What do you do when you've created some new Windows software—anything from a simple diagnostic tool to a complex PC video game—and you want to share it with the world? Well, you could compress the files into a single ZIP file and distribute that.
Or, you can be fancy and create an installer EXE instead.
We'll be covering three different ways to make an EXE in this post: a self-extracting package, a simple installer using the built-in IExpress, and an advanced installer using the customizable Inno Setup.
You probably already use 7-Zip to extract all kinds of archive files and know that 7-Zip can create archive files, but did you know that you can also use it to create an EXE file that acts as an installer?
It's called an SFX archive (self-extracting) and works by compressing all of your end files together, then embedding a special EXE file inside the archive that knows how to extract everything.
In other words, the recipient can extract the SFX archive (which appears as an EXE file itself), even if they don't have the right software, which can happen with formats like 7Z, RAR, TAR, and ZIP.
Here's how to create an SFX archive with 7-Zip:
- Prepare all of your files and directories within a single main directory and name the directory whatever you wish.
- Right-click on the directory and select 7-Zip > Add to archive...
- Under Options, enable Create SFX Archive and select the following settings...> Archive Format: 7z> Compression Level: Normal> Compression Method: LZMA2> Dictionary Size: 16 MB> Word Size: 32> Solid Block Size: 2 GB
- Finally, click on OK.
Note that SFX archives aren't true installer files. They don't place the extracted files into a designated target directory. They don't modify Windows Registry. Furthermore, they don't create install logs, and they don't show up as installed software in the Uninstall app. They are literally archive files dressed up as EXE files.
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