Creating an App-V Package

MSI Package Builder supports virtualization by repackaging existing installations into App-V packages. The App-V package can be created during an installation repackaging process or manually from an existing regular MSI Package Builder installation project.

To create an App-V package manually, you can use the Create App-V Package item from the Projects view pop-up menu or from the Builder group on the Home Ribbon page. When an App-V package is created based on a project, the options for the package created are filled automatically using the values defined in the Project Details view, while during the repackaging process they are defined on-line, and then saved to the created project. Let us take a look at the available options and describe each one starting with the general product information Pic 1.

The general information consists of the Product Name, Platform, Manufacturer, Icon, Language and Version. The product name, manufacturer and icon are used to display the product on the system. The platform is used to define if the installer is deploying an x86 or an x64 application. The Language field is responsible for defining the language and the encoding used by the installer package.

The version is the most important field of the general information because it is responsible for a correct package installation and upgrade. That means that every time you prepare an updated package using the same project you should change its version to a higher one. And it is also displayed on the system.

The Package GUID is responsible for the package identification. It is generated automatically by default and is never changed in most cases. The Description field is used to provide a description for the package.

The next aspect of an App-V package configuration is the install options Pic 2. You can specify the list of supported operating systems and set up the level of interaction of the virtual application with the underlying operating system.

The last thing to define, which is also optional, is a set of support and summary properties. Those are available in the package properties and are displayed on the system. You can use the properties defined in the program preferences or override them for this package.

After all the required settings have been configured, either within the Project Details view or within the package creation wizard, all you need is to provide a path to the location to save the resulting App-V package to and press Finish. As soon as the package is created, it is ready for deployment.