InstallBuilder 7 is Now Available!

Published on Dec 17 2010

We’re very excited to announce the release of InstallBuilder 7, which provides new features for Java-based applications, expanded documentation, an enhanced GUI and better compression ratios, among other improvements. To check out all of this new functionality, download InstallBuilder 7 from our website.

The new functionality for packaging Java applications includes the ability to bundle a JRE and create launcher binaries for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris platforms. All you need to do is provide the application name, select the JARs to be included in the installer and specify the JAR to use to run the application. More details are available in our expanded User Guide.

We have also greatly improved the compression mechanisms in InstallBuilder. It now provides much better compression ratios for both ZIP and LZMA without slowing down the installers. It also automatically detects duplicated files or parts of files and does not store duplicated data. We used this on our BitNami Stack installers for popular open source applications and their sizes were reduced by 30%!

InstallBuilder 7 also introduces multiple improvements in the GUI build environment. We have introduced a variable selector feature that allows you to browse all of the available variables and insert a variable into any field in the GUI. This can speed installer development for both novices and experienced users of InstallBuilder by making it easier to find the right variable for any task you’re trying to accomplish. It is also aware of project and component-specific parameters!

Variable Search and Selection

Another GUI improvement in InstallBuilder 7 is the addition of an XML editor. This makes it easier for advanced users use both the GUI and edit the XML and switch back and forth between the two. The editor features syntax highlighing and applies changes instantly to the edited project. It also offers instant validation which detects incorrect XML and field names. The variable selector can be also from the XML view to insert variable references.

XML Editor

In addition, InstallBuilder 7 allows you to create custom actions that use other rules and actions - either built-in or custom. This allows grouping repeated operations and invoking them just like any other built-in actions! More information about custom actions can be found in our expanded User Guide.

Please visit http://installbuilder.bitrock.com to download or to view our changelog.