InstallAnywhere Now! Project Wizard Overview

InstallAnywhere Now's Project Wizard lets you build simple installers in just 6 steps!  When you run InstallAnywhere, after seeing the splash screen, you should see the first step of the Project Wizard:

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Note the following regions of the wizard screen:

Project Wizard Steps

The Project Wizard is a series of six steps that take you through the process of building a basic installer.

Step 1:  New Project

The New Project step is where the installer building process begins.  Click to specify whether you want to create a new project or open an existing project.  If creating a new project, specify the name by clicking on the "Save As..." button.  If opening an existing project, choose from the names of recent projects on the left-hand side of the screen, or click on "Choose..." and select an existing project already saved on your computer.

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When finished, click on "Next" to proceed to the next step.

Step 2:  Set Info

The Set Info step lets you define basic information about the installer:  the Product Name (displayed on the installer), the name of the installer that will be produced, the name of the folder to install to, and the application name.

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When finished, click on "Next" to proceed to the next step.

Step 3:  Add Files

The Add Files step lets you add all the necessary files and folders that your project requires into the installer.  (Note that InstallAnywhere can install any kind of file:  Java class files, HTML files, shell scripts or batch files, even native shared libraries and executables.)  Do this by clicking the "Add Files/Folders..." button, then adding the necessary files.  Once the files have been added, you can browse through the File/Folder Hierarchy tree to make sure you have included everything you need.

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When finished, click on "Next" to proceed to the next step.

Step 4:  Choose Main

The Choose Main step lets you choose the starting class for your Java application.  (Note:  If you are not installing a Java application, you can skip ahead by clicking "Next >" without specifying a main class.)  You have two options:  typing the fully-qualified package name for your main class into the field on the right, or clicking "Automatically Find Main Classes" at the bottom of the screen, then selecting a main class from the list.  You may also specify a custom icon for your LaunchAnywhere executable by clicking on the "Change..." button and specifying a 32x32 GIF for your application icon.   (This icon will be used on both Windows and Mac OS systems.)

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When finished, click on "Next" to proceed to the next step.

Step 5:  Set Classpath

The "Set Classpath" step will be a timesaver for anyone that has tried to run a Java application but had trouble getting their CLASSPATH configured properly.  Click on the "Automatically Determine Classpath" button and InstallAnywhere will calculate which files need to be added to your application's classpath.  If you want more control, you can specify your CLASSPATH manually by clicking on folders or archives in the tree and clicking on the "In Classpath" checkbox. For more information on how InstallAnywhere sets the CLASSPATH, click here.

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When finished, click on "Next" to proceed to the next step.

Step 6:  Build Installer

You're almost finished!  Select which platforms you would like to build installers for and click the "Build" button.  The installer folder will be placed in the same location as your project file.  For information on the differences between platform-specific installs and "Other Platform" installs, click here.

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When finished, click on "Build" to build your installer.

Try Installer

Now that you've built an installer, you can optionally test it by clicking on the "Try It" button in the lower right-hand corner.  (Note:  this feature will only work if you are running on Windows 95/NT or Solaris for SPARC and you specified that you wanted to build an installer for the platform you are currently running on on the previous "Build Installer" screen.)

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When finished, click on "Exit" to quit InstallAnywhere Now!.

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