In this article, we'll talk about how Windows Installer defines the directory location of an installation, what the INSTALLDIR and TARGETDIR properties are, and what is the difference between them.

Uninstalling a package is as important as installing it, so it's crucial to handle it with care.

Command-line switches should be present in every setup installer. When it comes to MSI installers, they support command line switches by default.

You now have a quicker and simpler way to manage advanced shortcuts to files and folders with Advanced Installer version 19.8.

Process Monitor is probably one of the most used tools by IT Pros to debug applications and check installations. We mentioned Process Monitor in our MSI Packaging Training free e-book but this time around, we want to explore it further. We will discuss its prerequisites and share how you can get started with it.

We are aware of how challenging it is to add or edit menu items for unpackaged desktop applications to the new Windows 11 context menu.

With the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22567, Microsoft added a new security feature called Smart App Control (or SAC in short).

Starting with version 19.7 of Advanced Installer, you have a quicker and more efficient way to create and configure Windows Explorer context menu items for your application, when runing on Windows 11.

Manually repackaging batch applications can be time consuming, especially when you have to deploy the applications on more than one computer.

Installer testing and application testing are two completely different subjects, even though they can seem very similar.

Software packaging is the process of building an installer that includes all your applications' resources and can be used to distribute them on the end-user devices.

A ProductCode is made up of string GUIDs containing numbers and uppercase letters.

Installer Analytics' most recent release introduces a brand new feature that allows you to track any property that you define within your setup package.

Product analytics is a core part of a business’s success.

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.

Depending on whether we're installing or updating an application, we need to use different types of files. For instance, we use MSI files when installing Windows applications, but if we want to make a small update, we can use an MSP file.

Continuously managing security improvements and updates, as we do at Advanced Installer, should be your top priority.

Silent installs are the preferred delivery method within an enterprise environment given that end-users don't have to worry about installing or having technical knowledge and just focus on using the software products.

Many popular Windows features like Notifications, File Explorer Context Menu or Shares cannot be used by non-(MSIX)-packaged Win32 applications.

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’.