InstallShield AdminStudio 2.0 WinPlanet Tests Author D. E. Levine
Author is a full-featured authoring tool. During my test I needed it primarily for converting Repackager output into Windows Installation packagers.
Repackaer created an .inc file during repackaging and Author read and converted that file to an Author project (.ism). Once the repackaged data was stored in an .ism I was able to modify it according to my needs. After modifying it I was able to build the .ism intoa Windows Installer package (.msi).
Once again, Author was very simple to utilize because of the Wizard panels and dialog which led me through the various steps.
At the end of the process, once again, a Summary is provided which details the action taken to convert the repackager file (.inc) to the Author file (.ism). Once converted to an .ism project, I was able to customize the file the way I deemed necessary. In each case, depending on your environments and your needs, customization is going to be different so I won't elaborate on the steps I went through for our test. It's sufficient to say that i was able to add and modify whatever I needed.
Building the Author project into an actual Windows Installer package was as simple as selecting and running "Build" from the Build menu. When Build was complete I had a Windows Installer package.
