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Comparing MSI Factory to InstallShield and Wise

Use the chart below to compare MSI Factory’s features to a variety of competitive installer products. Note that there is also a feature comparison chart to help you choose between MSI Factory and Setup Factory.

MSI Factory InstallShield Professional InstallShield Express Wise Installation Studio Wise Installation Express
Design Environment
Modern Design Environment

Yes

 Yes Yes No No
File-Centric List View Yes No No No No
Project Wizard Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Multiple file properties Yes No No Yes Yes
Customizable toolbars Yes Yes Yes No No
Unattended building Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

WiX Features
Generate WiX Project Files Yes No No No No
Support for WiX Fragments Yes No No No No
Support for WiX Extensions Yes No No No No
WiX Based XML Actions Yes No No No No

MSI Factory InstallShield Professional InstallShield Express Wise Installation Studio Wise Installation Express
MSI Features
Product Information Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Package Information Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Add/Remove Programs Options Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Include Binary Resources Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Configure Features Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Edit Components Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Include Merge Modules Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Set File Properties Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Modify Registry Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Modify INI Files Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Create Shortcuts Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Set Environment Variables Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Make File Associations Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Configure Services Yes Yes No Yes Yes
ODBC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Launch Conditions Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
System Searching Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Installation Types Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Define Media Types Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Upgrade Codes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Actions (DLL, EXE, VBScript, JScript) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Set File Permissions Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Set Registry Permissions Yes Yes No Yes Yes
64-Bit Support Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Restart Manager (MSI 4.0) Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Enable UAC (MSI 4.0) Yes Yes No Yes Yes

MSI Factory InstallShield Professional InstallShield Express Wise Installation Studio Wise Installation Express
Extended Runtime Capabilities
Show Message Box (CA) Yes Unknown No Yes Yes
Download File from Internet (CA) Yes Unknown No Yes Yes
Post Data to Web Yes Unknown No Yes Yes
Launch Web Page Yes Unknown No Yes Yes
IIS Support Yes Yes Yes Yes No
COM+ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Driver Install Framework (DIFx) Yes Yes No No No
Update XML Files Yes Yes No No No
Modify Users and Groups Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Build Capabilities
Digital Signature Signing Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Build Configurations Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Build Multi-CD/DVD Installs Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Bootstrapper
Scriptable bootstrap EXE Wrapper Yes No No No No
Create Self-Contained Exe Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
OS Prerequisite Checking Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
.NET Framework Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Add Your Own Runtimes Yes Unknown No Yes Yes
LZMA Compression Yes No No No No
Encryption Yes Unknown No No No
Single Password Protection Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Download files from the internet Yes No No No No
Detect and close processes Yes No No No No
Run multiple MSI installs Yes No No No No
Detect previous installation state Yes No No No No
Selectively extract from archive Yes No No No No
Run your own programs Yes No No No No
Interact with Web scripts Yes No No No No
File copy, delete, move Yes No No No No
Control and query services Yes No No No No
Read and write XML files Yes No No No No
Interact with the Registry Yes No No No No
Search the system for files Yes No No No No

MSI Factory InstallShield Professional InstallShield Express Wise Installation Studio Wise Installation Express
User Interface
Customize User Interface Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Visual Dialog Editor Advanced Yes No Yes Yes
Insert Custom Screens Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Skinnable (Themes) Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Windows Vista Issues
Windows Vista Compatible Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Target Windows Vista Systems Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Minimize reboots using Restart Manager Yes Yes No Yes Yes
User Account Control Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Digital Signatures Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Localization
Multilingual runtime support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

LUA Scripting
LUA Script Support Yes No No No No
300+ Actions Included Yes No No No No

Product Support
Help Documentation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Forums Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Email Support Yes $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$
Maintenance INCLUDED $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$

Product Information
Version Version 2.2 Version 12 Version 12 Version 7 Version 7
Price $395 $1,799 $499 $1,199 $449

* This information was gathered from publicly available sources as of the date of the noted version release. MSI Factory is a registered trademark of Indigo Rose Software Design. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.