Windows App Installation

Installing and uninstalling the classic apps .msi and .exe on Windows devices

With the Relution Companion for Windows, it is now possible for administrators to upload classic apps (.msi and .exe applications) from a Windows device to the Relution App Store and conveniently install and uninstall them on all Windows devices managed by Relution.

The following steps must be followed for a successful installation:

  1. The Native App must be selected in the app inventory via Add.

Relution App Store add button with Native App option selected for Windows classic app upload

  1. In the next step, the appropriate file in the correct format .msi or .exe must be uploaded via Select File and the native file manager.

Relution app upload dialog showing Select File button for .msi or .exe file upload

  1. After pressing the button add details, the app details page opens. The required parameters must be found out by the administrator and entered manually. The minimum information includes the version name and one of the available detection rules.

Relution Windows app details page showing version name and detection rules required fields

  1. Optionally, parameters for installation and uninstallation can be set under version information. To enable an automatic process, the /s or /quite parameter should be set here, which will perform an installation and uninstallation of the app in the background without manual intervention.

Relution Windows app version information section showing silent install and uninstall parameter fields

  1. Subsequently, detection rules are added that allow the Relution Companion for Windows to uniquely identify the applications on the Windows machine.

Relution Windows app detection rules section showing add rule button for app identification

  1. Three types of detection rules are available. At least one rule is required to detect the program on the Windows device. For .msi files, the MSI detection rule is required in order to be able to uninstall the app. For .exe files, the two detection rules File and Registry are suitable. It is possible to use multiple detection rules for an app.

Relution Windows app detection rule type selector showing MSI, File and Registry options

  1. To apply the MSI detection rule, the MSI product code of the application is entered in the corresponding field. Since there can be multiple versions of an application, enabling the MSI version check allows to additionally check for the version number. To specify a unique version number, the value Version is equal is selected in the Operator field and then the unique version number is entered.

Relution Windows MSI detection rule form showing product code and version check fields

  1. The file detection rule detects by the installation path if the application is installed on the Windows device. For this purpose, the path of the folder is specified. In addition, the appropriate, exactly pre-installed folder must be detected and the respective architecture of the program must be selected. You can choose between 32-bit or 64-bit applications.

Relution Windows file detection rule form showing installation path and architecture selection

  1. The Registry detection rule checks the existence of the application on the Windows device against the Windows registry key. The Registry key, Registry value, Detection Method and Value fields are specified manually. The name of the registry value is always DisplayName. In order to uniquely detect the application on the Windows device, it is recommended to select Value is equal to for the Detection Method field. The required Value is obtained from the application itself.

Relution Windows Registry detection rule form with registry key, value and detection method fields

Relution Windows Registry detection rule with DisplayName value and equals detection method configured

After adding the required detection rules, the application can be saved. Afterwards, the native app can be conveniently installed and uninstalled on all managed Windows devices via the Relution App Store.

Uninstalling Windows Store Apps

Windows Store apps cannot be uninstalled via the graphical interface. Therefore, it is necessary to remove them locally or via Relution using a PowerShell script. Below are the general steps:

1. Find the app on the device 

Get-AppxPackage -Name *<AppName>* -AllUsers

2. Uninstall the app via script 

Get-AppxPackage -Name *<AppName>* -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

Note: The app’s provisioning package may remain on the device. To completely remove the app, first query the provisioning package and determine the PackageFullName:

Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Select PackageName

Then remove it completely:

Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online <PackageFullName> | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage

3. Recommendation: Use WinGet

Whenever possible, WinGet should be used. It provides access to significantly more apps and makes uninstallation easier: WinGet →