Microsoft Intune Win32 App management support was announced at Microsoft Ignite 2018, this has been the biggest ask from customers around the world since Microsoft released Windows 10 back in Aug 2015 with a build-in MDM stack so we was able to AzureAD join and automatic MDM enroll a device into Microsoft Intune.
At the beginning we only had single MSI install, Windows Store and Appx support in Intune.
In 2017 we got the Intune Management Extension where we was able to create a powershell script that downloaded (from a “fileshare”) and install the app without any installation status went back to Intune – so the IT Pro was able to see if the applicaiton was a fail or success.
So the Win32 app deployment feature is Intune Management Extension with the availability to deploy complex application. If you know of the application model in SCCM this new feature will be very familiar to you.
If you want more – take a look at the Microsoft Ignite Sessions:
BRK3285 – Deep dive into evolution of Windows app management with Intune
Requirement for running the new Win32 app deployment feature is:
Windows 10 version 1607 or later (Enterprise)
Windows 10 AAD or hybrid AAD joined devices with automatic MDM enrollement
Windows application size is capped at 2GB per app in the public preview
Note: Microsoft has not tested on Windows 10 Pro
First you need to get the prep tool from github
Microsoft Intune Win32 App Upload Prep Tool
There are very few parameters that can be used
-h Help
-c <setup_folder> Setup folder for all setup files.
-s <setup_file> Setup file (such as setup.exe or setup.msi).
-o <output_file> Output folder for the generated .intunewin file.
-q Quiet mode
In this blog post I will show how to deploy Adobe Reader DC – see how to packages Adobe Reader here
It is to use Adobe Reader as a example – it has all that have been missing from Intune, multiple files and a .exe installer.
I have copied the IntuneWinAppUtil.exe in c:\temp\AcroRdrDC19 and put all the files in c:\temp\AcroRdrDC19\AcroRdrDC19 and want the output in this folder : C:\temp\AcroRdrDC19\AcroRdrDC19.intunewin
So the command looks like this:
.\IntuneWinAppUtil.exe -c C:\temp\AcroRdrDC19\AcroRdrDC19\ -s setup.exe -o C:\temp\AcroRdrDC19\AcroRdrDC19.intunewin
Is runs at at last it completes at 100% under the way it is encrypting with SHA256 and compress the installations files like a .zip file – in this example it goes from 386MB to 202MB
How to create the app in Intune:
Start the Microsoft 365 Device Management portal : Https://devicemanagement.microsoft.com
- Click Client apps
- Click Apps
- Click Add
Add app – app type Windows app (Win32) – Preview
- Select app type : Windows app (win32) – preview
- Click Select file
- Click to upload the .intunewin file
- Click Configure
- Enter Name : Adobe Reader DC
- Enter Description : Adobe Reader DC PDF reader
- Publisher : Adobe
Scroll down until :
- Click Select Image
- Upload Icon file to Adobe Reader
- Click Configure
- Enter the install command – for Adobe Reader it is “setup.exe -s”
- Enter the uninstall command – MsiExec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-AC0F074E4100} /q
In the event log you can see the MSI Installer ID used for the uninstall string
- Click Configure
- Operating system architecture – select 32-bit and 64-bit
- Minimum operating system – select Windows 10 1607 (unless you want to restrict to a newer version of Windows)
- Disk space required (MB) – enter 475
You can always see on a device where the software is installed in Apps & Features in the settigns app on Windows 10 what the disk space required (MB) is.
- Click Configure
- Select Manually configure detection rules (It can also be a custom script)
- Click Add
Detection rule
- Rule type : MSI (It can also be a file or registry)
- MSI product code : enter the MSI product code
As the last point you can specify a custom return code if the application installer is not using a standard return code.
- Click Return codes
Then the application is uploading
Then you are ready for the assignment
- Click Assignments
- Click Add group
Assignment type – there are 3 different options
- Available for enrolled devices – in the company portal
- Required
- Uninstall
- Select Available for enrolled devices
- Cli
In the Audit log you can see that the application is created
More details when you click on the audit entry
Now to the end user experience:
In the Company Portal the app is now ready for the end user to install
Click Install
In regedit you can see all the settings on the device:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IntuneManagementExtension\Apps\b9720458-6abe-4061-8c59-04808b24545f
Happy deployment
Read more:
Does this also works if I use co-managed devices (SCCM and Intune at the same times)?
It is only working when MDM is set to automatic enrollment – and you cannot do that with AAD registering
We have a stand alone Intune and I am trying to deploy win 32 app as available for user groups, but the applications are not showing up in the company portal. When I am deploying the application as required the application is getting installed. Also one more thing is Microsoft windows store applications when deployed as available, I can see them in the company portal. Is there anything extra that I need to do prior to the steps above? Can you please help me with this? (Machines are azure AD registered)
Worked like a charm. Thank You Per!
Hi Per, do you have information on how to keep Reader DC up-to-date via Intune? Any instructions on how to set this up? Not using the method check for updates as users do not have local admin rights? Thanks
Hi peter, thanks a lot for this great guide! Is it possible to install apps remotely to the computers, please? thanks, david
Thanks Peter, works perfectly.
Does this installation cost addition while installing for small company using intune?
Hi,
is there any additional cost on installing and using Adobe Acrobat Reader with MSIntune?