Application Packaging Training Course
After you have a VM set up take a snapshot
o You want to make sure there is nothing in your “temp” folder or you “%temp%” folder
o Save snapshot as “Clean Machine”
Then download AdminStudio and take another snapshot
o Make sure the “temp” and “%temp%” folders are empty
o Save snapshot as “AdminStudio”
Application Packaging Workflow
o Requirement
From business users or anyone in the company
o Tech Review
To see whether the application is either .exe, .msi, or loose file. Many ways to
identify
o Apply Packaging Method
o Test/Correct
Make sure it is working properly
o Deploy to Pilot Users
To see if it is working as expected
o Mass Deployment
Methods of Application Packaging
o 1. Application Repackaging
Only applies on application which is purely .exe
To find out if it is purely a .exe file:
o Go to Task Manager
o Services
o Search for “msiserver”
o Then install the app you are testing
o If it has any .msi (not purely .exe) in it, it will call the “msiserver”
service
Repackaging is the process of capturing the changes made by an installation
program for the purpose of creating a new, customized installation
Package is designed to support company standards and distribution methods
Repackaging process is critical to the success of new software rollouts which
saves time, effort and money
Admins repackage to prevent dialog boxes that appear during installation so
that users are not allowed to enter non-company standards information
The main reason for repackaging an installation is to create a consistent, and
customized installation – which reduces desktop support effort and manual
intervention
Benefits with .msi
Easy to install / un-install / upgrade
Standard Command for installation / un-install / upgrade etc.
One-time customization
Remote Deployment reduces manual intervention
Easy to take reports (Successful / failed installations)
Self-Healing method is available
Repair option available
Rollback process available when the installation fails
Easy to manage in wide environments
Customization of application is possible and very easy
Complete transparency of installed files / folders / registry etc.
Challenges with .exe Application
Applications are normally installed manually
No Standard Command for installation / un-installation / upgrade etc.
No Self-Healing method is available if it is corrupt
No Repair option available
Difficult to handle upgrade / un-installation on .exe applications
No rollback process available when the installation fails
Difficult to get report of failed installations
Challenging to manage in wide environment
Customization is not possible
There is no transparency of installed files / folders / registry etc.
Common Challenge Examples:
There are standard commands for installation, installation was done
manually
Created icon on the desktop which many users do not like
Added many unwanted files in start menu
Users can uninstall / change the application from control panel (only
want a select few to have access)
If files are deleted, the application will not do self-healing
Un-installation command is unknown
Application Repackaging Process
Clean Machine Snapshot (Pre-Snapshot)
Installation
Snapshot After Installation (Post-Snapshot)
Change in system: Post-Snapshot – Pre-Snapshot = Change.msi
Two Method Selections, Installation Monitoring and Snapshot
o Installation Monitoring records the changes you are doing and
then stores them in an output file that can be converted to .msi
o Snapshot takes an initial snapshot of system, runs the
installation, then takes another snapshot. The difference
between the two is saved in an output file that can be
converted to .msi
Two Snapshot Methods, Single Step, and Multiple Steps
o Single Step automatically analyzes the initial system status first,
then runs one or more setup programs (to modify local system),
then analyzes the status changes
o Multiple Steps breaks up the single step method
Select “Analyze the initial system status” and click next,
the Pre-Snapshot method will complete
Next you want to install the application
Open Repackager again
Once you get to Snapshot method, you will want to
select the second option “Analyze system status
changes”
For Product Information, make sure to have the correct
version
Finish
Go back into AdminStudio and it will show you
information it has detected in the Post-Snapshot
Once you are in the Dashboard, you will most likely have to do some
clean up in “files and folders”
o In the training, he installed VLC and the only folder kept was:
ProgramFiles64Folder
VideoLan
o VLC
All folders withing VLC
In “Registry Entries”
o You can blindly remove everything under
“HKEY_CURRENT_USER” (HKCU)
o In HKLM, exclude anything that does not pertain to your
application
In “Shortcuts”, eliminate all unwanted shortcuts
“Package Information should be good unless you want to add any
additional information
When finished with adjusting the application, click “Build”
After you build, you can modify the settings by right clicking the app,
“Edit with InstallShield”
o “General Information”
You can change the product name
Shows the unique product code
You can change the location of where the file is stored
Can add or remove programs/buttons so certain users
can or cannot access them
o “Setup Design”
Way to add features or components
o “Shortcuts”
Allows you to create or disable shortcuts for users
In “Behavior” under “Advertised” if it is checked as
“yes”, the moment someone launches the program, it
will call all the files. If one of the files is missing, it will
repair the application completely and reinstall it
o When done editing, make sure to save your work and exit
After you have your good .msi, copy it to a safe location
o We will revert our VM so it is clean, but we want to make sure
to keep our .msi that we made changes to
o After reverting the VM, copy your good .msi to the new, clean
VM desktop (For practice), and install
To Install, go to cmd prompt
c:\Users\(Username)\Desktop(If it is stored
there)>msiexec.exe / i “(name of the application you
are installing)” / q (quiet mode) / norestart / l*v
c:\Users\(Username)\(Location)\(name of file)install.log
(creates a log file)
o You can verify if it installed properly in the control panel
o To uninstall, there is only one change:
c:\Users\(Username)\Desktop(If it is stored
there)>msiexec.exe / x “(name of the application you
are uninstalling)” / q (quiet mode) / norestart / l*v
c:\Users\(Username)\(Location)\(name of
file)uninstall.log (creates a log file)
o 2. Application Transform
Only applied on application which is in .msi format
Transform is a process of customizing the installation behavior of application
This is done to a set company standards and distribution methods
Admins do transform of application to prevent dialog boxes that appear during
installation so that users are not allowed to enter non-company standards
information
Find a .msi and download it (ex. 7 Zip)
Then transfer it to your VM
To silent install: c:\Users\(Username)\Desktop(If it is stored
there)>msiexec.exe / i “(name of the application you are installing)” / q (quiet
mode) / norestart
To see if installation completed: appwiz.cpl in search bar
To transform application, you’ll need to uninstall: c:\Users\
(Username)\Desktop(If it is stored there)>msiexec.exe / x “(name of the
application you are uninstalling)” / q (quiet mode) / norestart
Right click applications and “Edit with InstallShield”
Do whatever edits needed for the specific application
Install again to see the changes made
o 3. Authoring / Building .msi Application (Loose File Packaging)
Only applied on application which comes in loose file format
Building .msi is necessary to register the application in add/remove program and
registry of target computers
This is done to set company standards and distribution methods
Admins can control the deployment of application installation / un-installation /
upgrade / retire etc.
Helps to get report of how many users are using such applications
Because you can copy and paste from a link, we cannot keep track of who is
using this file, so we want to make a .msi to keep track of that information
o 4. .exe Silent Installation
Only applied on .exe applications which are anti-virus, developer applications
like Java, Microsoft applications, applications which have .msi inside it or any
critical application which might break the functionality if repackaged
Done to set company standards and distribution methods
