We distribute an application that runs only on Window’s machines (XP and up). I have been distributing by building an exe with WINRAR that has generally worked well but I have run into a problem as we move to support Vista and Win7 in that the application path is going to be dependent on the OS. So I either have to build an OS dependent WINRAR exe or join the modern age and use an installer.
I have scanned the websites of a couple of the installers for sale and the open source ones but since I have limited programming knowledge I am a bit overwhelmed by the choices.
It could be that the correct answer is that because we are not making any registry changes any of the installers will do.
From your description, the install process of your application is simple: just copy the files. In this case, any install tool would do its job. You can try the following:
The first two are easier to learn. WiX creates Windows Installer packages and has a steep learning curve; although in your case you could merely follow the WiX Tutorial to build your setup package.
If your installation procedure is so simple that it does not require an install, users of your application may like if you just give them a zip package which they can extract to any directory. Of course, this depends on the target users. Anyway, it could be a good option in addition to install package.