[quote=181214:@Michael Diehr]Yes, but…
A problem with windows software is that if you download an EXE through IE the behavior is nice : you get progress bar, security scan, and auto-launch upon download completion.
If you download an EXE.ZIP then the behavior is fugly : the progress bar is inaccurate, the security scan can’t happen until the end of the download, and once the download completes “nothing happens”. (The savvy user will find the download, click Extract All, then find and double-click the EXE Icon. If they are not savvy, they will double-click the Zip file, then click the EXE and get the BevelButton crash described above).
For these reasons, there is a still a need for small-self-contained windows EXEs for software delivery.
Yes, InnoSetup (and others) can make this, but these sorts of third party software are not just “acceptable” they seem to be “necessary”.[/quote]
Windows users simply expect an installer. I cannot really understand why you want to force a naked executable on them. All you will get from that is confused users and support requests.
Better build an installer, which is an EXE as well, and place it for download as such. You will get the nice IE behavior, and spare users haphazard manipulations like : enter their administrator password, confirm they actually want to run the program to satisfy SmartScreen. And since the program has not been installed properly, every time it is run, it will require SmartScreen vetting. IMHO, that could have been possible back in the eighties, but it is downright unacceptable in the 21 st Century.
Microsoft never intended the IE auto-launch to run unknown EXEs, and I bet SmartScreen is up in arms when you do that. Let alone antivirus programs. And for good reason. This an awful hack, if you tell me. Besides, users do expect to be able to remove a program in the Control Panel if they want. They should not be subjected to undocumented procedures such as locating an executable in the Downloads folder to delete. Worse yet, what happens if a user decides to clean up his downloads folder and erases his program ? On top of it, if he tries to use System Restore to recover the lost program, it will not work, as the EXE has not been installed properly.
Why don’t you simply follow Microsoft guidelines to insure the comfort of your users ?