How to create a custom App Installer experience

Article
03/16/2023

Note

This App Installer feature has been temporarily rolled back and will not work right now. Please check back later for further updates as we plan to bring this feature back.

The App Installer App is used for all MSIX installations providing a consistent experience for all users installing an MSIX application. While this consistency is good, we want to also provide the ability for developers to customize the install experience that they are providing to their users. This feature is available on Windows 10 1709 and later.

Create your custom MSIXAppInstallerData.xml file

The first thing you are going to need to customize your App Installer experience is the customization xml file. You can customize several features of your App Installer UX, to make your own unique installer experience. Be sure to save the file name as MSIXAppInstallerData.xml

Here is a list of parameters available for customization:

App Installer UX Setting	Description
UX::AccentColor	A hex code to change the accent color of App Installer
UX::FontFamily	Font family
UX::AllowUserInteraction	Boolean. If true, the user can see the 'launch when ready' checkbox (checked by default) and has the option to cancel the install
UX::BackgroundColor	A hex code to change the background color of App Installer
UX::AppNameInTitle	Boolean. If true, the app name will appear in the installer window title.
HyperLinkFontSize	Hyper link font size.
Icon::HorizontalAlignment	Icon alignment within the window. Left, center, right
Icon::Logo	Link to icon location
Icon::TopMarging	Margin from the top of the icon to the top of the application window.
Buttons::HorizontalAlignment	Button alignment within the window. Left, center, right
Buttons::Text	Additional text to add to the Install buttonIs
Buttons::IsSecondaryButtonAccent	Boolean.
LaunchWhenReady::HorizontalAlignment	Alignment of the checkbox for 'Launch when ready'. Center, left.
AppInformation::Mode	Additional Information show type. Normal, flyout
Hyperlinks::TopMargin	Specifies margin between hyperlink and buttons.
Hyperlink::Text	Text to display as hyperlink
Hyperlink::Url	Link
Hyperlink:: HorizontalAlignment	Alignment of hyperlink within the window. Left, center, right

Sample xml:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 

<AppInstallerUX xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msix/appinstallerux"  

xmlns:ux="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msix/appinstallerux" 

xmlns:ux2="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msix/appinstallerux/2" 

IgnorableNamespaces="ux ux2" Version="1.0.0"> 

  <UX AccentColor="#DE781F" FontFamily="Segoe UI" AllowUserInteraction="false" BackgroundColor="#F3F3F3"  

  AppNameInTitle="true"  

  HyperLinkFontSize="12"> 

    <Icon HorizontalAlignment="center" Logo="Images\Contoso96x96.png" TopMargin="70"/> 

    <Buttons HorizontalAlignment="center" Text="Contoso" IsSecondaryButtonAccent="false"/> 

    <LaunchWhenReady HorizontalAlignment="center"/> 

    <AppInformation Mode="flyout" /> 

    <HyperLinks TopMargin="30"> 

      <HyperLink  Text="Terms &amp; conditions" Url="https://support.microsoft.com/" HorizontalAlignment="center"/> 

    </HyperLinks> 

  </UX> 

</AppInstallerUX>

Save your file as 'MsixAppInstallerData.xml'

Add the xml file to your MSIX application

Using the MSIX Packaging Tool – Package Editor

Open your MSIX application with Package Editor in the MSIX Packaging Tool
Go to your Package Files and add a new folder under your Package root called 'Msix.AppInstaller.Data'
Add your MSIXAppInstallerData.xml file to your newly created folder.
Save your MSIX Package – be sure to increment the version and sign the package

Troubleshooting

The file must be named MSIXAppInstallerData.xml
The file must be in the folder named MSIXAppInstallerData
The folder must be underneath the Package root of the package files
Check your OS version and your App Installer version
Double check the validity of your xml file

File feedback if you run into any other problems or reach out to the MSIX team on our Tech Community.