For those new to Windows deployment/management, Windows Installer is Microsoft's solution used for the installation, removal, but also maintenance of software. Windows Installer was released for the first time when Windows 95 came in and has been developed over time since then.

In November 2015, Microsoft released the first edition of System Center Configuration Manager called SCCM (Current Branch) 1511. And since then, Microsoft decided to change its name to “SCCM YYMM (Year Month)” following the same naming convention as for Windows 10 YYMM (example Windows 10 1809).

If you are in the software packaging business, you might have heard of WIX bootstrapper. This was released by Microsoft back in 2004, and it was the first ever open source license project for them.

Sometimes you might end up in a situation when you cannot uninstall a package. We already covered how you can recache an MSI in our user guide. However, we noticed that this might not work for transforms (MSTs) and a different solution is needed.

Let’s assume that you have an application that installs files or registry in a user location. In this article we explain how you can install that information for all users by using MSI, APP-V or the new Microsoft installer technology, MSIX, a short cleanup process description, and a short comparison between them.

In the lifecycle of an application package, it comes a point when an update is required. Whether we want to fix minor bugs and vulnerabilities, or we come up with some improvements and big changes to our app, we must deliver it as an update.

In January 2020, Windows 7 end of life support comes in place. This means that users won’t receive any updates from Microsoft, and companies have to pay extra for the next three years if they want them.

Hover is a free tool built by the Advanced Installer team that allows you to run natively installed applications inside an MSIX/App-V container.

There are times when you need to install multiple applications at once, either EXEs or MSIs; we call this a suite installation. Wise Installer was one of the most popular software tool used for creating application installers. It was discontinued in November 2013 and offered a solution for such cases. In this article, we have a look at how you can achieve that in a simple and modern manner using Advanced Installer compared with the old ways of Wise Studio.

Migrate your legacy application to the new MSIX packaging standard by using Advanced Installer’s built-in support for Microsoft’s Package Support Framework.

Package once, deploy anywhere. Package and deliver applications for the entire Windows 10 platform in the new MSIX file format, using the latest version of Advanced Installer. Get your app in front of the biggest user base an OS ever had through the Windows Store and our MSIX support.

Extend and update your MSIX packages by taking advantage of the power and functionality of modification packages.

Target multiple architectures and platform types by creating APPX bundles with Advanced Installer.

False positives virus detection is a common occurrence when installing software; learn why they happen and how you might prevent them, before deploying your application to your users.

Create a single package for all Windows platforms, the promise of MSIX, Microsoft’s vision for the future of Windows Installer. MSIX is a complete containerization solution which inherits all the great features in UWP and most importantly, it applies to all Win32, WPF, Windows Forms, and UWP applications.

Localize your Universal Windows Platform(APPX) package and target any language you require.

Self-repair is one of the most powerful functionalities Windows Installer offers. It gives the ability to check and fix broken packages automatically, saving you valuable development time.

Adding a service to your project is as simple as going to the Services page, pressing the New Service button and selecting it.

Reach more users, create installers for an international market with just a few clicks.

Getting your application in the Windows Store can be at times a difficult process, this is why Advanced Installer helps you with Windows App Certification Kit(WACK) validation, to make sure your app is ready to publish.