Easy MSI Icon and GUID Extraction for SCCM 2012 Application Catalog (CSI_ExtractMSIGUIDAndIcons.vbs) |
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Are you moving your many packages to the SCCM 2012 Application Catalog? It can be a challenge getting the icons out of those huge MSI packages if you don’t want to install each one! Not any more… The SCCM 2012 Application Catalog allows you to use the application’s icon in the catalog.It also allows you to use the MSI Product Code as the detection method to determine if the application is already installed. The importance of detection rules goes beyond the end user's application catalog experience as noted by this bit from Windows Management Experts: "While complex, these new detection methods allow administrators to finely tune their installers to ensure that they only get to the devices that need them. Setting these detection methods up correctly will also give you a better count of machines that have something installed. Even if the user does not install the application from Software Center or the Application Catalog, their devices will still register as having the program." SCCM 2012: Application Deployment Detection Methods The SCCM console allows for easy extraction of the Product Code from an MSI - but the icons are a different matter. If you have several hundred MSI’s (or more) to convert, getting the icon from your MSI packages can be a challenge. Our walk through video demonstrates what the script can do for you: Of course you can install the package or do an admin install – but both require much more time and disk space than doing an MSI “Advertise” of the package. MSI Advertising is a feature that is generally not used by companies in their production environment. It is important not to confuse an “MSI Advertise” with advertising packages in Group Policy, SCCM or any other external system. MSI Advertising has the following advantages over a full install or admin install:
With these advantages in mind, we have written a script to automate this for you. The script also removes the MSI Advertisement after you’ve gotten the icons you need. There are two ways to run the script:
If you move the script after installing, you’ll need to run it again to have the content menu extension registered to the new location. When you select the menu item “Extract GUID and Icons”, the script does the following:
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