MSIX applications can behave differently when running in an MSIX container.

Alright, let's dive into the fascinating world of portable applications!

Even though MSI is still the preferred packaging format, there's no question that MSIX is a great complement to MSI and AppV.

Java is an essential component within enterprise environments, powering various business-critical applications that are necessary for daily operations. However, it is also the most targeted platform for malware and cyber-attacks, posing a significant security risk to organizations that rely on it.

In this article, we'll explore how to deploy an MSIX using Group Policies, covering Direct MSIX Deployment with Scheduled Tasks and the MSI Wrapper method.

.NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) is a cross platform framework designed for creating native mobile and desktop applications using C# and XAML. With the .NET MAUI platform, you can create applications that run on Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows from a single code-base.

MSIX is a modern technology that has transformed the way we approach software installations and deployments, both for individual users and enterprises.

For those working with application packaging or deployment, MSIX is a name that keeps cropping up. It's Microsoft’s modern packaging format designed to streamline app deployment, improve updates, and enhance security.

In some cases, changing the packaging type of an application requires going back to the drawing board. Even though Advanced Installer's GUI lets you convert MSIX packages by importing them, changing the packaging type of an application can still be a bit tricky.

As an IT professional, you might have come across Windows Forms (WinForms) when building applications on Windows. WinForms is a free and open source GUI class library included in the .NET Framework that has been heavily used since its release in 2002.

In our previous blog post, Azure Virtual Desktop - Step by Step Guide of Creating, Configuring and Managing your AVD setup, we took a look at how we can set up an Azure Virtual Desktop environment.

Adobe Reader DC (Document Cloud) is one of the most popular tools to manage PDFs. Adobe Reader DC installation is an executable (EXE) file.

Building an MSIX package for your app? Use the table below to check what Windows version you can target, depending on the features you are using.

IT professionals are now considering switching from App-V to MSIX technology more than ever, since main-stream support for App-V ended a few years back and extended support is due to end in a few years (April 14, 2026). However, as it happens with change, this shift comes with many challenges when converting App-V packages to MSIX.

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) is a fully developed technology that enterprises use to deliver Win32 applications as virtual applications.

A digital signature guarantees the authenticity of an electronic document or message in an electronic format. In the software industry, code signing provides an added layer of security and trust that you're using a code that comes from an original vendor and not a third-party that could have maliciously altered the code.

Starting with Windows 10 (version 20H2), Microsoft added the option to group MSIX Shortcuts in the Start Menu. This is a particularly convenient feature that was highly requested by the packaging community.

MSIX packages lack built-in support for installing a desktop shortcut. This is mainly because Microsoft recommends that user preferences are exclusively chosen by the user. So, for instance, creating a Desktop shortcut or pinning it to the Taskbar or Start Menu are not things we can control.

A “Sparse” package contains an AppxManifest.xml but, unlike a regular/full package, the manifest can reference files outside its package in a predetermined 'external location’.

Although not as popular and widely adopted as MSI, ClickOnce has been around for some time in the application packaging industry. ClickOnce enables you to create self-updating Windows-based applications that can be installed and run with minimal user interaction.