Attention: Check our plans by clicking here!
This article describes the application distribution and installation functionality for Windows devices, detailing the usage process, relevant information, and use cases for administrators and users.
Windows application distribution offers several practical applications to optimize device management. Below, we present two common use cases:
Remote Tool Installation for New Employees: When a new employee joins the company, the administrator can add their Windows device to the group corresponding to their department. Automatically, the standard software and applications for that role will be installed, streamlining the onboarding process and ensuring the new employee has all the necessary tools from day one.
Implementing Software Policies by Department: It's possible to create specific groups for each department (finance, HR, engineering, etc.) and distribute the applications required for each team's activities. This ensures that each user has access only to the tools relevant to their work, optimizing resource usage and information security.
Prerequisites
To distribute Windows applications, the following prerequisites must be met:
Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Agent Version 1.2.8+
The system supports the upload and installation of the following file formats for Windows applications:
.msi (Windows Installer Package)
.exe (Executable File)
Applications with the .msi (Microsoft Installer) extension are native and officially supported by Microsoft. These applications are designed to support silent installation (without user interaction), which is the method used by the Pulsus platform for software distribution.
Applications in the .exe format do not follow a single creation or deployment standard. For this reason, not all of them support silent installation, which may cause the installation via the Pulsus platform to function incorrectly, depending on how the installer was developed.
Important: Applications or software distributed as installation packages (setup) are not supported for silent installation by the Pulsus Web platform.
A setup.exe file is an executable that typically acts as an installation wizard, guiding the user through steps such as file extraction, shortcut creation, and system configuration. This type of installer requires user interaction; therefore, it is not possible to manage or install this type of file automatically through the Pulsus Web platform. Examples of applications in this format include: “Firefox setup.exe”, “Google setup.exe”, and “Sophos setup.exe”.
Accessing the Functionality
The application management functionality is accessed as follows:
Go to the Applications tab → Add New in the upper right corner.
Click on Upload App.
Select the .msi or .exe file for download and the group where the application will be installed.
a. Select the file for upload;
b. In this section, the administrator can select the Windows device group(s) to which the application will be distributed.
c. If necessary, you can include an extra parameter to ensure that the silent installation is performed correctly.
Click Add.
Differences Between EXE and MSI Installers in Silent Mode
MSI (Microsoft Installer) Installers: These have native support for silent installation using standard msiexec options. For example, you can use msiexec /i package.msi /qn or msiexec /quiet to install without a graphical interface. Therefore, if the administrator uploads an .msi file, the platform should execute it with the /qn (quiet, no interface) flag so that it doesn't show any windows during installation.
EXE Installers: Each installation executable can have its own silent mode option. There is no single standard—common parameters include /S, /s, /silent, /quiet, -s, among others. It is crucial to consult the application's documentation or knowledge bases to find the correct parameter. Without the appropriate parameter, the ".exe" installer will display installation screens (wizard, license terms, etc.) or simply fail the installation.
In summary, when an app doesn't install via Pulsus Web, it's usually because its installer requires a specific silent parameter that was not used.
Some Examples of Applications That Need Extra Parameters
Mozilla Firefox: The full Firefox installer (.exe) supports silent installation with the /S (silent) parameter. Without this parameter, it opens the graphical wizard and asks for administrator confirmation. Alternative: Mozilla provides MSI Firefox installers for corporate use, which can be deployed with /q (e.g., msiexec /i Firefox.msi /qn).
7-Zip: The standard 7-Zip installer (.exe) is based on NSIS and **requires the /S parameter for silent installation. Without /S, the installation fails. There is also a 7-Zip package in MSI format, which can be installed silently via msiexec (for example, msiexec /i 7zip.msi /qn).
Other common utilities and software (such as Google Chrome, Notepad++, etc.) also require their respective silent parameters. For instance, Inno Setup-based installers generally use /silent or /verysilent along with options like /norestart to suppress reboot dialogues. InstallShield installers may use syntax like /s combined with MSI arguments (/v/qn).
In general, each software may have its own "secret codes" for non-interactive installation. It is important to research the official documentation or reliable sources to discover these parameters before deployment. Management tools expect the administrator to provide the correct parameters when uploading the installer so that the installation occurs automatically and without windows. Otherwise, the silent installation may fail, as seen with Firefox and 7-Zip, due to the lack of appropriate parameters.
Synchronization Process and Time
After uploading and assigning the application to a device group, the synchronization and installation process will begin on the devices belonging to the group. The time required for this process to complete is variable and depends on the following factors:
Application file size.
Device network connection speed.
Important: Synchronization and installation usually begin within a few minutes. The total installation time can vary significantly. It is recommended that the end-user does not interrupt the installation process.
Viewing Locally Installed Applications
To check applications installed directly on the Windows device (not just through Pulsus), follow the steps below:
Navigate to the Devices section.
Select the desired Windows device.
Access the Applications tab.
The Applications tab will display a complete list of software installed on the device, including those that were not managed by the environment's application distribution functionality.
Important: The local user of the device will only be able to install applications outside of the flow described above if they are the device administrator. Otherwise, this action will not be permitted.