Install via Microsoft Store
yttrian opened this issue · comments
crutkas update 2020.06.17:
you can get this via WinGet
winget install PowerToys
crutkas update 2021.09.17:
You can install PowerToys in the Microsoft Store via https://aka.ms/getPowerToys
Summary of the new feature/enhancement
The Microsoft Store is a convenient way to install software (like Python 3, WSL distros, Windows Terminal Preview, Spotify, and others) and keep them up to date automatically. I feel bringing PowerToys to the Store would be useful for these reasons.
It's already available via Chocolatey, why not the Store as well?
Thank you.7
Hi @yttrian
the only reason why it's not in the Microsoft Store yet is that we haven't had the time do it, but we will ;)
Thanks for closing my Dupicarlte of this Issue. I stand FIRMLY behind my statement and request
"Number One; Make It So"...
Hi @my-life-is-confetti
we are already working on this issue, we didn't have the time and there was also a technical limitation that prevented us to use the Store when we first released the technical preview.
But we are 100% with you on this, we need to have it in the store ASAP.
Thanks.
Thanks for closing my duplicate of this issue. I stand FIRMLY behind my statement and request
"Number One; Make It So"...
Thanks for closing my duplicate of this issue. I stand FIRMLY behind my statement and request
"Number One; Make It So"...
Remember, we're an open source project, if you feel passionate about this, happy to have you help out :)
Assigning tentative to 0.16, would love if we can pull this in sooner but this needs other work to be done first.
can in powertoys a funcion like sets/tabs in vensters like the old windows 10 insider build.?
@banaantjes please open a new issue for that and please stay on topic in this issue
@my-life-is-confetti, we are working on it. We're testing pretty heavily and are hitting a few issues such as #1135 and #1039. We're working with teams to be sure we're correctly doing the right thing.
The other big push we're doing is #368 which should be in PR be EOW for FancyZone settings. we needed so we can have stuff for Store be right out of the gate.
Other issues that needed to get corrected was #645 and #411.
What's the status for this issue now? Anywhere to se what's left to do?
MSIX / Store Build Update
We put in a lot of effort here but currently our plan of record is to make the MSI our only installer option and built-in auto-upgrade. MSIX is a great installer / container tech but there are few spots we are working with the team to improve so we can adopt.
In my opinions auto-upgrade is always the alternative when you cannot use the system's default distribution method. Before Windows 10 we didn't have options, but now Windows Store shall always be considered as the first choice, especially for Chromium Edge.
We put in a lot of effort here but currently our plan of record is to make the MSI our only installer option and built-in auto-upgrade.
Also non-admin install would be needed to get replicate the usability of Store/MSIX.
We put in a lot of effort here but currently our plan of record is to make the MSI our only installer option and built-in auto-upgrade.
Also non-admin install would be needed to get replicate the usability of Store/MSIX.
working on that right now :)
1+ for Windows Store, much more convenient to update and have the latest version of all apps
Any news?
Windows Store needs urgently to become a First Class citizen. I hope Power Toys gets a home in it very soon.
Any news?
None. But VSCode team say that they will release MSIX installer after June 2020, may 10 June.
Now VSCode team say MSIX installer still in process, I think it's a good news.
Store currently requires packaged apps (MSIX). We need the MSIX team to do some additional work which will benefit the developer ecosystem as well.
This is one of our long term goals but until we can get feature parity with the current installer, we are at a bit of a holding pattern
Also, FYI, you can install via WinGet
winget install powertoys
Yes but you can't update it that way
@TheZoker if PT was more aggressive on auto-updating itself, would that solve your problem?
Hmm good question. In my opinion (in an ideal world), winget would install stuff like python, java, php and all those dev packages (without a GUI).
And all other applications (especially with a GUI) would be installed via the Microsoft Store. I know that this is a very unlikly thing to happen, but this would be my goal. And by now I can already install many apps via the Store and I try to convince the devs of all the missing apps, to publish them there.
For python etc. I currently use scoop, which is a very good tool for that. But if winget supports update, uninstall etc. I think I will switch to that.
That's my 2 cents on this topic :)
@TheZoker that is a preference, i personally use scripts to setup my systems a lot. WinGet to set up everything is a life saver
Main reason that we're after it is the deployment/update experience. We use InTune so being able to roll out apps via the Store is both an easy deployment method and an easy update method. We can roll out MSIs but then we have to either roll out the updates ourselves or rely on apps updating themselves
@MatthewSteeples, we're working on getting the installer in a better state so we can actually do quiet updates. I think 0.19 actually fixed the explorer restart need so with .20, we may be able to silent update on users :)
and no changes to the main registry, and clean uninstall
and no changes to the main registry, and clean uninstall
There are components that need to be registered in order to work, unless Windows changes that, there is nothing that PowerToys can do about it.
and no changes to the main registry, and clean uninstall
if we don't uninstall cleanly, please file a bug against us and we'll fix it. Per @enricogior, to do things like shell integration that require registry keys. Under the hood, an MSIX is doing the same thing.
So, now that even PowerShell is published to Windows Store, I really hope that more and more barriers are getting worked around over time. Looking forward to see PowerToys in the Store, eventually.
MSI installations lag my PC :(
Also it's not aesthetic to have an installer running on my background and also a notification that keeps asking me to update it.
wow they no longer even provide an msi anymore. no hope for msix. (i mean msix as a packaging technology, not for msix packages for powertoys, to be clear.) the hypocrisy and inconsistency is just on another level at MS
wow they no longer even provide an msi anymore. no hope for msix. (i mean msix as a packaging technology, not for msix packages for powertoys, to be clear.) the hypocrisy and inconsistency is just on another level at MS
Apparently MSIX is not yet ready to handle admin rights, so until that is fixed, Powertoys won't work well as an MSIX distribution.
wow they no longer even provide an msi anymore. no hope for msix. (i mean msix as a packaging technology, not for msix packages for powertoys, to be clear.) the hypocrisy and inconsistency is just on another level at MS
Apparently MSIX is not yet ready to handle admin rights, so until that is fixed, Powertoys won't work well as an MSIX distribution.
Whats about that the msix version just wouldnt support this feature? Is that possible?
Whats about that the msix version just wouldnt support this feature? Is that possible?
It's not possible. The type of things we do with the msi are currently not supported by msix.
@blogcraft Hi just wondering why you gave my comment a downvote. I'm not wrong, am I? Microsoft owns all of this stuff and this is all new. No one can use the "legacy" argument.
@Poopooracoocoo Try to be polite and constructive to avoid downvotes.
Apparently MSIX is not yet ready to handle admin rights, so until that is fixed, Powertoys won't work well as an MSIX distribution.
Whats about that the msix version just wouldnt support this feature? Is that possible?
Non-admin install is tracked here: #411 . Apparently it was enabled for a while using MSIX.
What about just making the installer downloadable from the store?
Hmm... So thanks to @itsme-alan I realize that this is a lonnnnng story.
Went through the history of this issue but it is not clear how are going things as of March 2021.
Would someone be able to sum up what did the team achieved, where is it stuck and how far it is from a possible release on the Windows Store?
Thank you!
Current rumors say MSFT is working on adding win32 apps into the store. So we should wait
Current rumors say MSFT is working on adding win32 apps into the store. So we should wait
Please tell me that was a (bad) joke. Haha.
Current rumors say MSFT is working on adding win32 apps into the store. So we should wait
It's already possible to submit win32 apps to the store for nearly two years. But they must be packaged as MSIX. The rumors say that they plan to allow regular exe/msi packages. And also other browsers like Chrome and Firefox and other Stores like Steam.
So with the new store this shouldn't be a problem.
But I still believe that PowerToys must be packaged using MSIX
@Aaron-Junker So with the new store this shouldn't be a problem.
No it just means that the title would need to be updated to "MSIX".
I would assume that exe/msi installation doesn't provide automatic updates which is one of the key advantages of store apps as we know them today (as described in the first post here). So putting exe/msi apps on the store would give a much worse experience than what people are used to with current apps on stores across Windows/iOS/Mac/Android.
Just want to add another reason why adding PowerToys to Windows Store is useful:
Several companies use Windows Store to deploy additional software (e.g. Citrix Workspace) to their PC clients.
Everybody in those companies can install approved apps from Windows Store on their own and as needed.
Additionally the software stays up-to-date without any additional software checkers.
With this technique those companies are more willing to allow additional tools like PowerToys.
Finally it is available in Microsoft store 👍
@sheikalthaf I have zero clue what you're talking about :) We're not totally not in the store yet at https://aka.ms/getpowertoys
If we were, I TOTALLY would have had a blog post / announcement about this and had the readme updated as well.
wink wink
Unfortunately, it's just listed in the store, but it's still not a store app 😉
Behind the scenes it downloads the regular installer, it requires additional permissions when installing, and it gets not automatically updated via the store.
@berhir The ask here was to install from the Microsoft Store and that is what we enabled for everyone. You can go to the Microsoft store and now download and install PowerToys.
I think you are actually asking for an application packaged with msix or appx style packaging. This is something we did try a year ago or so but hit a few blocking bugs that have been reported accordingly due to the style of application PowerToys is. With what we do, the fact we're a suite of applications as well as future items like video conference mute, it is hard.
If you feel strongly on this as a need, please lets kick off a discussion in a new issue so we can keep this on the topic of the Store install. We do post our our on https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/wiki/Roadmap just as a FYI so you can see where our thinking is at any point in time.
Imho, the important thing about store installs is that they keep up-to-date that way. Does the current publishing there automatically kick off an update whenever PowerToys does?
@TPS The store should install exactly the same thing as you get from the releases page, so for the update.
@TPS PT currently has too disruptive of an installer process to auto-update. We have a few work items to simplify this that will be done in the future for other work items (like monaco powered file previewer). Once we can remove UAC prompts and move more into PT itself from the installer, we can heavily simplify the install process.
If this issue is resolved then it's a bit of a technicality - there isn't a real advantage to users of a store app that doesn't auto-update and probably requires admin privileges vs the current deployment mechanism. The whole thing thread would need to be restarted and would say exactly the same things except with "msix" or "auto-update/non-admin" replacing "microsoft store".
@crutkas if you still think a separate issue is needed rather than retitling this one to MSIX, should it be a new one or reopen one of the closed MSIX issues like #5502 that link to this one?
Why not keep PT as is but create an MSIX package "PT light" which removes all tools requiring admin and then publishes that via the store?
@charlesroddie great discussion for different issue. Store allows you install trusted applications. If you install visual studio from the store, it has the same model that PowerToys does for both need of UAC as well as how it installs. We are working on adjusting the need for installer UAC prompts.
@berhir The ask here was to install from the Microsoft Store and that is what we enabled for everyone. You can go to the Microsoft store and now download and install PowerToys.
Not for everyone, it seems:
https://aka.ms/getPowerToys just opens the initial page of the Store.
Windows 10 Pro 21H1 19043.1237
Anyways, my main motivation was also auto-update (and a bit the lack of an install process)
@aWeinzierl You need windows 11 with the new store for this
Actually the new store will be available to Windows 10.
Today, we are excited to introduce a new Microsoft Store coming soon to both Windows 11 and Windows 10. It will help you discover and install the best apps, games, movies and even special offers – like unique movie discounts for Xbox Game Pass members. All the content in the Microsoft Store is tested for security, family safety and device compatibility.
Anyways, my main motivation was also auto-update
PowerToys in the store will use the same update mechanism as the ones you get from the GitHub releases page.
Anyways, my main motivation was also auto-update
PowerToys in the store will use the same update mechanism as the ones you get from the GitHub releases page.
@just1a-person Could you develop that with a little more details?
@crutkas Just read the initial request and the issuer was already asking for an auto-update. This seems quite natural to me. Would you mind detailing a bit why this issue would just put the entire PowerToys code to trash? (You're speaking of highly disruptive.) I do not clearly see what's making it difficult e.g. as a lack of certificate, etc.
To install PowerToys from the store, you need the "new" store., which is (currently) only on Windows 11. The new store will come to Windows 10 in the future.
As for updates: PowerToys is installed in the store like any "pure" win32 app, like Discord or Opera. "Pure" win32 apps in the store do not use the store update system and instead must use their own system.
@willemavjc we have work we're doing on our installer to basically make it so we can do auto-updating in 0.51 iteration. With some of the shell integration PowerToys does, if we auto-updated, it is an extremely disruptive with manual interaction needed.
Back Jan 2020, we did try and do a MSIX installer version of PowerToys and we hit certain issues that were deemed too disruptive to the PowerToys experience based on feedback from the MSIX test and how we'd have to develop, debug and test. Feedback was provided to the MSIX packaging team. In most scenarios, MSIX is a great bit of tech and highly recommend it being the first spot most people look for packaging/installer tech.
We know people want auto-update and are working toward a sustainable solution based on how PowerToys needs to interact with the shell as well as develop/debug/test. #10126 is the large work item to enable us to do easier updates. Doing it will simplify a lot of stuff and remove the UAC dialog on install/update. If memory serves, this will touch 4 major subsystems, new exe and introduce a new user interaction dialog. It is a big work item but will enable some great experiences and improve both the developer and end user experience with the installer drastically.
Long story short, trust us, we're working on it, only so many hours in the day and we all have lives outside work. We're enabling experiences and solutions as fast as we can partner / update / create them. We know it isn't perfect and are working on improving it little by little with a the fantastic community support as well.
If you want to chat more, crutkas@microsoft.com, happy to setup a call and dive deeper.
Closing this out as we're in the store now and the new store will shortly enable Windows 10 users to grab it as well.
@crutkas Looks like PowerToys still isn't being installed by the Store? I thought PowerToys got MSIX packaging a while ago. What happened to the issue the PowerToys team was tracking. What happened?
I just installed PowerToys through the Store, which just ran the installer, and it immediately prompted me to update it. The Microsoft Store should be updating it an installing it.
@alekhyareddy28 @jaimecbernardo Can I ask what all these ⬆ pr's (and forks / #12943) are about? settings-web was removed a while ago.
That's a bot detecting deprecated dependencies and opening a PR on those forks. I think we can ignore.
@Jay-o-Way thanks for the callout.