Introduction

This article explains how to sign an installer using InstallAnywhere's new Custom signing option.

With the release of InstallAnywhere 2024 R1, you can select between two signing options: Standard and Custom.

• Standard: The Standard option is what you used previously by either selecting a certificate (.pfx) path or selecting one from the certificate store.
• Custom: InstallAnywhere 2024 R1 introduces a Custom signing option, which will enable two new fields: Custom Sign Tool Location and Sign Tool Arguments. With the help of Custom Sign Tool Location, you will be able to configure any external signing tool to take care of signing. For example, you will be able to select Microsoft Sign Tool from the Windows SDK folder or even use AzureSignTool via a batch file.

#1: Using Custom Signing Option to Specify Tool Location and Arguments Directly

On the Project > Platforms > Windows area, under the Digital Signing setting, you can configure tool location and arguments directly:

#2: Using Custom Signing Option to Execute Batch File

On the Project > Platforms > Windows area, under the Digital Signing setting, you would use the Custom Sign Tool Location field to configure a batch file to sign the installer:

The following is a sample Signing.bat file. Use the %2 variable as a place holder for the full file path to be signed:

#3: Using Custom Signing Option to Execute VB Script

On the Project > Platforms > Windows area, under the Digital Signing setting, you can configure a VB script in the Sign Tool Arguments field:

The following is a sample Signing.vbs file:

Error Handling

If signing fails, you will be able to see the relevant message and error code in the build log:

• Error Code 1 returned by sign tool.
  
  
• Error Code 80070057 returned by AzureSignTool which indicates one or more arguments are invalid.
  
  

Additional Information

For more information, see:

• Ability to Configure Custom Signing Solution for Digital Signing
• Support for Digital Signature in Custom Signing