Features by Edition

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
SetupBuilder provides a task-based IDE. Even those who have never programmed an installation before can develop one in less than ten minutes. Context-sensitive help is embedded at every step.

IDE Visualizer
The intuitive interface, called Visualizer, is a wizard-based series of screens that walk the developer through the installation authoring process.

Ready for Windows 8
SetupBuilder Developer Edition gets you ready for Windows 8. Compiled applications are Windows 8 aware to ensure that software gets installed properly. If an install/uninstall application is not Windows 8 aware, "Program Assistant Compatibility" mitigation may kick in.

Ready for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Vista
SetupBuilder gets you ready for the latest Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Vista operating systems. It provides support for important new Windows UAC security functionality and ensures that users are asked to authenticate themselves only once.

Powerful Scripting Facility
With over 500 predefined setup-related functionsand options, the point-and-click SetupScript language gives you flexibility in any part of the installation, including user dialog sequence, file transfer, error handling, reboot, and even uninstallation.

Enhanced Stub Loader Technology
SetupBuilder supports an enhanced stub loader technology to ensure that the SetupBuilder produced .EXE applications have been built in compliance with Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) requirements and recommendations.

Visual Dialog Editor (VDE)
"Visual Dialog Editor" support for quickly customizing the user interface. You can use the VDE to create new dialogs from scratch for your SetupBuilder application. You can visually design dialogs and add items such as static text, text edit fields, graphics, checkboxes, radio buttons, push buttons, combo boxes, list boxes, and more!.

Windows x64 Support
Build installations for both pure 64-bit applications and hybrid applications that mix 32-bit and 64-bit code.

Firewall with Advanced Security Support
On computers that are running Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, including Windows 8. On Vista and above, SetupBuilder can support the three network location types: domain, public, and private.

Microsoft .NET Support
Add .NET Assembly into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC).

.NET Compile on Install
Pre-compile your assemblies as soon as they are installed, ensuring fast load times the first time they are run.

.NET COM Interop Registration
Automatically have your assemblies registered for COM Interoperability on the target system.

SKU Management Wizard
Maintain a single project for various flavors of an application or application suite by filtering actions based on criteria you specify in the IDE. When building a specific release version of the project, only those features associated with the selected compile variable(s) are included as part of the build.

Release Management
Support for efficient project release management. Create multiple versions of an application from a single project.

Command Line Compiler
Automate your installation build process by building your project from the command line.

International Language Support
SetupBuilder offers unsurpassed support for multilingual installations right out of the box. One installation can automatically handle up to 29 "runtime" languages.

Ultra Compact and Fast Installer Engine
No matter how fast your Net connection is, bandwidth is a precious resource. SetupBuilder has always been the industry-leader in low-overhead, high-performance software installers and we are committed to staying leaps ahead of the competition. Compare our tiny ~160 KB runtime overhead (including uninstall) to the competition and see for yourself.

Internet-based Installations (Web Install)
SetupBuilder's Internet distribution technology, called iDeploy, allows you to very easily deploy and update your applications over the Internet. It offers complete control and flexibility for electronic software distribution and reduces your company's support costs.

Notify Users of Application Updates (Web Update)
Web Update provides an easy and royalty-free way for software application developers to simply add live Internet version updating to any program. You can give your software a more dynamic feel to it by providing real-time download of upgrades to those users who need it most.

Delta Updates (Binary Patching)
Create industry-standard byte-level patch installations to distribute repairs and updates. That makes product improvements, beta testing and bug fixes a whole lot easier.

Multi-version Patch File Updater
SetupBuilder allows you to create multi-version patch files. Multiple patch files update multiple versions of a given file set. You can now apply a patch file that updates versions 1 and/or 2 etc. of a program to version 3. The SetupBuilder Patch technology is multi-generational, which means that any older versions are updated with a single installation

Auto Update Generator
This feature takes an existing product folder tree and compares it to the folder containing your newer files. It can generate the update files for any files that have changed. It can also include any new files that have been added.

setupPROTECT Support
SetupBuilder can help you manage access to your software. With its powerful Serial Number feature, you can quickly create thousands of unique serial numbers. The Subscription Key technology is well suited for software subscription services in which the end-users subscribe, for instance on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, etc. basis. Your installer data is only accessible to those users who supply a valid serial number and subscription key.

setupPROTECT SDK (sPSDK)
sPSDK is a small, fast, and efficient software development kit specially designed for SetupBuilder serial number and subscription key generation from within your own application. It lets you dynamically generate serial numbers and subscription keys on-the-fly. This tool is not part of the standard SetupBuilder installation and has to be requested separately. The sPSDK provides Clarion, Visual Studio C++ 2002, 2005 and 2008 source code example files.

Password Protected Installs
The author of an installation can incorporate one or more passwords for the installation. The user would be required to enter a password for the installation to complete.

Set Access Control
Restrict or grant permission to system resources with a single script command. Set access control lists on a variety of system objects. Add, edit and remove permissions of files, registry keys, and created folders.

Online Registration Support
SetupBuilder allows the user to register your program after the installation has been completed successfully. The installer will do a HTTP POST operation to pass data to the web server. A CGI program on your server can then retrieve the data.

Atomic Clock Time Support
SetupBuilder lets you retrieve the time from a NIST Internet Time Service host. The NIST Internet Time Service uses multiple stratum-1 time servers.

"Include" Scripts Support
Organize your scripts and make them modular. This feature lets the active script include the entire contents of another script file. The SetupScript language is based on the concept that the core language may be extended or expanded by writing include scripts. Programmers have access to the source code and can alter it to fit their unique needs.

Core PreRequisites
SetupBuilder provides point-and-click support for core pre-requisites. The Core PreRequisites feature makes it possible to streamline the installation process and to ensure the pre-requisite components are in place.

Redistributable Manager
The Redistributable Manager lets you obtain the latest available redistributable files from our web server.

ODBC Support
SetupBuilder lets you install ODBC drivers, data sources and translators.

Launch Extension Scripts or Files
Extend your installation's capabilities by using VBScript, EXE, MSI, or functions in DLL files.

API Calling
API Calling gives you the ability to call Windows API or custom DLLs from your installation script without writing C code.

Import Registry Settings
Rather than typing tedious registry settings by hand, you can now import registry files (*.reg) into your installation.

Visual Script Debugger
Troubleshoot your installations by monitoring it as it runs. SetupBuilder includes a real debugger for solving any problems with your scripts.

Flexible Uninstall and Rollback Support
The uninstall feature follows a clean removal logic to return the target computer to its state prior to the application being installed. It can also perform setup rollback if an installation fails.

Customizable Uninstaller
SetupBuilder gives developers total control over the uninstallation process. Fully customizable, the uninstaller can be enhanced with dialogs and functions added by the developer.

Custom Graphics
Using any standard Windows Bitmap, it is easy to incorporate your own custom graphics such as company logos, splash screens, etc.

Silent Installs
Create silent installations that operate without displaying user interface dialogs, prompts, messages or errors.

Scheduled Task Support
Schedule any script, program, or document to run at a time that is most convenient for you. Scheduled Tasks run in the background, and it starts each task that you schedule at the time that you specify when you create the task.

Media Spanning for Large Applications
Media spanning functionality enables you to build an installation that spans more than one CD, or other media.

AuthentiCode™ Technology
SetupBuilder supports AuthentiCode™. This technology provides a secure method of distributing applications. If a distribution has been signed using AuthentiCode™ technology, you can rest assured it is from a trusted source.

Multiple Build Configurations
Use the same project to build different versions of code, such as full and trial builds.

Reusable Project Templates
If you consistently use the same default settings in your installation routines, you can create installation templates that can be used as starting points for your installs.

Portable Projects
Easily move projects from one drive to another or from one machine to another.

Dynamic Include and Exclude File Linking
Dynamically include or exclude any number of files at build time using power filter masks. Saves time because you don't need to add or remove files individually.

Static File Dependency Scanners
The static scanner searches all of the files that are part of your application.

Dynamic File Dependency Scanners
The dynamic scanner watches a running application and identifies all the files that are called.

Conditional Features
Conditional features allow you to break a complex installation into multiple parts. You can use conditional features to build a single package that supports a partial installation of your product. You can create a single installation that provides this flexibility.

Operating System Filtering
Create one installation that supports multiple operating systems by filtering files specific to Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, 2000, NT4, Me, 98 and 95.

System Requirements Checking
Easily enforce system requirements just by clicking a few boxes. Built-in checks include operating system, .NET Framework version, memory, screen resolution, color depth and administrator privileges.

Zip and Unzip Support
SetupBuilder lets you add zip and unzip functionality to your installer quickly and easily. When the situation calls for it, you'll be able to extract files from a .ZIP archive for further processing or create industry-compatible .ZIP archives.

EXE to MSI Support
#exe2msi compiler directive to wrap a native .exe installation up as an MSI.

Standard User Interface
There is no need to worry about the "look and feel" of the software installation unless you want to. SetupBuilder creates the installation interface for you with the "look and feel" of standard Windows program installations. The installation screens are familiar since most applications use the same type of interface for installation.

Works with Windows 95 and Up
While other installer tools are dropping support for older operating systems such as Windows 95 and 98, we believe that your choice of installation builder shouldn't limit your potential market. Setups created with SetupBuilder work just fine on every Windows operating system from Windows 95 to Windows 7 and beyond.

Documentation Available as Printable .pdf File
The documentation for SetupBuilder is available as an industry-standard .pdf file.