EMCO Software is a leading innovator on the remote
administration and management solutions market. Headquartered in Reykjavik,
Iceland, we are an international company with offices and operations around the
globe. Since the company's founding in 2001, we have been dedicated to providing
network administrators with feature-rich, easy-to-use and affordable software
and improving productivity of IT departments. Focused on the real-world needs of
network professionals, our products are simple to try, simple to use, and simple
to maintain while providing the power, scalability and flexibility needed by
companies and organizations of all sizes.
Our solutions portfolio includes award-winning products targeted at remote
network inventory, remote software deployment, remote desktop access and
administration, network protection from viruses and malware, network security
and health analyzing, remote power management, and remote automation.
EMCO MSI Package Builder
Create MSI Packages and Convert EXE to MSI With No Hassle
An innovative installation editor designed for an effortless creation of MSI packages. It helps you create MSI packages automatically by using the changes tracking technology, or manually by using the visual editor. The application can be used to repackage legacy installations and convert EXE to MSI files in order to customize installers and prepare them for a silent remote deployment. Thus created packages can be deployed through Group Policy or EMCO Remote Installer.
Do you agree that application management belongs to the most routine and time-consuming tasks for system administrators? Nobody seems to be enthusiastic about visiting every PC in the building and following the same installation sequence time and again. Nevertheless, it's important to keep applications updated and under a centralized control, otherwise they become unmanageable quite soon. It doesn't matter how many PCs you have - 10 or 10 000; the only chance to manage installations effectively is to rely on automated systems.
How to Build MSI: Effortless Approach
How can EMCO MSI Package Builder help
you? Let's identify week points of remote deployment first. One of the
widely used means of remote installation is the domain's Group Policy.
It's pretty powerful, but if you consider using it, you have to be aware
of its requirements:
Group Policy only enables deployment
of those applications that are ready for silent unattended
installation. The automatic process nature leaves no place for
options selection and interaction with the user, hence the setup
file design should account for this.
A Windows Installer package (MSI
file) is needed for installation though Group Policy. Deployment of
EXE files is not supported directly, so you need to repackage EXE to
MSI.
Obviously, there are many installations
that do not meet these requirements. Is it possible to deploy them
remotely? Certainly! This is a task for EMCO MSI Package Builder to
produce new or convert existing installations into a format suitable for
silent unattended installation.
EMCO MSI Package Builder goes beyond the
scope of typical installation creation tools and straightforward EXE to
MSI repackagers. It's not just another MSI editor or builder. You are
not limited by feature set bounds, and at the same time you don't need
to browse hundreds of pages of manuals and learn a specific installation
language. Instead, you benefit from an automatic and fully visual MSI
creation process based on the pioneer 'Live Monitoring' technology.
How can you create MSI or customize an
existing installation? With MSI Package Builder you can follow a
traditional way and enter the set of files and registry keys for
installation manually in the visual editor. Or you can save a lot of
effort by trying the automatic build approach benefiting from the 'Live
Monitoring' technology. In this case, the process is very easy and
consists of just a few steps:
Start monitoring by pressing the
button in the application. This action activates collecting
information about changes on the file system and registry.
Start the activity to be monitored.
It can be an original setup file, which you need to execute to then
follow the installation process as usual by selecting options and
entering data. Or it can be a set of actions required for a new
installation, for example, files copying. All changes undertaken on
the file system and the registry are automatically tracked.
Stop monitoring by pressing the
button when the monitored activity has finished. All monitored
actions are displayed in the visual editor and can be changed if
required.
Build MSI automatically using the
monitoring results.
This approach significantly simplifies
producing of customized MSI packages for any existing installation. You
just need to monitor the installation process where you can select
required options. The thus generated package performs exactly the same
actions as those taken during the manual deployment and is ready for a
remote deployment.
Key Features
Creation of MSI packages,
which can be installed manually on a local PC or
automatically on remote PCs through Group Policy or EMCO
Remote Installer.
Intuitive visual editor for
managing files, folders, registry and environment
installation entries. Truly visual approach - no programming
skills required.
'Live Monitoring' technology
that enables capturing of file system and registry changes
caused by any application. Collected data used for MSI
creation.
Decompilation, which allows
decompiling the existing package, making changes and
creating a new customized MSI package.
Installation of Windows
services. Service entries can be defined manually in the
visual editor or come from the monitoring results.
Extended installation
management features: system variables support, control of
files and registry keys overwriting, file attributes
support, files and registry keys permanence options, etc.
Why EMCO MSI Package Builder?
EMCO MSI Package Builder helps you create
MSI packages, thus it can be used every time you need to create an
installation. You can rely on it even when other deployment tools fail,
namely:
When you need to create a setup file
but don't know how to do it. Don't worry - you don't need to undergo
any special training. Using the intuitive visual interface, you will
be able to create your first installation within a couple of
minutes.
When you want to make a mass
application deployment on remote computers. You just need to monitor
the manual installation process using the 'Live Monitoring'
technology, and MSI can be automatically created from the monitoring
results. The generated package can be installed remotely by means of
Group Policy or EMCO Remote Installer.
When you have to convert EXE to MSI.
This can be done automatically using the 'Live Monitoring'
technology. Moreover, you can select different options in the course
of the original installation process, and your selection will be
reflected in the produced MSI.
When you need to uninstall an
unwanted application from remote computers. For this, monitor the
application deinstallation and create MSI from the monitoring
results. This package can be executed on remote computers by means
of Group Policy or EMCO Remote Installer to uninstall an
application.
Select Edition
EMCO MSI Package Builder is available as
Professional and Enterprise editions with different features
and at different prices. Below you can see a high-level feature
comparison of these editions.
Professional Edition
Enterprise Edition
Functionality Focus
Build brand-new MSI
Convert EXE to MSI
Customize existing MSI
MSI
Creation Approach
Manual creation in the
visual editor
Automatic creation based on
the monitoring results ('Live Monitoring' technology)
File permanence: preserve
file during uninstallation
Registry entries: create,
modify, delete
Registry entry permanence:
preserve registry entry during uninstallation
Services: install,
uninstall, start, stop
Environment variables:
create, modify delete
Licenses issued for MSI Package
Builder versions prior to 3.3.1 are equal to Enterprise Edition
licenses.
Related Products
EMCO
Remote Installer - A timesaving tool intended for software remote
installation. It allows you to retrieve a list of applications installed
on every PC in the local network, to automatically detect changes in
this list and to make a mass remote installation and deinstallation of
software. The software deployment process is automatic, unattended and
silent; all you need is an MSI package ready for silent installation and
a list of the PCs where it should be deployed. The rest is the EMCO
Remote Installer's business.
EMCO
Installation Suite - This bundle targeted at management of
installations and applications throughout the local network. It includes
two innovative products: EMCO MSI Package Builder and EMCO Remote
Installer, which allow you to create new or customize existing
installations and deploy them remotely onto PCs in the local network.
You can also convert EXE to MSI for existing setups to prepare them for
remote installation. As a result, you get an integrated solution that
spares you most tiresome and routine application management tasks and chores.