Something to note: I haven't updated this article yet, but if you are trying this for the first time, another program called AutoHotKey Dash now supports compiling scripts as executables and I believe should work with this process if you have a preference there. Whenever I have more time to deep dive into it, I will be updating this article.
Hey! Just found your site - really interesting information here! We've been struggling with app packaging in a higher-ed environment with all the faculty needing different applications for research, and classes, and just all sorts of things.
I just wanted to check, though - when you said "As far as I know, this doesn’t work at all outside of Kiosk installs," do you mean assigning them to devices that have been configured as Kiosk endpoints, as opposed to an end user's device?
Because AutoIT runs on the user desktop and injects keystrokes/mouseclicks, this isn't something that can be pushed silently to the device (the install could try to run while the user has the device locked). If it was, the keystrokes would not happen to advance the installer. Instead, if you are going to package an installer this way, it has to be pushed to the device as an optional download in Company Portal. This way you can ensure the install happens with the device unlocked and signed in as a user. Poor wording on my part in the original post.
I'm planning on writing an article soon with tips and tricks for advanced packaging of software (I'm almost done packaging all of our district's software in Intune, so I've learned a LOT of tricks). Keep an eye out for that! Thanks.
I'll absolutely keep an eye out for that! Packaging is honestly one of the most tedious parts of the job! I have way more installs running off scripts than I would like, but there's just not much to do about that!
Have you explored any other packaging options, outside of the Win32 application utility? From doing a bunch of searching, I know a lot of people recommend Chocolatey, but that would require an additional install on end-user machines, so I shied away from it.
I definitely prefer Win32 over the other methods, just because it feels the most consistent and it's definitely the most universal method. I haven't tried Chocolately, but I have pushed out many things using winget. From what I understand, if you go to create an app in intune and use the Windows Store (new) option, this creates a winget package. It's a lot easier, but I can't speak on the consistency of this method because it's fairly new.
Does this works for windows 11?
Yes it does!
Something to note: I haven't updated this article yet, but if you are trying this for the first time, another program called AutoHotKey Dash now supports compiling scripts as executables and I believe should work with this process if you have a preference there. Whenever I have more time to deep dive into it, I will be updating this article.
Thanks!
Hey! Just found your site - really interesting information here! We've been struggling with app packaging in a higher-ed environment with all the faculty needing different applications for research, and classes, and just all sorts of things.
I just wanted to check, though - when you said "As far as I know, this doesn’t work at all outside of Kiosk installs," do you mean assigning them to devices that have been configured as Kiosk endpoints, as opposed to an end user's device?
Thank you for the kind words!
Because AutoIT runs on the user desktop and injects keystrokes/mouseclicks, this isn't something that can be pushed silently to the device (the install could try to run while the user has the device locked). If it was, the keystrokes would not happen to advance the installer. Instead, if you are going to package an installer this way, it has to be pushed to the device as an optional download in Company Portal. This way you can ensure the install happens with the device unlocked and signed in as a user. Poor wording on my part in the original post.
I'm planning on writing an article soon with tips and tricks for advanced packaging of software (I'm almost done packaging all of our district's software in Intune, so I've learned a LOT of tricks). Keep an eye out for that! Thanks.
I'll absolutely keep an eye out for that! Packaging is honestly one of the most tedious parts of the job! I have way more installs running off scripts than I would like, but there's just not much to do about that!
Have you explored any other packaging options, outside of the Win32 application utility? From doing a bunch of searching, I know a lot of people recommend Chocolatey, but that would require an additional install on end-user machines, so I shied away from it.
Good afternoon!
I just wanted to let you know that I finished the Win32 Tips and Tricks article is posted if you are interested.
Thanks!
I definitely prefer Win32 over the other methods, just because it feels the most consistent and it's definitely the most universal method. I haven't tried Chocolately, but I have pushed out many things using winget. From what I understand, if you go to create an app in intune and use the Windows Store (new) option, this creates a winget package. It's a lot easier, but I can't speak on the consistency of this method because it's fairly new.