Offline installation of the packaging tool

[Sebdrown]

Hi

I need to install the tool on an offline Win10 1809 ; anyone knows where to get directly the setup file instead of downloading it with the Ms Store?

Tanks

[#2 · Accepted solution]

The Microsoft Store for Business web portal allows you to download the package and distribute within your enterprise.  https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/distribute-offline-apps 

John Vintzel

Program Manager Lead, MSIX

[#3]

I found that using a web monitoring tool like Fiddler, you can trace the download from the Windows Consumer Store as well, and find the url to the installer package.  You'd be looking for the one ending in .appxbundle.

I'll mention (as long as we are talking about offline), that to perform a capture using the tool while offline, the driver needs to be pre-installed.  So you can install the tool and while online, start the process until the driver is installed, then cancel the tool and make your snapshot.

[#4]

John, it doesn't. There is no option within Store for Business to get this app and make it available Offline.

Perhaps you could provide the steps, if you believe it should be available as you describe.

[#5]

If you add the app to your Store for Business catalog: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/apps-in-microsoft-store-for-business (make sure you select offline license)

Then you can download the app package: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/distribute-offline-apps

John.

[#6]

@John Vintzel 

So first we have to set up Store For Business? The point was to install it without the store.

[#7]

@Johan Nilsson While I would like to see Microsoft make this easier, I can attest that it is at least possible. End-user's don't need to use the Store for Business/Education, but to deploy the packaging tool currently someone at IT does, and you can kindof figure out how to do it from the links (which are pretty generic so you have to wade through a lot). It is more work than the fiddler trick, but I don't think that trick works any more anyway. 

The key to make this work for me was to understand that even though the store app is free, there still is a license. So after you add it to the Store for Business/Education and download the contents once, you'll have an appxbundle file and a dot bin file.  The dotbin file is the license file.  So gather them both and using add-appxprovisionedpackage for offline with the bin file as the license (alternatively you can invoke dism directly instead).   

[#8]

@Johan Nilsson We also offer a Quick Create VM in Hyper-V.  It provides a eval version of Windows 10 1809 and the MSIX Packaging Tool preinstalled.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/msix/packaging-tool/quick-create-vm

John.

[#9]

@John Vintzel Yep, thats the way I do it now, pretty cool but quite a few steps to set it up every time. Doesnt look like we cant save snapshots of the QC VM.

[#10]

@Johan Nilsson There is no limitation of checkpoints when using a quick create VM.

[#11]

mkablan67@outlook.de

[#12]

@Johan Nilsson  If you go with the Quick Create you'll want to be sure to tune up that OS before taking the snapshot.  Out of the box it is quite noisy for package capture.