install4j

install4j is a powerful multi-platform Java installer builder that generates native installers and application launchers for Java applications.

Install4j comes in two editions:

• Multi-Platform Edition
• Windows Edition.

Key Features:

• Exceptional ease of use: Some installer builders require that you first become an expert in building installers. Not so with install4j, where all configuration steps are intuitive and self-explanatory. The install4j IDE guides you naturally through the process of gathering required information.
  
• Beautiful installers: The installer is the first thing your users see of your application. A smooth installation experience is an important step in creating happy users and a successful product. A substandard installer, however, can ruin the initial impression that is so important for the image of a product. With install4j, your installers will look beautiful and feel natural to users on all platforms.
• Rich screen & action system: With install4j, you can configure the screen flow for the installer and uninstaller in any way you like. install4j provides screens and actions for a wide variety of use cases and allows you to create your own actions directly in the install4j IDE.
  
• Auto-updaters and custom applications: install4j offers several templates for updaters that enable you to create an auto-update solution for your application with just a few clicks. Auto-updaters are fully customisable, so they can support your special requirements for a large number of scenarios.
  
• Simple creation of custom screens: Querying information from the user that's specific to your application does not have to be hard. Besides programming your own custom screens, install4j includes a unique concept of form screens that look good and are easy to configure.
  
• Native launcher generation: install4j generates launchers for your applications that are native on every supported platform: Windows executables are compiled with our exe4j technology, state-of-the-art Unix shell scripts are created for Unix platforms and application bundles blend in seamlessly on Mac OS X.
  
• Advanced JRE bundling: One of the core requirements for a Java-aware installer builder is the ability to bundle a JRE with the installer. With features like download-on demand, Pack200 compression or shared installations of JRE bundles, install4j stands out in this area as well. Pre-packaged JRE bundles can be easily downloaded from within the IDE making JRE bundling a one minute exercise.
  
• Superb cross-platform support: Deploying an application to multiple platforms is a complex endeavor. install4j eases this burden by several orders of magnitude. You define a common installer for the entire project and specify platform-specific information in the media wizards.
  
• Extensive i18n support: install4j fully supports you in localising your installer to multiple languages. It offers a large number of installer languages and an easy mechanism to introduce new keys for your own messages in the installer.
• Extensibility: install4j is extensible. With its JavaBeans-based extension model and its well-documented API, you can add your own actions, screens and form components to the component registries in install4j. All pre-defined components in install4j are programmed that way.