SetupDev

Some applications and video games rely on more than just computer resources in order to function and need to be integrated in different regions of your PC. The installation process takes care of appropriate integration, and with the help of specialized applications like SetupDev you can build installers without writing a single line of code.

Note that the application requires to be installed with administrator privileges. Once deployed and running, accommodation doesn’t take a lot of time because of the well-organized interface. The tab structure makes it easy to access editing areas like configuration, files, and registry entries if the case requires it.

The resulting installer is similar to the one used to deploy the application itself. General configuration options require you to specify project name and output path, supported Windows versions, additional web links in up to three different slots, as well as interface options to define inner and outer color.

Files can’t be added by dropping them over the main window, but using the browse dialog only requires you to select the source folder, with all items inside, including subfolders automatically added.

Selecting an item from the list makes it possible to assign some attributes, such as installation path in case you don’t want to leave this option a free choice, shortcut name, location, whether to run after setup, add to firewall, or register DLLs. You can include program description and EULA by importing text files.

Registry entries are only mandatory if your application can’t work without. Adding such entries is easy enough, requiring you to specify key, subkey, value, type, and data. It doesn’t take a lot of time to build the installer itself, but chances are it needs to be launched with administrator privileges.

To sum it up, SetupDev is a practical application you can use to bundle your projects in a simple, intuitive installer. Although it feels a little rough around the edges, it’s fitted with simple requirement fields which don’t involve writing a single line of code.