How to create professional installer using Winrar

Winrar is not just a zipping tool. It has many additional features which can be used to create professional zip files and many others. Yesterday we talked about some unusual features of WinRAR, which is not commonly used. Why not because? Most of the time, we need to compress or decompress.

Let’s consider a case where you want to send your client or a friend some set of files that should automatically install, and all he or she has to is one click. We might not know, but it’s called an installer. Now suppose when you download any software, it has an exe which does all job for you right?. That what we are going to learn now.

Create a Basic installer with WinRAR

• Create an archive file or select a file for which you want to create the installer.
• Right-click on it and go to “Add Files to archives. “
• It will open a window where you need to check the option “Create SFX Archive.”
• Then Goto Advanced tab of the same window and click on the SFX Options button.
• On clicking, it will pop up another window that gives you an extensive set of options to customize your installer.

Customize Basic Installer :

• General: This asks you for the path where the installer will de-compress files to. You can even choose to run a program ( which could be a music file or something else).
• Advanced: This option is essential if you are continuously upgrading your software and clients need an update.
  • You can delete older files before the installer is initialized.
  • You can create shortcuts to desktop or start menu, Start menu/ Programs, or even startup. You can even pass some optional parameters if your software requires it.
• Modes: These modes are specially required if you need to keep the client in mind. Here you can set
  • If it has to use a temporary folder
  • Do a silent installation without asking
  • Overwrite options – Complete, ask, or skip.
• Text and Icon: Now, if you are creating a professional installer, you need to add Title images and text, so people don’t think its a spam. Check the image.
• License: You can even add your own license to give it a final touch of professionalism. This can be useful if you don’t want others to take away your rights.

Easy!!! You have your own installer and without much problems. Suppose you follow the images and instructions properly. You won’t have any problem, or else shoot your questions and suggestion in the comments.