Features

Convert executable installers to MSI packages

Once your setup program is wrapped in an MSI package, you can deploy it using Group Policy Objects (GPO) or System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

If your exe supports silent installation, you can make your MSI silent too. You can add parameters to your exe when it is launched by the MSI Wrapper.

When you build your MSI package, you can specify the properties for the package. Properties include information such as product name, manufacturer, icon, version, comments, and much more.

Windows can show you a list of installed programs. This is where the user typically goes to uninstall a program. The MSI Wrapper will replace the original entry from the wrapped setup and make sure that both the wrapped program and the MSI are uninstalled correctly.

Some installers require elevation under certain circumstances and others do not. With the MSI wrapper, you can choose the level of elevation that fits your wrapped installer best.

Both “per user” and “per machine” types of installations are supported. This is used to control if an installed program is available to all users on the machine or only the installing user.

Most installers can signal to the operating system that a reboot is needed to complete the installation. With this tool, you can map an exit code from the wrapped installer to make the MSI package signal the need for a reboot.

Building your MSI package can be automated. This is useful if you are a software developer and want to integrate the MSI Wrapper in your build scripts.

Even after the MSI is created, you can dynamically change the parameters, which the wrapped installer receives. Using a special command line switch on the MSI, you can pass parameters to the wrapped setup.

Some executable installers create multiple entries in Window’s list of installed programs. Using the MSI Wrapper you can make the uninstallation process remove all relevant components. This creates a cleaner removal process and improves the overall quality of the MSI.

Executable installers often return an exit code. An exit code carries information about the result of the installation process. Installers can produce different exit codes. There is no standard that dictates which code to return in specific situations. Therefore, the MSI Wrapper has a feature that lets you map these custom exit codes to meaningful Windows Installer codes.

Some executable installers require the presence of other files in the same folder as the executable installer. This is supported using the “Include Files” feature, which packs all files in the directory and sub directories of the executable installer. All these files are extracted at install time.

An MSI package can be run with different levels of user interface. It can run in normal mode where a user interface is shown or in silent mode where the installation is fully automated. Based on the UI level of the running MSI, you can send different parameters to your wrapped executable. This way your wrapped installer can adapt to the UI level of the Windows Installer.

You can make the MSI package run a command before or after the installation of the wrapped setup. This means that you can run any command line to prepare for your installation or maybe clean up after the installation. Maybe you have included a batch script, you want to run.

This tool was originally built to wrap an executable setup program. However, you can also use it to package and run a simple batch script. A batch script can be used to launch any other type of script such as PowerShell, JavaScript, VB Script, or Python.