Windows Package Manager Tab

The Windows Package Manger tab of the InstallShield Prerequisite Editor lets you specify the Windows Package Manager (WPM) package you want to install as a prerequisite to your product.

Windows Package Manager is a system or set of tools used to automate installing, upgrading, configuring, and using software from a Microsoft public repository. Window Package Manager client winget tool search the package in the repository and install the package based on the package manifest information.

Note:Windows Package Manger prerequisites are not supported to import in Advanced UI and Suite/Advanced UI projects.

WPM prerequisites runtime are supported on Windows 10 and later workstations. In other operating systems, the WPM prerequisites are skipped during runtime.

Settings on the Windows Package Manager Tab

Setting	Description
Install from Windows Package Manager	Select this if the prerequisite you want to install from the Windows Package Manger. On selecting this check box, all other tabs other than Windows Package Manager and Behavior tabs are disabled and those all are not applicable to Windows Package Manager prerequisite. And the reboot settings under the Behavior tab also disabled. Note:Note: Windows Package Manger prerequisites that require administrative privileges may require to configure the Administrative privilege setting under the Behavior tab.
Package Id	You can get the Package Id either by searching the package manifest in the Microsoft repository or by executing the Windows Package Manager client winget with the search or show options.
Version	Specify the version of the package you want to install from the Windows Package Manger. Either the latest version or the specific version. By default, Windows Package Manager client winget install the latest package available in the repository. If multiple versions are available in the WPM repository, you want to install the specific version then you can specify the exact version which is available in the Windows Package Manager repository.

During the WPM package installation, InstallShield checks whether the WPM client winget tool is available in the target machine. If the winget client tool is not available, InstallShield installs the Windows Package Manager prerequisite in the target machine. So, during the build, InstallShield bundle the Windows Package Manager.prq based on the setting in the Settings.xml. You may have to download the Windows Package Manager.prq files from the Redistributable view, by selecting the context menu option Download Selected Item… for the Windows Package Manager.prq, else the build may fail if you have chosen the Prerequisite Location to Copy From Source Media or Extract From Setup.exe.

Find the Settings.xml file that is installed with InstallShield. Settings.xml is installed in one of the following locations, depending on which language version of InstallShield you are using:

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English—InstallShield Program Files Folder\Support\0409

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Japanese—InstallShield Program Files Folder\Support\0411

Search for the <WPMRedistributable> element and its child element. By default, it look like this:

<WPMRedistributable Name="Windows Package Manager.prq" />

If the <WPMRedistributable Name=""> is empty, then InstallShield will not bundle the Windows Package Manager.prq during the build and wont install during the runtime. But ensure to have the WPM client winget tool available in the target machine, else the installation of WPM package will be skipped during runtime.

InstallShield frequently updates the Windows Package Manager prerequisite with the latest WPM winget client tool in the InstallShield server. Prefer to use the Build Location to Download From The Web so that the latest WPM winget client tool will be updated in the target machine during the runtime.