Inno Script Studio. Making it simple to build Inno Setup installers! Easily access and build your Inno Setup scripts. Increase your script flexibility with the inbuilt. Create MSI with Inno Setup. It puts the setup.exe inside an MSI file and runs it with the specified command line switches when the MSI package is installed.
Inno Script Studio is a state-of-the-art GUI that allows you to generate and compile scripts for Inno Setup Compiler. The tool lets you easily create Windows installers as the friendly interface can generate Inno Setup Scripts with less manual editing involved. Inno Script Studio works perfectly, regardless if you need a Windows installation for a small free app or a larger more complex piece of software. Inno Script Studio provides help to simplify the creation of Microsoft Windows installations by allowing the generation of Inno Setup scripts by use of the intuitive interface to reduce the need to manually edit the Inno Setup scripts. If you’ve created a freeware application, or even if it’s a large and complex application, Inno Script Studio will help you create the perfect Windows installation that fits both you and your customers’ requirements.
The application’s interface is made of four essential elements: the Multi Tab Script Editor, Section Actions Lists, Compiler & Debugger output logs and Translatable elements. It also has a built- debugging engine, which allows you to insert new data between code lines, set breakpoints and see installer variables.
Furthermore, the tool supports the Unicode as well as the ANSI Inno Setup compiler versions so you can compile your scripts with no need to run multiple version of Inno Setup IDE. Among other useful features, Inno Script Studio offers the possibility to add Pre & Post compile actions to standard Inno Setup scripts, show and edit all syntax elements, use plugins and access the generated time stamped log files, as well as export them to your hard drive as text files.
New project types: NSIS Project and Inno Setup Project Visual & Installer brings two new project types into Visual Studio:. NSIS Project (.nsisproj) allows you to create NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) scripts (.nsi/.nsh files) and build awesome NSIS installers. Inno Setup Project (.innoproj) allows you to develop famous Jordan Russel's Inno Setup scripts (.iss files) and build powerful Inno Setup installers. Each project contains it's own language: NSIS language and Inno Setup language which are equal to other Visual Studio languages (C#/C/JavaScript/.) and offer all functionality. New items for NSIS Project and Inno Setup Project With Visual & Installer you can have all your installer's files together in one solution. You can create and add to your project several different items and compile them into single installer - or into several ones - it is up to your decision.
Currently NSISProject supports NSIS Script files (.nsi), Header files (.nsh), nsL Assempler files (.nsl) and Text files (.txt). The same applies to Inno Setup Project where Inno Setup Script files (.iss) and Text files (.txt) are supported. Adding files as link to NSIS Project and Inno Setup Project Sometimes you have a script file with some useful routines you want to use in your project. But this file is part of another project and you do not want to copy it to new project or to maintain two files. Solution: add file into project as Link - file stays in the old location and project contains only reference to it.
You do not need to edit file twice - is available from all projects. Links are shown (shortcut symbol) in a Solution Explorer. Full integration into Visual Studio IDE With Visual & Installer you can easily create installer for your software directly from your preferred IDE. NSISProject and InnoSetupProject(s) can live together with other solutions projects - C#, Visual Basic, C and many more.
Create, edit, and build your installers directly from Visual Studio without need of an external tools! Also MSBuild properties and parameters are supported in Project properties (see below) - e.g. You can use $(MSBuildProjectFile) etc. Visual Studio 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 support Visual & Installer works in all recent Visual Studio versions (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019) - and this list is still increasing! Create your installer in your preferred IDE - without need to upgrade your current IDE to the latest one! All editions of Visual Studio are supported, except the Express editions. We are working on our product every day and we want to support as many Visual Studio versions as possible - let us know!
Build installers directly with other project types A NSISProject and InnoSetupProject are deeply integrated into Visual Studio. They can be built, compiled, cleaned, deleted from solution, unloaded and reloaded back - treat them exactly as other regular project types! Also their appearance can be customized - set Indenting, Tab size, Line numbers, Word wrap and more for,. You can use 'Start Debugging' (F5) or 'Start Without Debugging' (Ctrl+F5) actions to run the resulting setup after build if it is named OutFile 'Output/.exe' ( NSIS) or OutputDir=Output OutputBaseFilename= ( Inno Setup). Cannot contain spaces! Easy to be integrate into many popular build (automation) systems Both NSIS Project (.nsisproj) and Inno Setup Project (.innoproj) are based on MSBuild so they can be easily integrated into many build (automation) systems.
Every popular build system supporting MSBuild (by default or by external plug-in) is capable of building these installer projects. Use Jenkins, Maven, Apache Ant, Hudson, Gradle, FinalBuilder or your preferred system together with Visual & Installer and build your installer together with your software product. See for supported symbols and variables (platforms, configurations.). Convert Visual Studio Setup projects (.vdproj) into NSIS or Inno Setup Visual Studio setup projects (.vdproj) will not be shipped with future versions - starting with. Many developers who use it for creating.msi or.exe installer packages (also web deployment projects or cab setups) want to upgrade to VS 2012 but they have to look for a replacement. Visual & Installer offers you the possibility to convert your existing Windows Installer Setup Deployment projects (.vdproj) into NSIS or Inno Setup installers. Simple right click any Setup and Deployment Project in Solution Explorer and choose the Convert Setup project into option.
The will try to automatically convert most of your Setup Projects features into NSIS or Inno Setup script in a few seconds. It is possible to convert directly without any external tools - but of course also unloaded projects! The newer versions of Visual Studio and show error ('Unsupported: this version of Visual Studio does not have the following project types installed or does not support them.' ) so such projects are disabled (unavailable - incompatible) in Solution Explorer. Visual & Installer can convert all projects - starting from VS 2002. The original.vdproj file remains untouched, is created in solution with appropriate script files. Project conversion wizard can handle most of the Setup Deployment project's features (if you have really complicated script with custom actions you may need to add certain features manually):.
creating files. creating folders. creating registry keys. registration of Assemblies (.dll)) into ( Inno Setup only). registration of Type Libraries (.tlb) ( Inno Setup only). registration of OCXs, COMs, DLLs and other files ( Inno Setup only). font installation ( Inno Setup only).
creating shortcuts. reading project and product defails (name, GUID, installation path, manufacturer.). and more. This feature also works in Visual Studio 2012 where.vdproj files are not officialy supported!
Note: this feature works only in: (up to Visual Studio 2013) Tip: The 'Convert Setup project into.' Items are not present in right click menu in Visual Studio 2015 and newer. To use this feature from Visual Studio 2015 and newer run standalone application SetupProjectsConverter.exe in the installation directory (see below). SetupProjects Converter utility SetupProjects Converter is standalone application that can convert various installation systems into NSIS (.nsi) or Inno Setup scripts (.iss). It is free and open-source (developed by unSigned). Currently supported formats:. Microsoft Visual Studio Setup and Deploy projects (.vdproj).
InstallShield Limited Edition projects (.isl). Advanced Installer Projects (.aip) You can run this application from Start menu or you can find it in Visual & Installer installation directory. NSIS and Inno Setup Project Properties It is possible to set command line options - Propertie for every project in Solution to modify compilation process, adjust output, define custom symbols, emulate #define and #pragma directives and more.
Using Project Properties (right click the Project in Solution Tree and click Properties) many options can be set - separately for every Project and Configuration in Solution: MSBuild variables are supported (e.g.: $(Configuration)) - you can use them in all fields. Properties with spaces must be enclosed with quotes! (e.g.: 'string with spaces'). See section for solution to most common troubles related to Project Properties.
Tip: If the resulting Setup is stored in Output folder you can use Visual Studios actions 'Start Debugging' (F5) or 'Start Without Debugging' (Ctrl+F5) to run the Setup (without setting the Project Properties 'Run Installer' property). To use these features set resulting Setup name as OutFile 'Output/.exe' (NSIS) or OutputDir=Output OutputBaseFilename= (Inno Setup) Building the project (F6) or Rebuilding it simply compiles the project without running the resulting Setup. For multiple projects in Solution use 'Set as Startup Project' command (Right click the project) to set runnable project. Is name of project (from Solution Explorer), it CANNOT contain spaces! Syntax highlighting (coloring) Syntax highlighting was important feature of Visual Studio for ages.
Now your NSIS (.nsi and.nsh) and Inno Setup (.iss) files can be colored too! Improve readability of your scripts in Visual Studio! All colors can be customized - there are many elements supported: Keywords, Comments, Parameters, Variables, Constants, labels, Preprocessor and many more. Configure them easily in Tools - Options - Environment - Fonts and Colors dialog for,. However NSIS and Inno Setup scripts are case INsensitive you need to write words correctly to have syntax highlighting working! IntelliSense Parameter Info Writing installation scripts (especially large) often requires calling Pascal functions or procedures (or commands in NSIS). With this feature you get extra help: as you type function name and type the left parenthesis ' (' a tooltip is shown at cursor position.
This tooltip contains detailed description - which tells you the usage of the function or procedure, number and types of parameters and many more useful information. The tooltip is updated as you write. After comma ',' the tooltip is updated and current parameter is highlighted in bold. This feature can be adjusted in dialog (Category Text Editor). NSIS Tip: NSIS has special syntax: parameters are separated with spaces which are not accepted and recognized in Visual Studio correctly.
Thus we added special helper characters to have NSIS Parameter Info feature working correctly: Parameter Info is triggered by entering the left square bracket ' ' character. To move to next parameter use comma ',' and to skip optional parameter use at ' @' (folowed by comma if there is another parameter). Don't worry about the helper characters: they disappear (or are replaced by spaces) immediately after you type right square bracket ' '. IntelliSense Member Completion The IntelliSense Member Completion is a tool tip that displays a list of possible members for classes (objects), local variables or global (static) variables. If you type variable followed by a period (.) all possible members of this class are presented in a list from which you can choose. This feature works only for objects because in Inno Setup there are no members available for not object variables (Integer, String.).
You can move cursor to view it's members. InnoSetupProject only. Navigation Bars support Navigation Bars allow you to quickly access the most important parts of the script. They are divided into two parts: - Left one (called Types) is designed for fast switching between important parts of the script and - Right one (called members) contains user defined content - use it to jump to symbol definition (variable, function, symbol). Every item in both drop-down boxes contains icon and text.
Text (font) style can vary - everything is shown immediately as user types the script into editor. You can also use feature on all items in these boxes. Navigation bars are grouped by type of item and sorted alphabetically - allowing you quickly find desired item. Right drop-down box (called Members) contains user defined Variables, Functions/Procedures, Parameters and Symbols. Outlining (Regions) support Outlining regions (aka Code folding) is a feature that allows you to selectively hide and display sections of a script file. This allows you to manage large amounts of text while viewing only those subsections of the text that are specifically relevant at any given time.
Regions are marked by a tag which provides the standard outlining behavior. The region can be expanded or collapsed. The outlined region is marked by a plus sign + if it is collapsed or a minus sign - if it is expanded, and the expanded region is demarcated by a vertical line. Outlining regions can be used anywhere in the script file (.nsi,.nsh,.nsl,.iss).
For NSISProject use #region and #endregion to mark the region. For InnoSetupProject use //region and //endregion to mark the region. Outlining regions have no effect on compilation speed, script size or resulting installer's size.
Note: this feature works only in: (Visual Studio 2010 and newer) Tip: Be careful when creating regions. A region block cannot overlap with a automatic region block. However, a region block can be nested in a automatic region block, and a automatic region block can be nested in a region block. Automatic Outlining (Regions) support Automatic Outlining (Regions) is similar to classic regions but everything is automated - you do not need to write #region.
#endregion (or //region. //endregion) manually but the script file is scanned in background and regions are created automatically. In NSISProject these regions are created for functions, sections, section groups and macros:. Function. FunctionEnd.
Section. SectionEnd. SectionGroup. SectionGroupEnd.!macro.!macroend In InnoSetupProject regions are created for each section and for each procedure and function in Code section:. Setup, Files, Code, Types, Languages, Messages, CustomMessages, Components, Tasks, Dirs, Icons, INI, InstallDelete, LangOptions, Registry, Run, UninstallDelete, UninstallRun. procedure.
function This feature can be adjusted in dialog (Category Text Editor). Note: this feature works only in: (Visual Studio 2010 and newer) Tip: Although script files are not case sensitive automatic regions (and whole NSIS/Inno Setup integration in Visual Studio) is case sensitive! If regions are not created then probably you have mistake in your syntax. Automatic regions (=keywords) should be placed on the beginning of the line followed with a space. Parsing large script files may take a while - to achieve best performance you can turn this feature off.
Inno Setup Form Designer / NSIS Form Designer Visual & Installer is perfect tool for quick & easy creating Inno Setup or NSIS forms (custom installer pages). Because both installation systems NSIS and Inno Setup are script based, the installers forms are created manually by writing the code in editor. And that is really simple with provided features like IntelliSense, and many other!
Also you can use help of to insert most often used pieces of code and whole form is created within few minutes. See the or documentation for more details about creating custom forms. Opening script files (Go To file) This feature is very similar to Go To feature but works only for recognized script files (.nsi/.nsh and.iss). On line which contains directive!include 'somefile.nsh/.nsi' (for NSIS Project) or #include 'somefile.iss' (for Inno Setup Project) you can press Go To Definition (default shortcut is F12) and the file at cursor position will be opened in Visual Studio editor. File is immediately parsed and it's syntax colorized, user defined symbols, variables, functions. Are loaded and file is ready to use. IntelliSense Code Snippets support Visual & Installer includes a code library consisting of several tens pieces of code, called IntelliSense Code snippets, that are ready to be inserted in your script (for both NSISProject and InnoSetupProject).
Each snippet performs some task such as declaring variable, creating function or section, writing condition or loop. You can insert a snippet into your source code with a few mouse clicks. Snippets starts with and consists up to 4 characters for quick inserting. Use them and write your code faster and easier! Creating custom Code Snippets You can create your own snippets that suit your business needs, add them to the library, and then use them when needed. Snippets are simple.xml files with.snippet extension and they follow the same rules as other (C#/Visual Basic/JavaScript/.) Visual Studio snippets.
Read to learn more about snippets basics. Visual & Installer snippets are stored separately for every version of Visual Studio - so you can create different snippets for various VS versions. Snippets are stored globally for ALL users, per-user snippets (located in C: Users%username% Documents Visual Studio%edition% Code Snippets) are not supported!
Dynamic help system Visual & Installer is really high tied with Visual Studion and also with NSIS and Inno Setup. If you used to use dynamic help system in your preferred programming language you can use it also for NSIS language and Inno Setup language. Simply press F1 anytime you need a help and appropriate help (manual file) will be opened. Dymanic help is of course context sensitive! If you are not use about some parameter of you need more info about command then select it and press F1 - again manual is opened and selected item is immediately searched. No more need for googling or looking for manuals is necessary. Save your time!
MessageBox Designer Enables you to create (insert) MessageBox in your NSIS script or Inno Setup script. With this handy feature you do not need to manually write the code but you only select design of your desired MessageBox and appropriate code is pasted on cursor position. Save a lot of time!
Simply in Code Editor and select MessageBox designer. In designer you can Preview the MessageBox so you immediately see how it looks like! Also you can define result - which button was clicked - and appropriate and pasted into editor. Tip: The 'MessageBox Designer' item is not present in right click menu in Visual Studio 2015 and 2017. To use this feature from Visual Studio 2015 and 2017 run standalone application MessageBoxDesigner.exe in the installation directory.
Cross-version compatibility for all Visual Studio versions When you create NSISProject or InnoSetupProject it is stored among other project types (C#/Visual Basic/C/.) in your solution. But Visual & Installer projects are designed with Cross-version compatibility for all versions of Visual Studio! (currently 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015).
That means you can create the project (.nsisproj or.innoproj) in one IDE (e.g. VS 2005) and open it later in another IDE (e.g. VS 2012) without any upgrade or conversion of project! So you do not need to worry about 'What happens when your IDE will become unsupported or outdated'! Version checking and updating It is very important to keep your software up-to-date.
The latest software release contains important fixes and updates which may prevent many troubles during your work with the software. Visual & Installer offers version checking at Visual Studio start (can be turned On or Off in ) and manual checking.
The updater reads latest version info from our servers and offers you to download and install new version (if available). It also checks for latest NSIS and Inno Setup versions so you do not need to visit their websites!
Dark Theme(s) support Many programmers who work with a computer on daily basis can confirm that looking at a monitor or display for a long time is killing their eyes. Especially the light white colors are bad. That is a reason why more and more people prefer dark themes above light ones. Visual & Installer contains support for dark themes in Visual Studio.
If the Dark Theme option is turned on (Default is Off) the Text Editor and appropriate dialogs (.) are drawn with dark colors which is very similar to High contrast option in Windows. Dark theme is detected automatically during installation and you can adjust it in (which sets predefined colors for dialogs, syntax highlighting and other elements).
If you made any changes or you need to adjust colors simply configure them easily in Tools - Options - Environment - Fonts and Colors dialog for,. This feature works in all versions of Visual Studio, however older versions (Visual Studio 2005, 2008, 2010) do not support dark themes natively you need to install 3rd party extensions. We recommend to use. Check this topic on for more details. Visual & Installer Settings Dialog In this dialog (click Visual & Installer - Settings in Visual Studio's main menu) you can adjust most of the Visual & Installer properties. Certain options are common for both projects: NSISProject and InnoSetupProject and some are for specified feature only. If you can see text 'This feature can be adjusted in Settings dialog.'
Then you can adjust specific feature in this dialog. Some settings may require the Project/Solution reload or Visual Studio restart.
Many of the settings have which will navigate you to the description of this feature (online manual). Please notice that not each feature is present in all versions of Visual Studio. So certain options in this dialog may have no effect. See the Visual Studio versions icons (2005, 2008: 2010: 2012, 2013, 2015: 2017: ) or asterisk (.) for details.
Settings dialog is divided into three parts:. 1. Tree with categories (in the left) - Visual & Installer options are divided into several categories. Each category covers different features. Panel with options (in the right) - After you click category node in the Tree the right area is updated and appropriate options are shown. Control buttons (at the bottom) - Use the OK button to save your changes. Clicking the Cancel button discards all changes and closes the Settings dialog.