InstallShield 2009 released

Here's another TechEd announcement:

InstallShield 2009 is available

InstallShield 2009 - which is internally version 15.0 - is the first InstallShield release under the new company name Acresso. New features in this version include:

Managed Code Custom Actions - now you can write your custom actions in .NET languages like C#
Multiple Instance Installs - let users install multiple copies of your product side by side
Installation Chaining - use the new multi-package transaction support in MSI 4.5
Setup Prerequisites based on feature selection
Visual Studio 2008 support
New and improved MSI tools
MSI 4.5 Support (based on the beta version of MSI 4.5)
Hebrew and Arabic language support (in Premier Edition only)
Value Added Service - you can (optionally) install the Yahoo! Toolbar with your setup, which might be useful if your product is ad-funded.

A remark about the "Value Added Services": Please consider carefully if you really want to install things like the Yahoo! Toolbar with your software. Your customers may not appreciate it. Personally, I get annoyed if a program tries to install unrelated software or browser add-ons. On the other hand, you'd be in the company of Adobe (Adobe Reader wants to install Google Toolbar) and Apple (QuickTime wants to install iTunes, and iTunes wants to install Safari during update). InstallShield expert Christopher Painter seems to have similar objections.

Fortunately, you don't have to use the Value Added Services (they are opt-in), and there are plenty other new features that make InstallShield 2009 a very interesting release.

InstallShield 2009 Premier and Professional are available today in English, German and Japanese. The Express edition is on a different release schedule and stays at version 2008.

More information at Acresso.com
Buy InstallShield from the InstallSite Shop

Stefan Krueger