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How to package a large application

NOTE: This article was created for earlier versions of Actual Installer (till 6.0). Since version 6.0, there is a special feature for packing large applications:
General \ Output \ Package Type \ Setup EXE + Data

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If your project (application, game, databases, etc.) is big in size, it is not recommended to package it into a single executable file. Because it can take a very long time to execute this file or even the install may fails with an error message "run out of memory".

So if the size of your application is greater than 200 MB, we recommend you to pack it into a ZIP archive and distribute it with its installer:

setup.exe
data.zip

To make it, please follow the following steps:
1. Remove from your Actual Installer project all source files (on pages Files and Folders and Additional Files).
2. Select from the main menu Tools - Create Data File.
3. Select a source folder of your application.
A free program "7-Zip" will pack your application and create a zipped data file (data.zip) in the same folder as setup file.
Also it will add the following entries to your project:
- a file <SetupTempDir>\7za.exe on the Installation \ Additional Files page;
- a command on the System \ Commands page:

File:		<SetupTempDir>\7za.exe
Parameters:	x "<CurrentDir>\data.zip" -o"<InstallDir>" -aoa
Show:		Normal
Timing:		After Installation
Wait:		Yes

This command will execute a file 7za.exe at the end of installation, and unpack file data.zip into program's installation folder (var. <InstallDir>). The switch -aoa means 'Overwrite all existing files without prompt'.
4. Select option Force Uninstall on the Installation \ Uninstallation page.

That's it.

Please note that using this method requires you to manually add shortcuts in the project.