WiXAware was a commercial integrated development environment (IDE) launched by InstallAware to simplify the process of building Windows Installer (MSI) setup packages. It served as a graphical interface for Microsoft’s open-source WiX (Windows Installer XML) Toolset, allowing developers to build professional installers without needing to write complex XML by hand. Core Features
Two-Way Roundtripping: The platform kept the visual layout designer and raw XML code perfectly in sync. Changes in the graphical interface immediately updated the XML code, and direct XML edits automatically updated the visual interface.
Visual Dialog Editor: Developers could design the user interface of their installers visually using pre-made templates and standard UI objects, which automatically compiled into valid WiX dialog code.
Custom Action Wizard: This tool provided a guided, step-by-step assistant for mapping out custom execution commands, scripts, EXEs, and DLLs within the installer pipeline.
Patch & Patching Projects: It allowed the creation of Windows Installer patch files (MSP files). This enabled users to download small binary differential updates instead of a full application package.
Drag-and-Drop Building: Developers could drag files directly from Windows Explorer into the workspace. WiXAware then generated the necessary file, folder, shortcut, and registry definitions automatically. WiXAware vs. WiX Toolset vs. InstallAware
While related, these three software engineering utilities differ in infrastructure and approach: My introduction to WiXAware, an editor for the WiX toolset.
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