What is a .ISS file?
An ISS file is a special kind of document that helps set up software on Windows computers. Think of it as a recipe that tells the computer exactly how to install a program, including where to put the files and how to set it up. This file is made using a free tool called Inno Setup, which is popular for making the setup files (.EXE) that we click on to install new programs.
The content inside an ISS file is easy to read and write because it's just plain text, similar to the notes you'd write in a simple text editor. This means you can open and edit ISS files with basic programs like Microsoft Notepad, which comes with Windows, or Apple TextEdit, which you find on Macs. There are also more advanced text editors like Vim, GNU Emacs, and others that can handle these files. Some of these, like GitHub Atom, have been discontinued, but they used to work too. For Chromebook users, Google Chrome Text is an option since it's built into the OS.
Even though the main purpose of ISS files is to help with installing software, you can view or edit them with any text editor. This includes very simple ones that might already be on your computer or more specialized ones you can download, like File Viewer Plus from the Microsoft store or directly using Jrsoftware Inno Setup, the program that's used to create these ISS files in the first place.
In summary, ISS files are like the instructions for setting up software on Windows, and you can open them with a wide range of text editing programs across different operating systems.
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