I have a runtime solution I would like to develop but I am not sure what would be involved. I have a copy of FM 8 Developer. I guess my big questions are what is the best way to distribute this? Do I need an installer program? How do I protect this solution from being pirated?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Cindy

Hi Cindy:

Without knowing how complex your solution is (e.g. multiple files, sophistication of your users, etc), its hard to give you precise advice. I would user an installer to make your solution look more professional, and easier on your users. The installer will put shortcuts on the user's desktop, and you can optionally give your users the ability to uninstall the app. There are a number of free (or low cost) installers that are easy to use. Inno Setup Link is a free one, but I haven't used it. There are developers that use PKZIP and create self-extracting archives.

The more involved question is how to protect your software from inevitable copying. There is no way to completely protect a piece of software, except maybe with a 'dongle' (a contraption that goes into a parallel port and must be present to run the app). The amount of protection you can build in ranges from the very simple to the very complicated. There are also commercial solutions that you can buy that will discourage most users from copying. See Ray Cologon's KeyCode Maker at Link. There is also ExeShield from Link . And you can also build-ur-own with a free encryption plugin from Link which is obviously more complicated.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the info! The database will be very simple. I am planning on using an installer since I like the idea of making the setup as easy as possible. My biggest concern is the cd being passed around and shared.

Cindy