• A new column has been added to Visual Installer's file list in the File list tab. In this new column you can see if a binary file is code signed (digitally signed) or not. This gives you an easy way to check and make sure that files that must be digitally signed really are.

• Visual Installer can now handle more than one code signing certificate (digital certificate) in the same computer. You can choose which digital certificate to use for your installation package.

• We have added a multirow notes field to the File list tab in Visual Installer. In the notes field you can enter information and notes about your installation project. Via an option in the editor you can choose if the notes field should be visible or not in the tab.

• You can now specify minimum memory requirements for your installation. You can choose if Visual Installer only should warn or if Visual Installer also should stop the installation, if the memory requirements are not fulfilled.

• The Windows compatibility function for installed applications now also support Windows 7 and Windows 8 (besides Windows XP that is supported since before). With the Windows compatibility function, old programs can be run in newer Windows (like Windows 10 and Windows 11) without major problems.

• You can now specify screen position for a not maximized graphical setup window. You can for example place it at the bottom right or bottom left of the screen. The graphical setup window can be used to show pictures and other types of graphic during an installation.

• Support for the latest versions of AutoCAD: AutoCAD 2023 and AutoCAD 2024. In this blog post you can read how AutoCAD from Autodesk is supported by Visual Installer.

• The latest versions of the Microsoft Office applications are supported.

• The max length for source file paths for files in the file list has been extended, so deep folder structures are handled better.

• The version number for a created self-extracting setup package can be updated automatically.

• Information from previous versions of installed programs can be cleaned, during an installation, if it is needed.
     

• Supports the new Windows 11. Installation options, the script language etc. has been updated to support the latest version of Microsoft Windows.

• Supports Visual Studio 2022 (Visual Basic 2022 and Visual C# 2022).

• If you add more than one shortcut during an installation, you can now choose which shortcut (icon) that is your main application and will be more visible in the Start menu. This is most important in Windows 11, where recently added shortcuts are featured in an extra clear way, but also in older Windows this is of importance. Read more.

• All binary files in Visual Installer 2022 (for example the installer) has been code signed with a digital certificate from the security company Sectigo. A key length of 4096 bit is used for the RSA encryption to obtain maximal security. You can read more about this in this blog post.

• Support for the latest versions of AutoCAD: AutoCAD 2021 and AutoCAD 2022. In this blog post you can read how AutoCAD from Autodesk is supported by Visual Installer.

• New conditions in the script language: IF ACCESS_INSTALLED and IF EXCEL_INSTALLED. Instead of checking if Office is installed, you can now check if Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel has been specifically installed. Read more.

• Three new script commands that can be used to open documents and run programs during an installation: SHOW, SHOW_AFTER and RUN_AFTER. In this blog post you can read more about these script commands.

• We have added new script commands for uninstallation of shortcuts. This will give you more flexibility when you configure the uninstallation settings for your programs.

• Some improvements in the editor. For example:
  - Easier to select a program that must be run immediately after the installation.
  - Easier to change source path for a file in the File list (you can now browse after the file).
  - You can customize the editor interface even more than before (for example change the style of the buttons).

• We have added a new variable: %DATE_CREATED. It contains the date when the installation package was created.

• The installer now displays the filename of every file that is registered during the registration process. If you have many files in your file list that need to be registered it may take some time in some computers, but by displaying the filenames one by one, the user can see that the installation still proceeds. Read more.

• You can now specify a minimum size in pixels for your installation window. This assures that the window is not too small in a computer with a low screen resolution.

• There is now an Enterprise version of Visual Installer available, with even more functions. You can for example set default settings to project files and have easier access to documentation, tips and updates directly from the program. Read more.
     

• Support for the latest version of Windows 10.

• Support for the latest versions of .NET Framework: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2 and 4.8.

• Support for the latest versions of AutoCAD: AutoCAD 2019 and AutoCAD 2020.

• Support for Visual Basic 2019.

• Support for Visual C#. Visual Installer can now import Visual C# projects and create installation projects for your software. All version since 2005 (including the latest 2019) are supported.

• You can now add comments to files in Visual Installer's file list. They are saved with your project file.

• Updated Registration dialog box. You can now include additional input fields for region/state and ZIP/postal code in the this dialog box. Corresponding variables has also been added to Visual Installer.

• Updated Run program after installation function. The user can now decide via a check box in the Installation completed dialog box if the program file(s) should be run or not. It works in the same way as the Show document after installation function today.

• You can now add your own picture to the uninstallation program / uninstallation dialog box. You can also choose one of the built-in setup pictures that follow Visual Installer.

• A new script command has been added to Visual Installer's script language: RDELETE. With this script command you can delay a file deletion to reboot (computer restart).
     

• Support for the latest Windows 10: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Windows is constantly evolving and changing, and we regular update Visual Installer to handle these changes.

• Support for the latest .NET Framework: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7 and 4.7.1.

• Support for the latest AutoCAD: AutoCAD 2018.

• A new function has been added to the editor that allows you to add all files in a folder to Visual Installer's file list in an easy way.

• The User Options setup dialog box has been updated to also support radio buttons. So you can now choose if you want to use check boxes or radio buttons in the dialog box. When you use radio buttons, only one option at a time can be selected. Read more.

• The code signing function in Visual Installer has been updated to also support USB tokens (hardware tokens) and EV digital certificates. Read more.

• All binary files that are distributed to end-users are now code signed with an EV digital certificate. This improves the security and reduces the risk for warning messages in Windows.

• Two new script commands for shortcuts: RENAMEICON and RENAMEICON_DESKTOP. These two commands can be used to change name and description text of existing shortcuts.

• EXIT_SCRIPT is a new script command that can be used to stop the execution of script lines, without stopping the installation. Combined with an IF condition, this command allows you to halt the execution of script lines in an easy way.

• The XRUN script command has been extended to handle two more parameters: %OS and %Bitness. These two parameters allows you to specify in which Windows version and Windows bitness the program file that XRUN starts can be run in.
  Read more.

• You can now change font for Visual Installer's editor if you want to use another font than the standard font. Different fonts are optimized for different screen resolutions and Windows versions, and you have now the opportunity to choose a font that is optimized for your system. Read more.
     

• The support for the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system has been improved. Both Windows 10 Anniversary Update and Windows 10 Creators Update are fully supported in the new version of Visual Installer.

• Supports Visual Basic 2017 / Visual Studio 2017.

• Supports AutoCAD 2017.

• Supports Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2.

• Supports Microsoft Edge.

• Improved functions for license keys.

• You can now see in Visual Installer's editor if a file in the file list is code signed or not. The file information window has been updated to also display information about digital certificates. We have also updated the design of the window. Read more.

• You can now include line breaks in texts that are displayed in information windows and message boxes that are opened via Visual Installer's script language. This make long texts easier to read. Read more.

• You can specify your own default folder for your Visual Installer project files (.VIP files). Normally is the Documents\Visual Installer\My Projects folder used as a default folder for project files, but now you can have your own default folder; for example: D:\My VIP Projects. Read more.

• The Add tree function in Visual Installer's editor has been updated so you now also can add a pure folder tree without any files. This is useful if the files in the folder tree are created afterwards, by your software.

• A log function has been added to Visual Installer's script language. You can now get a detailed log of the execution of the script lines during an installation.

• New conditions that check if Microsoft Office is installed and that check which bitness the installed Office has, has been added to Visual Installer´s script language.

• All binary files that are included in Visual Installer 2017 (for example the installer) are code signed using a SHA-2 certificate. It is strongly recommended to use SHA-2 for binary files that are distributed in February 2017 and thereafter. The security will be improved and the risk for annoying warning messages in Windows is reduced.
     

• Supports Microsoft Windows 10. Visual Installer 2015 has been adapted to function with the new Windows 10 operating system. Both the editor and the created setup programs can be used in Microsoft Windows 10. Conditions in the scripting language and OS checks etc. has been updated to also support Windows 10.

• Supports Visual Basic 2015 / Visual Studio 2015.

• Supports Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 365. For example the Office variables now work with the latest Office version. And an Excel Add-In can also be added to Excel 2016.

• Updated support for AutoCAD profiles. Visual Installer handles now also AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD 2016.

• Improved support for Microsoft .NET Framework. Now are also sub versions of .NET Framework supported (for example version 4.5.1, 4.5.2 etc.). And you can let Visual Installer download and install a specific version of .NET Framework, if it is missing in the end-user's computer. Read more.

• You can now install both 32 bit and 64 bit files from the same installation package. Read more.

• It is now possible to include a clickable e-mail address and web address in Visual Installer's setup dialog boxes. So you can now for example include a link to your web site in any of the installation dialog boxes in Visual Installer. Read more.

• Visual Installer now supports automatic creation of setup packages and batch handling. You can now automate creation of setup packages and build an installation without any user interaction. This allow you to call Visual Installer from a build server to build a setup package automatically. Read more.

• Visual Studio's solution files (.sln files) are now supported. This allows you to import more than one Visual Basic project at once to Visual Installer. Read more.

• A new setup dialog box has been added to Visual Installer's setup wizard: User Options. It's a general option dialog box where the user can select and unselect options that you have created and added to the installation project. These options co-operates with condition statements in Visual Installer’s scripting language and Visual Installer’s Registry tab. Read more.

• Five new variables that handles system folders and license keys have been added:
   
  n %SYSDIR32 - Install the file to the 32 bit system folder.
  n %SYSDIR64 - Install the file to the 64 bit system folder.
  n %PROGRAMFILES32 - Install the file to the 32 bit program files folder.
  n %PROGRAMFILES64 - Install the file to the 64 bit program files folder.
  n %ENTEREDLKEYPREFIX - Contains the prefix of a license key that the user has entered.

• Three new commands have been added to Visual Installer's scripting language:
   
  n MWRITEPROTECT - Write protects or removes write protection for a selection of files in a specified folder.
  n DELETEICON_DESKTOP - Removes a shortcut from the desktop.
  n SETENV - Sets an environment variable to a specified value.

• Visual Installer's scripting language now supports ELSE. Read more.

• A new special command has been added to the Registry tab: XPCOMPAT. Sets a program to be run in compatibility mode for Windows XP in Windows Vista/7/8/10. This command is useful if you have a legacy program that you want to run in a newer version of Windows, and you have some compatibility issues.

• The Registry tab and INI files tab in Visual Installer's editor now support Windows environment variables. An environment variable can be expanded in the same way as a Visual Installer variable during the installation process. Read more.

• Improved code signing functions. Visual Installer now supports SHA-2 and dual code signing (SHA-1 + SHA-2). Read more.

• Improved support for installation and uninstallation of Excel Add-Ins.

• Improved handling of license keys.

• Updated support for Twitter. Read more about Visual Installer´s Twitter support on this page.
     

• Support for Microsoft Windows 8.1. Visual Installer 2014 has been adapted to function with the Windows 8.1 operating system.

• Support for .NET Framework 4.5. If you develop applications that require .NET 4.5, you can let Visual Installer check that the computer really has. NET 4.5 installed before you start installing your programs. Script conditions for .NET 4.5 are also included in Visual Installer 2014.

• Support for Visual Basic 2013 / Visual Studio 2013.

• Support for Microsoft Office 2013. For example the Office variables now work with Office 2013.

• Updated support for AutoCAD profiles. Visual Installer handles now also AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD 2014.

• You can now specify in an easy way if an installed program must be run with administrator privileges. 

• You can now change permissions for a hard disk folder during the setup. Two new script commands, SETPERM and XCREATEDIR, can be used to handle this in a flexible way. Read more.

• MSIEXEC is a new script command that can be used to start MSI installations from Visual Installer. Read more.

• We have added two useful script commands that are called during an uninstallation: UNINSTALL_XRUN and UNINSTALL_MSIEXEC. The first script command runs a program during the uninstallation process and the second script command runs an MSI uninstallation during the uninstallation process.

• New conditions have been added to the script language. One condition can be used to test if a system is 32 bit or 64 bit. Another condition can be used to test if a program already has been installed or not. Read more.

• Three new variables that handles shared files and shared settings have been added:
   
  %SHAREDDOCUMENTS - Destination folder for shared documents.
  %PUBLICDIR - Destination folder for shared files (documents, images, videos, sound etc).
  %APPDATADIR_ALLUSERS - Destination folder for shared settings.

• Support for Twitter. You can now send messages (tweets) to Twitter from Visual Installer. Read more.

• You can now add version information to a self-extracting setup package. The version information can been seen in for example Windows Explorer and other places in Windows. Read more in this blog post.

• You can now register a .NET assembly from Visual Installer. Read more.

• Improved Create setup package dialog box. For example, now it is easier to create a setup file on a USB flash drive.

• We have now included a German language file. So you can now add German text to your setup packages in an easy way.

• The user interface of the Visual Installer editor has been updated. We have also added more visual themes for the user interface, so you can choose which user interface style you prefer to work with. Read more.
    
     
   

• More pictures for the setup dialog boxes has been included. You can use them for your installation projects. But just as before, you can also use your own pictures for the setup dialog boxes (in the setup wizard). Read more.
     
                 
     

• Support for Microsoft Windows 8. Visual Installer 2012 has been adapted to function with the Windows 8 operating system.

• Support for Microsoft Office 2010. For example the Office variables now work with Office 2010.

• Support for .NET Framework 4.0.

• Support for Visual Basic / Visual Studio 2010 and 2012.

• Compatible with TeamViewer. SamLogic Visual Installer 2012 is fully compatible with the remote control / desktop sharing system TeamViewer.

• Updated support for AutoCAD profiles. Visual Installer handles now also AutoCAD 2010 and 2011.

• You can now create submenus (subgroups) for shortcuts / icons in an easy way (without using script). In a submenu you can for example place documents and special programs. Read more.

• You can now add support information, and your own icon, to the Add / Remove Program list in Windows Control Panel.

• Improved handling of updates. Special update keys can be specified. When an update with an update key is used, the installation will only continue if there is already a full version of the program installed in the computer.

• Visual Installer can show visually when the user enters correct license key in a setup dialog box. Read more.

• Improved handling of setup windows. Now it is easier to choose if an installation should have a graphical setup window (background window) that covers the whole screen, part of the screen or is not used at all (only setup dialog boxes will be shown during the installation). Read more.

• New variable: %JULIANDAY. Returns today's Julian day number.

• More intelligent Run program after installation functionality. You can now tell Visual Installer to only start a program if it not is running in the system. This new functionality helps you avoid that multiple instances of the same program is running in the memory.

• Two new script commands: UNINSTALL_DELETE_AT_REEBOT and UNINSTALL_REMOVEDIR_AT_REBOOT. Deletes a file and a folder during system restart when a program is uninstalled. This will help to uninstall files that are locked (in use) when an uninstallation process needs to be done.
     

• Support for Microsoft Windows 7. Visual Installer 2010 has been adapted to the Windows 7 operating system.

• Support for 64 bits. The sale of 64-bit computers, and 64-bit Windows, are expected to increase sharply in the coming years. Visual Installer 2010 has been adapted for use in 64-bit Windows (Windows XP / Vista / 7).

• Code signing of setup program. Important installation files are now code-signed and you can also sign your own installations if you have a certificate. By code-signing your installation package your user's will not get any warning boxes when installations are downloaded from the Internet. Code signed setup programs can also be more easy installed in Windows 7 systems that has AppLocker activated. Read more.

• Many stylish ready-to-use images for setup dialog boxes are included now and you can very easy choose one of them to your dialog boxes. You can also choose your own images to the dialog boxes. Read more.

• The script editor (the editor where you type script commands) shows now commands and variables with different colors (so-called syntax color handling). In this way you will get a better overview of the commands and variables you use in script lines. The script editor also supports IntelliSense (using the same principle as in the Visual Studio editor), which means you can get a list of possible commands and variables as you type, and you can quickly and easily choose a command or a variable. Read more.

• The Registry and INI files tabs also handle syntax coloring and IntelliSense as described above. Read more.

• You can now preview the settings you entered in the Registry tab. Your keys and values are displayed in a graphical tree, in the same way as in the Windows Registry editor. Read more.

• Support for. NET Framework 3.5.

• New features for managing license keys. For example auto-formatting of license keys when they are entered (the hyphen is automatically inserted). You can also specify a default key that is displayed as a suggestion in the dialog box for the license key. Very useful when you distribute evaluation versions etc.

• New conditions in the script language that now handles Windows 7. For example IF OS = Win7 which executes the script row(s) only if the operating system is Windows 7.

• New conditions in the script language that supports. NET, for example: IF NET = 2.0 which executes the script row(s) only if .NET Framework 2.0 is installed.

• New script command: UNINSTALL_RENAME_LOGFILE. If you install multiple installations to the same folder on the hardisk this script command is useful if you want to uninstall the installed files via separate uninstall programs. The uninstaller included in Visual Installer uses this log file to determine which files to uninstall.

• New variable: %MYPICTURES. Returns the path to the image folder in Windows. This variable can be used when installing pictures to user's harddisks.

• The end user can now install on a USB flash drive. Usage of USB storage is increasingly common, and besides that you can distribute your application via USB sticks, you can now also let your end users install their files to a USB flash drive. This is an option that can be turned on / off in Visual Installer.

• Easier to find previous projects. The six most recent use projects are displayed in a submenu in the File menu.

• A user's guide in PDF format is included. A navigation tree and hyperlinks in the text makes it's easy to navigate among the pages in the manual. You can preview the user's guide by clicking here.
     

• An installation can, after it has been created, be uploaded automatically to a server on the Internet. If you often upload your installations to Internet sites, this new feature will be helpful for you. Read more.

• An new installation dialog box has been added. This dialog box asks the user if he/she wants to create an additional shortcut (icon) on the desktop, the Start menu or Programs menu root level. Read more.

• You can now copy items from one file list to another in a simple way via the Windows Clipboard. If you for example want to add a file to three file lists you can first add the file to the first file list, after that you select the file and copy it to the another file lists via Windows Clipboard. All the settings that belongs to a file are included.

• Support for Visual Basic 2008.

• Can now detect. NET Framework 3.0.

• The script language can now handle IF conditions. For example, different lines of scripts can be run in different versions of Windows.

• Five new script commands have been added. Their names are:
  XDIREXISTS: checks if a folder exists
  XNOTDIREXISTS: checks if a folder does not exist
  REG_KEYEXISTS: checks if a key in the registry exists
  REG_KEYNOTEXISTS: checks if a key in the registry does not exist
  MSGBOX: show an information box

• New variable: %DESKTOPDIR. Returns the folder path to the user's desktop in Windows.

• Updated support for AutoCAD profiles. Visual Installer handles now also AutoCAD 2007, 2008 and 2009.
      

Adaptions to Windows Vista:

• The management of shortcuts (icons) did not always work in Windows Vista when Visual Installer 2006 or earlier were used. No shortcuts were created. This is because the logic for creating shortcuts changed in Windows Vista. Visual Installer 2007 has been updated so it can create shortcuts in Windows Vista without any problems.

• All important installation files are now distributed manifest files so the files run with the required privileges in Windows Vista.

• Visual Installer 2007 handles the Windows Resource Protection (WRP) system in Windows Vista in a proper way.

• If the VirtualStore management was turned off in Windows Vista, some functions in the Visual Installer 2006 editor (or older) do not worked very well. The reason for this was that Visual Installer does not had write access privileges to certain folders (e.g. the Program Files folder) in Windows Vista. Visual Installer 2007 now uses other folders and will work also if the VirtualStore management is turned off in Windows Vista.

• A Windows Vista option has been added to the Operating system tab in the Setup options dialog box. This option can be used to prevent installations that are specific to Windows Vista to be run on older Windows.

• Some visual changes has been done to the editor to better interact with the new graphical environment of Windows Vista. And the dialog boxes in the setup program uses a design typical to Windows Vista when run in this operating system.

• The help documentation is now compatible with Windows Vista. The HTML format is used for the help.

 
Adaptions to Microsoft Office 2007:

• Installation of add-ins can now be made for Microsoft Excel 2007 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.

• The variables specific to Microsoft Office supports now Microsoft Office 2007. For example the variables that are used when templates are installed.

 
Other news:

• You can now specify a minimum operating system for specific files in the file list. You can for example specify that some files will only be installed in Windows Vista, but not in Windows XP or older.

• The script language has been extended with a new command: CMD. This command gives access to all commands in the Windows command prompt directly from Visual Installer.

• Visual Installer 2007 has been adapted to function properly when Internet Explorer 7.0 is installed in a computer. In a computer with Internet Explorer 7.0 installed the text handling works in different way which affected text that was placed on the setup screen. Visual Installer 2007 has been updated to handle this so the text is displayed as expected.