Bring and distribute your dekstop applications on the Universal Windows Platform with the Desktop Bridge
- 2. Agenda 1. Desktop Bridge overview 2. The conversion process 3. Enhancing a packaged app 4. Expanding a packaged app 5. Migrating a packaged app 6. Reach all the devices with UWP
- 3. Classic desktop applications • Based on the Windows APIs (Win32) included in Windows • They are available only in the full edition of Windows for PC and tablets • They can be developed with multiple technologies and platforms, including non-Microsoft ones: o Windows Forms o WPF o C++ o Java o Delphi o And many more…
- 4. User experience challenges today Getting the right software Finding the right, trusted installer Chain-installers (adware) Staying up-to-date
- 5. Software vendor challenges today Maintaining installer tech Providing auto-updates “DLL Hell” Modernization Trustworthy distribution Monetization/licensing
- 7. Modern deployment technology • Streamlined developer experience o No more setup authoring o Only trusted apps are able to install o Optimized updates/downloads • Great user experience o No elevation/user account control o Always up-to-date o Clean uninstallation, minimal system impact • Ready for the enterprise o Distribute through sideloading, MDM or Windows Store for Business
- 9. A modern packaging system 9 • The Win32 process runs in an isolated environment, but not in a sandbox like UWP apps • Special access to the registry: o Write operations are stored into a binary file o Reading operations are made against a merge of the system registry and the binary file • The AppData folder is mapped with the same folder used by UWP apps for local storage, which is isolated
- 10. The manifest file A XML file that describes the features of the application, like: • The entry point • The identity of the application (name, publisher, CPU architecture, etc.) • The capabilities • The extensions (both special Desktop Bridge and UWP extensions) • The visual layout of the default assets (tile, store logo, taskbar icon, etc.) It’s a declarative and easier model to handle compared to a regular desktop application
- 11. File system redirection • Converted apps are installed in C:Program FilesWindowsApps: C:Program FilesWindowsAppsMicrosoft.DesktopAppConverter_8wekyb3d8bbwe • App data is redirected to C:Users<username>AppDataLocalPackages C:Users<username>AppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.DesktopAppConverter_ 8wekyb3d8bbweLocalCache
- 12. The Virtual File System 12 • To solve the “DLL hell” problem, every converted app has a special folder called VFS, which maps all the system folders (like Program Files, Windows, System32, etc.) • When a converted app is running, it will look for 3rd party dependencies in the VFS folder and not in the system folders • This way, the package deployment can’t overwrite existing DLLs or dependencies used by other apps
- 13. The requirements 13 • A converted application always runs in the user context and can’t elevate itself as admin • Your app can’t install a kernel-mode driver or a Windows service • Your app can’t modify the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) registry hive (since it’s outside the user’s scope) • Your app can’t write data in the installation folder • Due to file system redirection and registry virtualization, your app can’t write in AppData or in the registry with the goal of sharing data with another app
- 14. Special extensions 14 Thanks to a set of special manifest extensions, you can still implement most of the typical features of a desktop app, but in a better and simpler way: • Startup tasks • Execution aliases • Protocol association • Files and File Explorer integration • Files preview integration in File Explorer (for example, thumbnails) • Firewall rules • Expose COM objects to other applications
- 15. Demo: The deployment experience of a converted desktop application
- 17. Multiple options to convert a desktop application 17 • Desktop App Converter from Microsoft starting from an installer or a self- executable application • Packaging with Visual Studio 2017 • 3rd party tools to create installers like: o InstallShield o Wix o Advanced Installer o RAD Studio for Delphi o InstallAware
- 18. Desktop App Converter and installers 18 • The Desktop App Converter is a command line tool based on a set of PowerShell scripts, which leverages the Container feature added in the Anniversary Update • It’s available from the Store: https://aka.ms/converter • It requires a base image that matches your current Windows build, that can be downloaded from https://aka.ms/converterimages • You need the Windows 10 SDK installed: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=821375
- 19. Sample DAC command DesktopAppConverter -Installer "FlightTracker.msi" -Destination "C:FlightTracker-AppX" -PackageName "FlightTracker" -Publisher "CN=AppConsult" -Version "1.0.0.0" -MakeAppx -Sign -Verbose
- 20. Installer requirements • If it’s a MSI installer, DAC is able to handle it automatically • If it’s made with another technology, it must support silent installation and you need to specify the parameter to trigger it using -InstallerArguments DesktopAppConverter -Installer "FlightTracker-Setup.exe" -InstallerArguments "/S" -Destination "C:FlightTracker-AppX" -PackageName "FlightTracker" -Publisher "CN=AppConsult" -Version "1.0.0.0" -MakeAppx -Sign -Verbose
- 21. Dealing with the CPU architecture • By default, if the app isn’t compiled for a specific CPU architecture, the DAC will generate a x64 package • If you don’t need to address such a big memory space, it’s better to generate a x86 package (or even better, both) to reach a broader range of devices DesktopAppConverter -Installer "FlightTracker.msi" -PackageArch "x86" -Destination "C:FlightTracker-AppX" -PackageName "FlightTracker" -Publisher "CN=AppConsult" -Version "1.0.0.0" -MakeAppx -Sign -Verbose
- 22. What you get as output? A folder with the app package version of your desktop app • The app manifest • Virtual file system • Binary registry file • Assets • Resources for Windows 10 scaling support
- 24. DAC and manual conversion • The Desktop App Converter can convert also a standalone application stored in a folder (executable with its dependencies) • In this case, the Base Image and the Windows Container feature aren’t required • The output is the same as when you use the DAC with a traditional installer, except for the binary registry file and the virtual file system folder
- 25. Sample manual DAC command DesktopAppConverter -Installer "C:FlightTracker" -Destination "C:FlightTracker-AppX" -AppExecutable "FlightTracker.exe" -PackageName "FlightTracker" -Publisher "CN=AppConsult" -Version "1.0.0.0" -MakeAppx -Sign -Verbose
- 26. Demo: Desktop App Converter with a MSI installer
- 28. Keep a converted project up-to-date • Typically, the Desktop App Converter is executed just once and it’s the starting point of the process • You leverage the output folder and reiterate on it every time you need to release a new update with some changes, like: o An updated executable o One or multiples updated or added DLLs o One or multiples updated or added images or assets o New extensions declared in the manifest • Exception: if you have updated the installer to add new registry keys, 3rd party dependencies, expose COM objects, etc. you need to run DAC again to capture all the changes
- 29. MakeAppX • MakeAppX is a command line tool included in the Windows 10 SDK that can generate an app package starting from the output of the DAC • With the –MakeAppX parameter, the DAC can generate the package automatically as output of the process • You can manually generate the package starting from the output folder of the DAC every time you make some changes makeappx pack –d "PackageFiles" –p "MyApp.appx" -l
- 30. SignTool • If you want to deploy your app manually or in an enterprise environment, the app must be signed with a trusted certificate • It can either be a certificate purchase from a certification authority or a self- generated certificated trusted by all the devices in your company • If you want to publish the app on the Windows Store or Windows Store for Business, you don’t need to sign it • For testing purposes, you can use the –Sign parameter with the DAC to generate a testing certificate and an already signed app package • If you have manually generated the package, you can use a command line tool called SignTool included in the Windows 10 SDK to sign the AppX
- 31. Verify the package • If you are on the Anniversary Update, don’t use the Windows App Certification Kit (WACK) to certify a converted app, since it doesn’t support them • If you are on the Creators Update and you have installed the matching SDK, WACK properly support testing and identifying potential issues in a converted desktop app
- 32. Demo: The WACK report
- 33. Other conversion options • If you have already an installer for your application created with any of these tools, you can export an app package directly without using the Desktop App Converter: oInstallShield oWix oAdvanced Installer oRAD Studio oInstallAware
- 34. Demo: Exporting an app package using Advanced Installer by Caphyion
- 35. Migrate at your own pace app
- 37. Enhance • You can start to leverage some specific Windows 10 features • New generation’s UWP APIs to perform tasks like sending notifications, updating the live tile or leverage speech services. • Keep customers engaged and prompt them to return to the app thanks to the new features
- 38. Supported UWP APIs • Converted desktop apps can use a wide range of Universal Windows Platform (UWP) APIs, even if they have not fully transitioned to a UWP app • Some UWP APIs available to full desktop applications are not supported for converted apps. If your desktop application used UWP APIs before conversion, you should verify those APIs are still supported. • Supported API’s o You can view APIs newly supported in converted apps or APIs supported in both converted apps and desktop applications at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porting/desktop-to-uwp-supported- api#new
- 39. Welcome Visual Studio 2017! You can add to your existing desktop solution a JavaScript project which will help you to: • Generate the app packages • Edit the manifest using the visual editor • Generate assets for all the supported Windows scaling factors Desktop Bridge Debugging Project: a Visual Studio extension to launch and debug a desktop as converted https://aka.ms/bridgedebugging
- 40. Desktop Bridge Helpers • Goal: keep the same code base both for the converted and the native app • Open source library based on a C++ method exposed by the Windows kernel which checks if the app has an identity • It can detect if the app is running as converted or as native https://aka.ms/bridgehelpers DesktopBridge.Helpers bridgeHelpers = new DesktopBridge.Helpers(); if (bridgeHelpers.IsRunningAsUwp()) { //show a toast notification }
- 41. Demo: Enhancing a Windows Forms app to display a toast notification
- 42. Expand
- 43. Demo: Expanding a Windows Forms app to use a background task
- 44. Migrate
- 45. Demo: a UWP app which invokes a Win32 process on desktop
- 46. Reach all
- 47. Demo: moving all your code to UWP