View source for InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE

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'''InstallShield Self-Extracting EXE''' is an executable installer file created by the [[InstallShield]] installation software for Windows.

This article is intended to cover only the outer-layer distribution file, and not the various executable and other component files that it may contain.

Not all editions of InstallShield supported creating self-extracting EXE files, and it's not uncommon to find InstallShield component files packaged in other ways (e.g. [[ZIP]]), or unpackaged.

''[Ed. note: This article needs much more research and expansion.]''

== Identification ==
For at least one version (3?) of InstallShield, ASCII "{{magic|InstallShield Self-Extracting Stub Program}}" appears beginning at offset 943.

== Software ==
* STIX - Extracts from InstallShield v3 files. (DOS, OS/2)
** [{{SACFTPURL|pack|stix.zip}} stix.zip] (from SAC)
** [https://kannegieser.net/veit/programm/index_e.htm] → stix.arj
** https://github.com/DeclanHoare/stix/
* [https://github.com/lifenjoiner/ISx ISx] - InstallShield installer extractor. Claims to support InstallShield versions released from about 2003 to 2016.
* IsXunpack.exe - For InstallShield v7. Can be found in [https://www.legroom.net/software/uniextract Universal Extractor]. Source is [https://web.archive.org/web/20130816000226/http://forum.exetools.com/showthread.php?t=3619 this forum post].
* [https://github.com/hifi/iss_extract InstallShield Setup Extract] (Probably very limited support.)

== Sample files ==
* {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/|100+ Great Games CD}} → {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game17/solcon.exe|solcon.exe}}, {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game26/bgf2int.exe|bgf2int.exe}}, {{CdTextfiles|100gg/100%20Great%20Games%20-%20No%20Shareware%20(1999)/100_Games/Games/game38/gamchest.exe|gamchest.exe}}

''Wanted: Lots more samples from different versions of InstallShield.''