Advanced Installer 22.9 Release Notes

On July 23rd, 2025 Caphyon Ltd. is proud to announce the release of Advanced Installer 22.9 in Free, Professional, Enterprise and Architect editions. This release is available for download on the Advanced Installer website.

Starting with Advanced Installer 22.9, you can now create native desktop shortcuts in MSIX packages, addressing one of the platform's long-standing limitations.

With this new capability, you can create shortcuts with custom names, arguments (such as silent or multi-wind), working directories, and icons that point to actual .ico or .png files, without relying on the Package Support Framework. It’s a cleaner, built-in solution for modern packaging workflows.

This release also brings significant improvements to automation.

PowerShell automation support has been expanded, enabling you to script the configuration of prerequisites and URL shortcuts, as well as manage certificate files for digital signing, making it easier to integrate Advanced Installer into your CI/CD pipelines.

Explore the full list of updates below, and check out our latest video tutorial to see how to implement native desktop shortcuts in your MSIX packages using Advanced Installer.

New features, bug fixes, and general improvements are included in the current release. See the full list below.

New features
  • Native desktop shortcut support in MSIX
Enhancements

  • Requested by customer
    PowerShell automation support for prerequisites

  • Requested by customer
    PowerShell automation support for URL shortcuts

  • Requested by customer
    PowerShell automation enhancements to manage certificate files for Digital Signature

  • Requested by customer
    Support for ARM-based distribution of Java on Mac

  • Requested by customer
    Command line switches for Trusted Signing
  • Easily find any "Existing Custom Actions" with a new filter in the Custom Actions page

  • Requested by customer
    Added more command line switches for configuring prerequisites (Allow uninstall, Allow Maintenance, Allow Rollback)

  • Requested by customer
    Use ARM64 signtool when running on ARM64 Windows
  • Updated error message for MSI files previously opened in ORCA to state that the file can't be opened, instead of reporting "invalid content on line 1"

  • Requested by customer
    Pre-Build package size validation
  • Enabled "Installed Location Virtualization" by default for any new MSIX build

  • Requested by customer
    Option to set the icon shown in the Control Panel within the Repackager

  • Requested by customer
    Option to prompt the user before uninstalling the same version

  • Requested by customer
    Option to translate the "SelectAll" and "UnselectAll" buttons from "FileAssocDlg" in the Professional edition
  • Added buildtime validation to prevent setting the same value in the "Feature" and "Feature_Parent" columns of the Feature table
  • Clean up the project after deleting "Message Box" custom action

  • Requested by customer
    Predefined prerequisites for MSFT VC++ Redistributable ARM
  • Update .NET 8 prerequisites to the latest version 8.0.18
  • Update .NET 9 prerequisites to the latest version 9.0.7
Bug fixes
  • Uninstall/Maintenance/Rollback command lines from an existing prerequisite were added when switching between prerequisites
  • A component appeared to have no key file after deleting it in the "Files and Folders" view

  • Reported by customer
    Fixed Visual Studio extension error when reopening a project after editing in Advanced Installer
  • Surface path text was black on a dark background when WinUI rendering was enabled

  • Reported by customer
    UI issues after implementing DPI Per Monitor awareness

  • Reported by customer
    StackTrace error when trying to import MSIX bundle

  • Reported by customer
    Fixed the following error when digital signing: 'SignTool Error: No certificates were found that met all the given criteria.'

  • Reported by customer
    All secondary instances were removed when an invalid Product Code was sent through the command line for an instance upgrade
  • "Customize Advanced Installer upgrade rules" remained visible even though the option was disabled

  • Reported by customer
    Scheduled tasks were not removed when the related instance was uninstalled
  • The prerequisite UI level custom command line was not preserved after the project was upgraded to v22.8
  • Crash when deleting a non-MSI build
  • Firewall Rule declaration could not be added starting with Advanced Installer version 22.6

  • Reported by customer
    The "Launch ProductName" button was not visible in the Spring theme when the ProductName was too long
  • Command-line fields were reset when the Framework option was checked or unchecked