Advanced Installer: Installed .exe won't launch from installation directory

Question

Using Advanced Installer, I have created and run a simple installer that contains a single .exe.

This .exe started as an executable jar (w/ splashscreen) and was built into a Windows .exe using Launch4j.

Once the application is installed (in C:\Program Files (x86)...), I can't execute it from the installation directory. However, if I copy the .exe to anywhere else, Desktop, or any other directories created by other installers, the .exe will start perfectly.

This appears to be a folder or application permissions issue. Comparing the permissions between this folder and the one created by Advanced Installer, the permissions and settings are identical.

The ONLY difference I see, between the installed .exe and the same .exe copied to another folder, is that the "Edit Permissions" button has an admin shield on it (one originally installed by AI).

Is there a setting in Advanced Installer that will allow my .exe to run once installed, or is this just trickery employed by AI to get you to pay for a more robust version? I am unable to make any changes in the OS that enable this file to run in the directory created by AI.

Answer 1

The cause of this error was that the target directory included an exclamation mark. "!".

I had switched to using InnoInstaller and it was working in an initial version, until I later switched the target dir to include the exclamation mark, and it was broken in the same way. (Removing it fixed.)

Have no idea why this was causing the problem, just an fyi.

Answer 2

If the executable fails to run from Program Files but does works from another folder it most probably happens that your EXE needs write access to that folder. If you launch it with the option "Run as administrator" it should work. This is not caused by a limitation from Advanced Installer.

Starting with Vista onward you can embed a manifest file into an executable file, that specifies for the OS the execution level, so you can set the level to "RequireAdministrator", thus your will EXE will always behave as you launch it with the option "Run as administrator" when launched from a shortcut or double-clicked.