Single exe with one msi inside

[ChrisGue]

I used AI 7.1.3 for a long time to build a single exe with one msi inside.
With this the msi could be extracted and used with software distribution systems.

Now I use AI 13.3 (enterprise)
Still building a single exe.
But this exe does not contain a single msi file with all in it. It contains several files.

How to create a exe file with a single msi inside, so the msi can be extracted and used in software distribution systems.

when I select
'Include CAB file into the MSI database'
then
'EXE setup with resources next to it'
is selected automatically.

And when checking 'Single EXE setup (resources inside)'
'Include CAB file into the MSI database' is turned off.


Thanks,
Chris

[Daniel]

Hello Chris,

Indeed, this is a limitation of our recent versions of Advanced Installer. In newer versions of Advanced Installer we considered it is ineffcient to have two layers of archivation (CAB in MSI, and then MSI in EXE). So, we embed on the same level the MSi and CAN in the EXE bootstrapper. This configuration will help you to speed up the build process and the installation process too.

Also, starting with with Advanced Installer 11.3 and later versions, after extracting the MSI from EXE you are not able to install the MSI standalone anymore. This is a restriction we imposed to prevent user interface glitches. Please take a look on our "Why do I receive the "This package can only be run from a bootstrapper" message?". Thank you for your understanding.

All the best,
Daniel