Method 1: single EXE distribution with or without disk-spanning

Method 1: single EXE distribution with or without disk-spanning

When using this method, your files will automatically be packed into a single EXE file, using strongest ZIP or Cabinet (.CAB) compression. The "behaviour" of the created setup program may be fully configured by you in the Distribution options window.

You can define:

·	your personal "About" text of unlimited size (which will be displayed in the window you see above)
·	License information of unlimited size (which will have to be confirmed before installation)
·	a customizable Caption text for the Installation window
·	a password to encrypt your package [currently only supported for the ZIP format]
·	you can give your self-extractable installation package an individual icon to show up in Explorer and the Setup window's title bar!
·	splitted, "multi-volume packages" can be created to allow safer downloading or easy Diskette distribution
·	INF-Tool can make the package unrecognizeable for unpacking programs to give additional security against unauthorized access to your software and also to prevent access by archive password crackers
·	and more.

.... and all of that for just about 20-30k increase compared to a standard ZIP- or CAB-compressed archive!

After your user has clicked the "Install" button (you see it above), the program will first query the user for confirmation of the License text (if you have defined one). Then it extracts all compressed files to a temporary directory - finally, everything will be installed exactly the way you defined it in INF-Tool's Step #1 - 8.

Optionally, INF-Tool also supports prompt-less installations of your single EXE package if you are just using predefined / hard-coded directories (user-configurable destination directories would require user-interaction).

Note that with INF-Tool, you have much more options what to do - and how to do it - than in most other installation programs! INF setup techniques are "naturally" implemented in the Windows system - thus, you have many, many ways to modify your users Windows configuration and the application environment.

The created EXE archives are ZIP- and CAB SFX compatible (if you didn't activate the "make unrecognizeable" feature), so every good virus scanner will be able to check your compressed files.

Which compression method to choose (ZIP or CAB) ?
Basically, CAB compression is the strongest of all currently available compression techniques, but requires a bit more "overhead" in your self-extracting archive than ZIP. Simply try it out - after creating your package INF-Tool will display the percentage of how strong your distribution package could be compressed. Generally you will find that if your package is bigger than 200-300 kb, a self-extracting CAB package will be unbeatable.

Suggested for:

·	distribution to novice users (what can be easier than letting them run an EXE file which does everything fully automatically?)
·	Internet distribution!
·	complex installations with many files
·	if you need integrity checks
·	if your users should confirm your license agreement before installing
·	most professional looking installations
·	password encryption required
·	if you want to distribute big packages in split form via the Internet to allow safer downloading
·	if you need to distribute via a number of diskettes (multi-volume / split distribution)