Deployment Settings

Basic Deployment Steps

1. Open Application Library.

2. Go to Add New App>Hosted Apps.

3. Search for the application you want to deploy and click the plus button to add it to the Application Library.

4. In the Application Library, click the three-dot menu next to the app → Select Deployment.

5. A settings window will open with multiple configuration options.

Default Deployment Settings

When an application is deployed using Pckgr’s default deployment settings, the following behavior occurs:

1. Installation & Detection:

   • Pckgr checks whether the application is already installed on the assigned devices.

   • If the application is not present, it is installed.

   • If the application is already installed, Pckgr verifies the version number and updates accordingly.

2. Automated Updates:

   • Pckgr continuously monitors for updates to the application.

   • Once an update is available, Pckgr tests, packages, and automatically pushes the new version to Intune.

   • This ensures that all managed devices stay up to date without manual intervention.

3. Intune Integration:

   • The application is uploaded as a Win32 app into Microsoft Intune.

   • Pckgr does not alter existing group assignments or Intune settings; it simply replaces the older version with the updated package.

4. Update Control:

   • By default, auto-updates are enabled, meaning new versions are pushed as soon as they pass testing.

   • Users can modify deployment settings to delay updates or require manual approval before pushing a new version.

5. Silent Deployment:

   • The application installs or updates in the background without user interaction.

   • Users can be prompted to close specific applications if needed, and updates can be deferred based on the altered deployment settings.

6. Dependency Management:

   • Private Repository applications are fully self-contained and do not require external dependencies.

7. Application Visibility:

   • Once deployed, applications can be viewed and managed directly within Intune.

   • Pckgr provides a “View in Intune” option for quick access to deployment details.

Installation Settings

The default behaviour of the deployed application can be altered through the deployment settings window prior to deployment:

• Custom Install String

  • Allows you to override the default install string.

  • You can add registration keys, or custom parameters.

  • Ensure that the full silent install command is included, leaving out only the filename.

• Update Only

  • Select this option if you only want to update devices that already have the application installed.

  • If the application is not installed on that device, it will not be deployed/updated.

  • Useful for Company Portal deployments where users install apps manually. (Go to Company Portal Page)

• Keep Intune History

  • Keep all versions of this application in Intune, rather than Pckgr performing a complete replacement of the existing application with the newer version with each update.

  • This is useful only for implementing Application Rollbacks for critical bugs within business-critical applications. Read how to implement an Application Rollback here.

  • Keep this setting unselected to only have the most recent version of the application in Intune at all times.

• Rename Application in Intune

  • Modify how the app appears in Microsoft Intune.

  • This can be used for naming conventions, tagging, or personalizing app names.

• Remove Version Number in Intune

  • Removing the version number from the name is for aesthetic purposes only and does not affect the functionality of the app.

• Auto Update (On/Off)

  New versions of applications are always detected, tested and packaged as soon as they are released. For the Auto update setting:

  • If ON, the new version is automatically pushed from the Application Library to Intune, as soon as it is available.

  • If OFF, updates will remain in the Application Library until manually deployed.

    • If disabled, an email notification will be sent when a new version is available.

    • To manually update, click the three-dot menu → Update.

• Enrollment Status Page (ESP) Integration (Autopilot)

  To include the updates for this application in your Autopilot push, fill this section in with the ESP ID. This setting ensures that the most recent versions of the applications will be installed when onboarding new devices through Autopilot.

  • Ensure you have connected your tenant via the Policy Manager tool to enable this setting connection.

    • Go to Policy Manager at the top of your Dashboard.

    • Go to Connect Tenant and follow the prompts.

  • In the Deployment Settings for you application, enter the ESP ID to ensure the latest version of the app is included in the Enrollment Status Page.

  • To find the ESP ID:

    • Open Intune → Go to ESP Settings → Open the profile → Copy the ID from the URL.

  

  • For further information regarding Autopilot integration with Pckgr, visit the Autopilot page.

• Application Dependencies

  • Select the dependency applications for this application using the drop-down list.

  • These applications will be listed as dependencies for this application entry in Intune.

Schedule Management: Create a Staged Roll-Out

• Global Delay

  • Using the slider, set a delay (in days) between the finalisation of the testing and packaging of an update and the update being pushed from the Application Library to your Intune tenant for deployment.

  • Useful for avoiding vendor bug releases, receiving the fixes or zero-day patches that were pushed post update release instead.

• Pilot Group Assignment

  • Select an Intune Group ID to test the update on specific devices before rolling it out company-wide.

  • To find the Group ID:

    • Open Microsoft Intune → Go to Groups → Select the group → Copy the Object ID.

  

  • Paste the Group ID in the Pilot Group settings box.

  • The Production Delay slider is now activated.

• Production Delay

  • Using the slider, set a delay (in days) between the Pilot Group roll-out and pushing the update to all production users as per your device assignments settings in Intune for this application.

  • This allows time for testing and issue resolution within a controlled environment, before it becomes a company-wide issue.

Confirmation of the roll-out implementation can be viewed in Intune under the 'availability' status of your Pilot and Production Groups.

Switch to PSADT V4

This setting allows you to opt into using PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit version 4 (PSADT v4) for this deployment. When enabled, Pckgr will build the application package using the latest version of PSADT, offering improved compatibility, enhanced logging, and support for branded user prompts.

If left disabled, the deployment will continue using the standard PSADT version for full backward compatibility.

For a full overview of PSADT and the benefits of version 4, see: PSADT v4 – What It Is and How Pckgr Uses It

Advanced Installer Options

These settings affect the behaviour of the application update once it reaches the end user's device.

The standard installation method is Silent, the application will update without the user knowing and without disruption. The following settings are for applications that require further interaction.

• Defer Updates - instead of Silent Install

  • Users receive a Windows pop-up notification when an update reaches their device, prompting the user to allow or defer the update installation.

  • They can defer the update a specific number of times before it is forced, as determined in the deployment settings window.

• Defer and Close Applications Before Updating

  • Similar to the Defer Updates setting, the 'Allow Defer Close Apps' setting creates a Windows pop-up notification when an update reaches their device, prompting the user to allow or defer the update installation, and in the case they have the listed applications open, they will be prompted to close them.

  • The user has the option to close these applications to allow the installation, or defer the update.

  • In this settings box, list multiple applications to be closed by separating them with a comma (e.g., chrome, firefox).

    • The app names are the exact process names as found in Task Manager.

To ensure the Pop-up notifications are branded inline with your Company Name and Logo, enable the 'Switch to PSADT V4' setting, download the following files and follow the instructions in the drop down below.

Brand the Pop-up notification with your Company Name and Logo

To brand the Pop-up notification to suit your Company and ensure your end users trust the instruction, please follow the steps below:

1. Convert your Company Logo to a base64 file, using a free online tool such as Base64 Image.

2. Download the Company Branding script hosted here and input your Logo in base64 in the instructed location within the script and save.

1. In Intune, go to Windows>Scripts and upload your Company Branding script with the following settings:

1. Assign device-based group in the Group Assignments.

2. In Intune, go to Devices>Windows>Configurations and select Import ADMX. Add the PSADT configuration profile using the relevant files hosted here.

1. Go to Policies and select Create Profile.

2. Select Templates for Profile type and go to Imorted Administrative templates.

1. Create the template selecting PSAppDeployToolkit>Toolkit path and alter the Company Name and PSAppDeployToolkit>Assets path and alter the Logo with your Logo path, as shown in the images below.

Select 'Enabled' in CompanyName and input your Company Name.

Select 'Enabled' in Logo and enter your logo path.

Your pop up notifications for application update deferrals will now be branded with your Company Name and Logo.

Note: For this feature to work, you must have the 'Switch to PSADT V4' setting enabled. Read more about this setting above the Advanced Installer explanations.

Prompt for Restart

• Prompts the user to restart their device after the update.

• The restart notification includes a countdown timer, the length of which can be altered in the settings box.

• Remove Shortcut

  • Deletes the desktop shortcut of the application after installation.

  • Useful for removing clutter from user desktops.

  • Install Flow: the shortcut is automatically added during the installation, after which a shortcut cleanup script is run to search for and remove the shortcut file.

  • The shortcut file name is the name of the application with the '.lnk' extension. For some applications this may require an initial installation on a test device to confirm what the name of the shortcut is.

Best Practice FYI

• If using the "Defer Prompt" option, we recommend hiding the Intune toast notifications for the application to prevent confusion with the end user. This is because if they choose to defer the installation, Intune will flag it as a failed install and show a toast notification.

• Be aware when assigning to device-based groups that installs can occur without the user being logged in. This means if you have set processes to be closed or device reboots, it will happen without prompting the user. To avoid this please assign to user-based groups.

MacOS Deployment Settings

macOS applications in Pckgr are deployed using an integration with Installomator, which automates installation and updates through a shell script in Microsoft Intune.

Before deploying a macOS application, your tenant must be connected via Policy Manager. This enables the permissions required to upload and manage shell scripts in Intune. You can access Policy Manager from the top navigation bar of your Pckgr dashboard.

macOS devices are not included in your total device count until you deploy your first macOS application. Once deployed, any enrolled macOS devices will be counted automatically.

Deployment Settings:

• Update Only – Only updates devices where the app is already installed.

• Force Update – Installs the update without prompting the user to close the application.

• Hide Notifications - Installs the application without showing the user information notifications.

Click Deploy to Intune, and Pckgr generates a shell script that installs and updates the application automatically via Installomator.

Deployment to Intune

1. Once all settings are configured, click Deploy to Intune.

2. The application status will update as Pckgr packages and uploads the app to Microsoft Intune.

3. Intune will process, verify, and register the application.

4. Once completed, the status will change to "Success".

5. You can now manage the app through Intune or click View in Intune from the Pckgr dashboard.