they helped to fix the problem. So thank you very much for professional product. -- Dmitry Volkov, ESMI Studio
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Paths registration | Yes (main executable only) | Yes, any executable file (Tarma only) | Yes, any executable file |
| Registry keys and values | Yes, any type | Yes, any type; many new options | Yes, any type; many new options |
| INI files | Yes | Yes, with many new options | Yes, with many new options |
| Environment variables | Yes | Yes, with many new options | Yes, with many new options |
| Key installation options | Create on demand | Create on demand, Create always | Create on demand, Create always |
| Key removal options | Remove if empty | Remove if empty, Remove with values, Remove with values and subkeys (not all supported by MSI) | Remove if empty, Remove with values, Remove with values and subkeys |
| Value installation options | Replace, Append, Keep existing | Overwrite, Append, Prepend, If present, If not present (not all supported by MSI) | Overwrite, Append, Prepend, If present, If not present |
| Value removal options | Always, Never | Remove always, Remove if not modified, Remove partial, Restore original, Keep (not all supported by MSI) | Remove always, Remove if not modified, Remove partial, Restore original, Keep |
| File types (incl. extensions and shell verbs) | (via registry editing) | Yes | Yes |
| MIME types | (via registry editing) | Yes | Yes |
| COM classes and servers | (via registry editing) | Yes | Yes |
| DCOM servers | (via registry editing) | Yes | Yes |
| Typelibs | (via registry editing) | Yes | Yes |
| Services and drivers | (via registry editing) | Yes | Yes |
| Installer extensions | Extension DLL Custom actions (executable or ShellExecute) |
Extension DLL Custom actions (14 Tarma, 9 MSI) |
Extension DLL Custom actions (many) |
We appreciate the fact that it works. Sounds strange, but with the number of installers we have tried that did not function as they should, or did only at the odd occasion, it was a relief to find a program that worked as planned. -- Dominique T.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation levels | Administrator or no check | Administrator, All Users, Current User, or no check | Administrator, All Users, Current User, or no check |
| Target system requirements | Yes | Yes | Yes, including CPU architecture |
| Installation of prerequisites | n/a | MSI runtime (MSI only) | .Net and MSI runtime predefined, plus unlimited custom handlers |
| Readme information | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| License Agreement | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customer registration with validation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Previous version uninstall | Yes | Yes (Tarma only), plus arbitrary product uninstalls | Yes, plus arbitrary product uninstalls |
I have used Setup Factory and InstallShield. Installshield is 10 to 50 times more expensive and does not have any advantage over Tarma for 96% of install authoring users. I think Tarma Installer is the best installer product on the market at any price! -- Roger Berk, Creative Technology
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start application | Yes, optional | Yes, optional | Yes, optional |
| Show Readme information | Yes, optional | Yes, optional | Yes, optional |
| Restart system if necessary | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Perform post-boot file registration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The latest installer drop is awesome. The per language readme/license works pretty well and very easy and intuitive to use. I like your new organization of the input screens. An FYI for you, we have had more than 500,000 downloads of our Viewer since December. -- Subu G.
| QuickInstall 2 | ExpertInstall 3 | Installer 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language selection | User or automatic | User or automatic (Tarma only) | User or automatic |
| Localized Readme and License Agreement texts | Yes | Yes (all installer resources are localizable) | Yes (all installer resources are localizable) |
| Language-dependent file installation | Yes | Yes (all components can be language-dependent) | Yes (all components can be language-dependent) |
| Language model | Multilingual or per-language installers | Multilingual or per-language installers (MSI only per-language) | Multilingual or per-language installers |
| Languages included | 27 languages included (Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Serbian, Spanish (Modern), Spanish (Mexico), Swedish, Turkish) | 12 languages included (Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish); you can add your own translations with the built-in localization editors | 16 languages included (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish); you can add your own translations with the built-in localization editors |