Few Packaging Standards & Definitions

Packaging Standards & Definitions

In general, an application owner/requester is responsible for the integration of the application in Windows client and defines how the application is installed and configured.

A packager is generally provided with the application source and Install instructions, which should generally contain:

∙         Basic information like application name and version, application owner, package creator etc.

∙         Information about destination computers.

∙         Information about dependencies to other applications that may be installed beforehand.

∙         Command line options to run the setup in unattended mode.

∙         Command line options to remove the application in unattended mode.

∙         Configuration settings that needs to be done before installing the created MSI package.

∙        Guidelines on the installation of the MSI if it is with silent installations or if Wrapper      is created for the same.

For best repackaging performance and bandwidth savings, “Create .msi file + external compressed .cab file“ has to be chosen in the “Repackaged Output Options“ during MSI/MST file creation in Install Shield.

In case there are more than one shortcut in the Start Menu, they should be moved to a “application folder” under Start Menu Programs. This folder is either named by the application or by the software producer, as per ease.

●    Shortcuts must be created as advertised shortcuts, to support the self-repair feature

●  Shortcuts related to Read me/URL/Documentation/Manual etc should not be present. They must be removed from a Windows Installer package if they are installed by default.

A windows installer package may have several dependencies such as:

• Application requires to install some other standard applications like .NET framework 3.5 SP1 or SP2 etc.
• Installation of the packages  in a specific order.
• Requires a system reboot after the installation
• Such information must be documented clearly in the application packaging questionnaire and provided to the application packaging team. The management of these dependencies becomes an operational task within the application deployment mechanism.
• Some applications inherit a function to automatically search for updates in the Internet. These automatic updates features must be disabled.
• No uninstall icons must be installed in the Start menu or somewhere else on the desktop.
• The uninstall button must be disabled in “Programs and Features” to restrict users from uninstalling the applications.
• Best practice for 'Machine Level changing Custom Action' is to schedule it after 'InstallFiles' action, since all the files are installed by end of this process and necessary system level changes can be made then.
• Component should not be “shared” unless there is a DLL file inside the component which is used by another application. In that case, this DLL will get uninstalled when the other application gets uninstalled. Else don't keep it "Shared".

Note: If you repackage a Windows Installer package MSI, the component codes within the package are not retained and hence future patching or upgrades will not work. Vendors will no longer provide support for that product.