ANN: Inno Setup 7.0.0-beta released

[Martijn Laan]

Dear all,

After having done a lot of work, we are happy to announce that Inno Setup 7.0.0-beta has been released. 

Inno Setup 7 includes a 64-bit edition, as well as a 32-bit edition. Highlights:

• Both editions of Inno Setup 7 can build either 32-bit or 64-bit installers, and they can be installed side by side, and they can coexist alongside Inno Setup 6.
• Install the 64-bit edition of Inno Setup 7 to run 64-bit versions of the Compiler IDE and ISCC.
• Both editions read the same scripts and defaults, and either can build 32-bit or 64-bit installers:
• Building 32-bit installers is the default in both editions.
• Set new [Setup] section directive SetupArchitecture to x64 to build a 64-bit x64 installer instead of a 32-bit x86 installer. This also changes the default values of ArchitecturesAllowed and ArchitecturesInstallIn64BitMode to x64compatible, making 64-bit installers default to 64-bit install mode.
• 64-bit installers fully support 32-bit install mode, and vice versa.
• Existing installations made by 32-bit installers can be updated by 64-bit installers without issue, and vice versa.
• 64-bit installers have high-entropy ASLR enabled by default and allow a maximum dictionary size for compression methods lzma and lzma2 of 3.8 GB instead of 1 GB. Review the memory requirements listed in the Compression help topic before using large dictionary sizes.
• On Arm64-based Windows 11, the 64-bit compilers use an ARM64EC binary (islzma-Arm64EC.dll) for native LZMA compression performance.
• Added new System Path Redirection help topic.
• Added new Entry Bitness help topic.

Other highlights include:

• Setup and Uninstall now work with extended-length paths (also known as super paths) throughout, removing MAX_PATH limitations. Logged paths are now extended-length paths. The end user is still shown normal paths.
  A normal path looks like this: c:\Program Files\My Program
  The extended-length version of the same path looks like this: \\?\c:\Program Files\My Program
• The Compiler IDE has been renamed from Compil32.exe to ISIDE.exe.
• Autocompletion, parameter hints, and mouseover tooltips have all been improved in the IDE.
• A new custom style is now available built-in and directly supported by the WizardStyle directive: stellar.
  stellar is an alternative light-only style with white foreground text, ideally suited to be combined with a custom darker background image. 
• Added new optional OnLog parameter to the [Run] section. When combined with the logoutput flag, it specifies the name of a procedure that is to be called for each line of the program's output instead of directly including it in the log file.
• Directive ArchiveExtraction can now also be set to auto, the new default, which automatically selects the appropriate method based on entries in the [Files] section.
• The full archive extraction method now supports .zst (Zstandard) archives.
• As a proactive security measure, the compiler no longer allows .isl message files specified in the [Languages] section to contain compiler directives such as #include.
• Directive AppVerName now defaults to AppName AppVersion (just a space separating the values) rather than AppName version AppVersion (localized). If you prefer to keep the word "version" (localized), use the NameAndVersion custom message: AppVerName={cm:NameAndVersion,My Program,1.5}
• Directive TimeStampsInUTC now defaults to yes.

Great care has been taken to ensure maximum backward compatibility with Inno Setup 6, including backward compatibility for the extended-length path support, and compatibility between 32-bit and 64-bit installers.

For the complete list of changes, see: https://jrsoftware.org/files/is7-whatsnew.htm

Download: https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php#v7

Inno Setup 7 would not have been possible without the support provided through the purchase of commercial licenses. Please purchase a commercial license or donate to support us. Thank you.

Commercial licenses include two years of updates, both major and minor. If you purchased a commercial license recently, you are all set to use Inno Setup 7 as well.

Greetings,
Martijn Laan and Jordan Russell