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Normally you don’t consider the distribution as a significant part of your plugin development business plan. And that’s ok. There are more difficult tasks to solve in the whole process and you know that eventually, some way or another, the end user will download a demo or a full copy and install it.
Anyway, there are many points to consider in this area, such as the installer itself, or a copy protection scheme. I would like to thank my personal friend Enrique Nieloud from Gertrudis Graphics for the tips he gave me on this subject. By the way, check his great natural painting application GertrudisPro.
There’s a lot to say about installers, but it is all technical stuff. There are two main ways you can go with the installer: Make the user decide where to install the plugin, or simply make the installer install the plugin where it should be. In the latter, your installer application should check for the presence of Adobe Photoshop and, even better, it should check for the presence of Adobe Photoshop plugins compatible hosts such as Paint Shop Pro or similar. In most cases, you have to create a script to tell the installer what to do.
Here’s a list of free and commercial installers you can check:
.: Plugin Installers
Windows Setup tool specifically designed for installing PhotoShop compatible plug-ins. Will recognize all Windows PhotoShop plug-in compatible hosts and allow the user to pick which hosts the plug-in should be installed for. This tool was created by Martjn Van Der Lee, a Photoshop plugins developer.
A great windows installer tool. It is freeware and offers more options than most commercial tools. It supports all Windows versions (since 95), support for 64bit applications installations and the full source code is available. Check the extensive features list of Inno Setup.
As a side note, Inno Setup ranks #1 in Google for "Setup Tool" keyword. Way to go!
For Windows. An expensive (as all commercial installers) professional software setup too. From MacroVision web site: "…FLEX net InstallShield, the industry-standard installation tool, combines power and flexibility with ease-of-use. First-time developers find it easy to create installations, while power users find its depth and flexibility perfect for developing complex software installations…"
This software is strictly for commercial projects (unless you are willing to pay a little fortune for a freeware plugin!) .
For Macintosh. The most popular installer tool for Macintosh by Allume Systems (the creators of Stuffit Deluxe). Although it is an expensive software suited for commercial projects, you can get it for free. Read the Allume Shareware Developers Program, and you will learn not only how to get it for free, but also the opportunity to be included on an Allume commercial release CD.
A commercial multiplatform software setup creation tool. From Macrovision, the creators of InstallShield, this tool will let you create installers for any platform. Yes, it is expensive. It’s for commercial projects, remember?
.: Help Files Creators
These are free applications to create help files for your software.
QuickHelp is a development tool for creating and deploying application help to Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, Windows 95 through XP and virtually all Linux distributions.
.: Copy Protection Schemes and Demo Strategies
» Copy Protection article from Wikipedia
An extensive article about copy protections schemes. With examples an external links.
» Copy Protection mini guide from Zapper Software
An interesting article about demo software distribution and copy protection schemes. Has a mini guide to other copy protection articles in the web.
» Demoware article from Wikipedia
This article provides information about Demo software distribution and provides links to a comprehensive list of other types of software distribution types.
.: Resources for your Programming Business
» Association of Shareware Professionals
ASP is a vibrant organization with hundreds of members around the world working together to improve their businesses and making it easier for computer users to find quality software at reasonable prices.
» Joel On Software
Joel Spolsky is a software developer in New York City who has been writing about software development, management, business, and the Internet since year 2000. An excellent resource.
» Shareware Amateurs vs. Shareware Professionals
A good article written by Steve Pavlina about the difference between a lazy and a proactive Shareware programmer. A good reading.
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