Installer VISE for Windows F.A.Q:What is a byte-range web installer?

created the topic: Installer VISE for Windows F.A.Q:What is a byte-range web installer?
A byte-range web installer is an Active Web Installer that does not involve the complexities of assigning files and folders to different file groups. All data is compressed into a single file, and when the installer is run, only the files that are needed (based on installer logic, user selections, etc.) are extracted from the data file and downloaded to the target machine. Thus, even if the file is, for example, 20MB in size, if the user selects a 5MB “Compact Setup” option, only 5MB is downloaded. An additional benefit of this feature is support for resuming the download if the user’s Internet connection is temporarily lost.

How do I create a byte-range web installer?

First, construct your installer archive as if you only wanted to build the default “single-file” installer. Then, simply follow these three steps:

1. Define a Download Site (Internet menu), as explained in Chapter 7 of the Installer VISE User Guide. (Note that, to support the byte-range downloads, the HTTP server must be using HTTP 1.1 or the FTP server must support the “REST” command.)

2. Edit the Default build target (Archive menu), changing “Ask At Build” to “Web Installer.”

3. On the Web tab of Installer Properties (File menu), turn on the “Support byte range downloads” option.

When you build the installer, four files will be generated. The small EXE file is what you will distribute to your customers, and the other three files (visedata.dat, viseicat.cat, and viseicat.idx) are what you will place on the download server. The actual data is contained in visedata.dat, but all of these files must be present on the server, with these same filenames.

Rajesh Kumar

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