Web protocols are not something new to the table. We have been using them for years, and they make our life a bit easier.

This article explores Microsoft's recommended solution for managing your Startup applications, when deployed as an MSIX package.

MSIX Package Editor is a new Advanced Installer feature which gives you the possibility to make changes to an existing MSIX package content, without generating a new one.

In the latest release of the Package Support Framework(PSF), Microsoft added support for PowerShell scripts. This allows IT Pros to fix the compatibility issues with their MSIX-packaged applications much easier.

VLC media player (or in short VLC) is an open-source, cross-platform media player created by VideoLan. At the moment, its one of the most popular players on the market.Let’s see if we can convert it to the new MSIX technology by Microsoft and what challenges we face in doing so.

Notepad++ is the most popular free source code editor. Since MSIX is the future of packaging, let’s see how we can repackage Notepad++ to MSIX by using Advanced Installer.

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 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.

Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite which includes a variety of tools such as Modeling, Rendering, Animation, Video Editing and many types of Simulations. Its source file can be downloaded from here and it comes in MSI format.

All MSIX packages must be digitally signed, no exception. In order to digitally sign your MSIX package, you can use a self-signed certificate. However, you need to ensure that same certificate used to sign the MSIX package is imported into the Computer's Trusted Root Certification Authorities on the target device where you plan to deploy your MSIX package. Otherwise, your MSIX will fail to install.

In our days, many apps offer you a context menu. A context menu is a pop-up menu that appears after a user interaction, for example, in Windows, when you perform a right-click. However, there are two types of context menus:

Before we begin, it is important we know that starting with SCCM version 1806, MSIX application is supported in System Center Configuration Manager. Integrating MSIX apps in previous versions, does not work. Also the current version of Windows 10 that supports MSIX is version 1809. It is announced that Microsoft will add support for MSIX also on other versions of Windows 10.

If we check the official Microsoft documentation about PackageName and appID, we can see that in theory, there aren’t so many differences between 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 four main methods of deploying an MSIX application. Publishing in Microsoft Store and Sideloading are methods that target unmanaged devices while Deploying via SCCM and Deploying via Intune focuses more on an enterprise environment, targeting managed devices. The key difference between unmanaged and managed devices is the control of how they are configured and who can have access to the application.

Opposite to old Win32 apps, Modern Windows 10 apps come with full control of their access, just like modern mobile apps. You can control their access to certain APIs or resources like pictures, music, or hardware such as the camera or the microphone. Permissions must be requested within the package manifest.

Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers on the market at the moment. For enterprise use and deployment, Google offers the Chrome browser as an MSI installer.

This year our team was invited to hold a technical session at Microsoft Ignite, showcasing our latest MSIX support. You can find the original recording of the session and the slides on the conference website, or you can watch our edited version in the video included in this article.

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.