
Inno Setup: The Comprehensive Free Windows Installer
Inno Setup has been a pioneering force in the realm of Windows installation solutions since its launch in 1997. This free installer consistently outperforms numerous commercial alternatives in terms of features and reliability, making it a preferred choice among developers and users alike.
Key Features of Inno Setup
- Wide Windows Support: Compatible with every version of Windows since 2006, including the latest Windows 11, and supports various architectures like ARM and Itanium.
- 64-Bit Application Support: Facilitates installation for 64-bit applications on appropriate Windows editions, ensuring optimal performance.
- Flexible Installation Types: Offers options for both administrative and non-administrative installations.
- Single EXE Package: Combines all program files into a single executable for seamless online distribution, along with disk spanning capabilities.
- User-Friendly Interface: Employs a standard Windows wizard interface that enhances ease of use.
- Customizable Setup: Allows for multiple setup types such as Full, Minimal, and Custom installations to suit different user needs.
- Complete Uninstallation Support: Ensures users can completely remove software without remnants.
- File Management Capabilities: Integrates various compression technologies, including “deflate, ”bzip2, and 7-Zip LZMA/LZMA2, and features file version comparisons.
- Shortcut Creation: Supports shortcut creation in convenient locations like Start Menu and desktop.
- Registry & INI Entry Creation: Facilitates modifications to system registry and INI files as needed during installation.
- Program Execution: Capability to run other programs at different installation stages.
- Multilingual Installations: Comprehensive support for diverse languages, including right-to-left options.
- Enhanced Security Features: Allows for password protection and encrypted setups, ensuring data integrity.
- Digital Signing: Offers support for digitally signed installations and uninstalls, including dual signing (SHA1 & SHA256).
- Advanced Customization: Features a built-in preprocessor and a Pascal scripting engine for deep customization of the installation process.
- Complete Source Code Available: Access the full source code on GitHub.
- Extensive Documentation: All functionalities are fully documented, ensuring developers have all the tools necessary for effective usage.
- Industry Adoption: Trusted by prominent software like Microsoft Visual Studio Code and Embarcadero Delphi.
Recent Updates in Inno Setup 6.4.3
- Enhanced Editor Experience: The editor now retrains selections post undo and redo actions.
- New Command-Line Tool: Introduction of ISSigTool.exe, enabling signing of files with ECDSA P-256 cryptographic signatures for improved DLL verification.
- Compatibility Notice: ISSigTool.exe does not substitute Microsoft’s signtool.exe and remains unrelated to Authenticode Code Signing.
- Fixed Autocomplete Issues: Resolved broken autocomplete support for parameter names in the [Components] and [Dirs] sections since version 6.1.1.
- Functionality Fixes: Addressed an error in the Pascal Scripting support function Extract7ZipArchive that affected older Windows versions.
- Minor Improvements: Various tweaks and enhancements to the documentation have been made to improve user understanding.
Download: Grab the latest version of Inno Setup, Inno Setup 6.4.3 (6.2 MB, Freeware).
Learn More: Visit the Inno Setup Website for additional resources or access the Full Release Notes.
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