I was wondering when I have the option to download the installer vs the zipped package, which should I choose? What are the advantages of each decision?

Taking Notepad++ as an example, what's the difference between the Zipped Notepad++ vs the Notepad++ installer?

2 Answers

If you have the choice of both; the installer typically just means that you get a nicer UI to choose the setup directory and some installation options, rather than having to use a seperate unzip utility and selectively remove the parts you don't want/need. Also, in the case of Windows programs an installer may also add entries to the registry (user selected options, key validation, other random stuff) which you won't get with a zip.

As Journeyman Greek said in his post, zip package is better for standalone 'installs' where you want portability and don't want to be tied down to a particular machine. This is because .zip naturally won't make any changes to registry, so unless they give you a .reg file to click on (very unlikely) it means that the entire directory is self-contained including any local .ini files.

Personally I prefer downloading the installer in general; because I get any customization options and it will setup any registry entries automatically as well.

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Please note that any answer is highly dependent on the specific software you're looking at. What is true for Notepad++ may not be true for other software packages, it just depends on what the developers decided to publish.

The zip packages in the case of Notepad++ are standalone -- you can carry it with you on a thumb drive, the other one isn't. In many other cases, .exe files are blocked by some firewalls/content filters for 'safety' reasons, and zip files will work.

A more extreme case of that is PDF-XChange Viewer - which has zipped installers and exe installers (so if .exes are blocked you can download the .zip) two different msi installers and a portable zip.

I'd default to .exe or .msi if I want an installer unless it's blocked since I KNOW its an installer. I'd go for .zip if it didn't work (and I really needed the software). I'd default to .zip if i wanted a portable install, unless it was a zipped installer.

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