About Repackaging Windows Installer Packages

AdminStudio 2023 | 25.0 | Automated Application Converter

As a general rule, Windows Installer setups should not be repackaged. Instead, they should either be edited in InstallShield Editor, or, as Microsoft recommends, by creating a transform.

However, some IT organizations may elect to repackage Windows Installer packages in order to simplify them, which should make them more reliable and less likely to violate the organization’s and Microsoft’s recommended best practices. You can use the Automated Application Converter to automatically repackage a group of Windows Installer packages by selecting the Windows Installer Packages (*.msi) option on the Select Output Formats panel of the Application Conversion Project Wizard and the Application Conversion Wizard.

If you choose to repackage a Windows Installer package, you need to keep in mind that you may no longer be able to:

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Directly deploy vendor-provided patches for this package, OR

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Use any vendor-provided automatic updating service for this package.

Therefore, you should only consider repackaging a Windows Installer package if your IT staff is also willing to invest resources into periodically repackaging that application’s vendor patches into an updated Windows Installer package.

Note:Tightly-controlled organizations probably would not want to have automatically-updating software, so the inability to use an automatic updating service may not be of concern to them.