Paquet Builder 2026.2 is now available. This update brings two frequently requested authoring features, an automatic previous-version uninstaller and per-file archive renaming, and fixes a code-signing issue that affected very large installers. If your maintenance plan is active, it is a free upgrade.
If Paquet Builder is new to you: it is a professional Windows installer builder from G.D.G. Software, in continuous development since 2006. It bundles your application into a single compressed setup executable (or a self-extracting archive) that installs files, creates shortcuts and registry entries, runs your own custom actions, and code-signs the result. You build the whole setup visually in the interface, or from the command line for automated CI/CD pipelines.
Ship a File Under a Different Name
By default, every file is stored inside the package under its original filename. A new Archive Name option lets you store a file under a different name without keeping a manually renamed copy on disk. It is the clean way to handle architecture-specific binaries: keep your 32-bit and 64-bit executables side by side in your source tree, yet ship whichever one a build targets under the single generic name that your shortcuts, registry entries, and custom actions already reference. No copy step, no build script juggling filenames.
Uninstall a Previous Version Automatically
Replacing an older install used to mean wiring up your own detection-and-removal logic. The new Uninstall a Previous Version action does it for you: it locates the previous version’s uninstaller, runs it, and (importantly) waits for that uninstall to actually finish before your installation continues. It can run silently or with its native interface, and your project can branch on the result, for example to roll a required reboot to the very end of setup.
Reliable Signing for Large Installers
Signing very large packages (roughly 300 MB and above) could fail when the signing tool was stopped before it finished hashing and timestamping the file. 2026.2 fixes that and exposes the underlying limit as a configurable signing timeout. If you sign big installers in a CI pipeline, where a slow timestamp server or a cold signing token can push a single operation past the old hard limit, this removes a frustrating class of intermittent build failures.
More Improvements
- Updated the embedded 7-Zip / LZMA SDK to its latest release across both extraction engines.
- A new Before Welcome Screen event lets language-dependent logic run as soon as the setup language has been chosen, before the first screen appears.
- Directive-driven builds stay portable: wizard image paths can now be given relative to the directive file’s folder.
- Clearer error messages when opening an incomplete project folder, and command-line builds now include exactly the same files as the graphical interface.
See the full changelog for the complete list of changes.
Upgrade or Try It
Paquet Builder 2026.2 is a free upgrade for customers with an active maintenance plan. If your maintenance is current, download it from the customer portal, or let the in-app updater offer it on next launch. If your maintenance has lapsed, you can renew it to unlock 2026.2 and every future release. New to Paquet Builder? Download the free trial, or buy a license to get started.
