Features

Repackage any installation into MSI and other formats

With the fastest ever MSI Generator, quickly capture and repackage existing installations into MSI, MSIX, APPX, App-V or ThinApp packages.

Continue repackaging after system restart

If your source installation requires a system restart, PACE Suite will resume and continue repackaging the installation after the restart.

Create pure and reliable packages with Installation Capturing Wizard

Installation Capturing Wizard tells you which of processes and services you should stop to create pure packages and guides you through every step of the packaging process.

Easily update existing packages

No need to recapture the application if you need to make small changes. For each capturing, PACE Suite creates a project file, where you can update or add more resources and generate a new version of your package.

Capture permission changes

Capture all the file system or registry permission changes and include them in the package using an exquisite approach that writes data only to standard MSI tables, uses SecEdit tool, and works for all MSI schemas.

Exclude/include captured resources at any time

PACE Suite keeps all of the resources that you excluded and allows you to include them back at any moment after the capturing has been completed.

Detect embedded vendor MSI packages

PACE Suite capturing engine detects all hidden or wrapped vendor MSI installations instantly and enables you to continue customizing them via a transform.

Automatically filter captured resources

Exclusion lists automatically filter all captured resources, which ensures the creation of pure packages. Exclusion lists are fully editable so that you can modify them according to your needs.

Manage environment variables and advertised information

High-level constructs like environment variables and services are captured, and you can modify them before building a package.

Create and reuse system snapshots

Create a snapshot of your clean system once and reuse it for future repackaging projects to save time.

Repackage 32-bit and 64-bit applications

Capture and repackage 64-bit applications and manage their specific components.

Create new MSI packages

Create a new blank MSI package and add necessary resources manually.

Publish your MSI packages to SCCM

Automatically distribute your applications to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager with a help of our publishing wizard.

Create transforms for customizing MSI packages

Use transform files (MST) to customize vendor MSI packages. With PACE Suite, you can either create a transform at the very beginning of editing your package or save all your changes as a transform later.

Tailor your installation with a response transform

Use transform files (MST) to customize vendor MSI packages. With PACE Suite, you can either create a transform at the very beginning of editing your package or save all your changes as a transform later.

Apply multiple transforms

Apply as many transforms to a package as you need and merge all changes into one file.

Set permissions in MSI packages

Set, view, change, or remove permissions on files, folders, and registry in your MSI packages.

Compare MSI packages

Using MSI Editor, quickly compare two MSI packages and see all the differences highlighted with colors.

Add and edit Device Drivers

Easily add Device Drivers with our Wizard. Review, edit, and remove drivers on the dedicated Drivers tab, which also highlights your changes and displays errors and warnings.

Create patch packages (MSP)

Create patch packages to deliver application updates. With PACE Suite, you can either save MSI database changes as a patch or generate a patch as a difference between new and old packages.

Create Merge Modules (MSM)

PACE Suite monitors specified pools of Merge Modules and replaces captured resources with appropriate modules. PACE Suite also allows you to import Merge Modules to MSI package manually.

Manage Custom Actions

Our dedicated Wizard guides you through every step of creating a custom action to ensure your packages will work properly. In the Custom Actions tab, you can review and manage all custom and standard actions.

Import resources to a package

Import files, registry, and shortcuts at any stage of the packaging process. You can also control settings like INI files handling, feature-component assignment, Media (CAB) options, and others.

Add Scripts to a package

Integrate any script into a package with just one click. Just select a script, and PACE Suite will propagate most of the fields with proper data automatically.

Manage contents of MSI packages in a convenient tree-like interface

Review and modify package resources such as files, registry, features-components in a convenient tree-like interface and get additional assistance in dedicated wizards.

Undo/Redo history

PACE Suite allows you to Undo/Redo any manipulation you have made and highlights changes, so that you can easily find them in the MSI tables.

Manage MSI upgrades

Let PACE Suite know which MSI packages must be upgraded during the installation, and all necessary information will be imported automatically.

Export Registry to REG File

You can export registry entries from your MSI package into the REG file that will have the latest 5.00 format version.

Directly edit MSI tables

For advanced customization, use direct table editor that highlight all changes, has Excel-like formula bar, formatted string autocompleting, row reference tracking, and more.

Row reference tracking

When you make changes to MSI tables, row reference tracking mechanism displays all connected rows and updates them automatically to maintain the MSI database integrity constraint.

COM extraction and self-registration

PACE Suite is able to extract both 32/64-bit COM information and .NET assemblies from the selected file and import them to your package.

Import tables from IDT format

Import MSI tables from IDT files to your MSI package.

Control “Add & Remove Program” properties

Review and update main Add & Remove Program information, select existing or import new icons.

Create App-V packages

Convert any existing installation into App-V virtual format package. PACE Suite supports App-V 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2 for Windows 10.

Edit App-V packages

Manage package resources like files, folders, registry entries, services, shortcuts and product details such as application name, version, publisher, and others.

Manage App-V file type associations

Choose what file types (extensions) your virtual package will open.

Control App-V virtualization levels

Review and change App-V virtualization levels (Merge or Override) for the directories and registry keys.

Set App-V Target OS

Specify operating systems that can run the created virtual application package.

Control App-V streaming options

Use App-V streaming options to optimize how your virtual package will work on slow or unreliable networks.

Control App-V advanced options

Allow named and COM objects in App-V packages to interact with the local system and give your virtual application full write permissions to modify virtual file system.

Select Primary Virtual Application Directory (PVAD)

At any time, choose a folder that will act as a Primary Virtual Application Directory (PVAD). PVAD is the directory to which you would typically install an application on your local computer if you weren’t using App-V.

Create ThinApp packages

Convert any application into ThinApp 5.0-5.2 virtual format. You can control many ThinApp options like entry points, primary data container, isolation modes, sandbox location, and others.

Create MSIX packages

Package an existing Win32 app into MSIX package – either capture your source installation with our intelligent Capturing Wizard or create a package from scratch and add the necessary resources manually.

Create APPX app packages

Bring your desktop apps to the Universal Windows Platform with just a few mouth clicks. There is no need to deep-dive into the details of the APPX technology, install Windows SDK components or prepare peculiar environments – use or Capturing wizard or create APPX package from scratch.

Customize apps with a “modification” packages

Customize apps by creating a “modification” package, which can deliver new files and registry to your “main” package.

Declare the app capabilities

Quickly select the additional capabilities the your app needs.

Control the supported platforms

Select platforms from the list on which you want to deploy the generated MSIX packages, APPX packages or bundle.

Manage package architectures

Configure your MSIX/APPX package to be run on different processor architectures. Create separate packages for each selected processor architecture at once.

Combine packages into a bundle

Select signature settings for your package or bundle. You can use your existing certificate or generate a new one.

Generate AppInstaller file

Generate the AppInstaller file for the non-Store distribution and automatic update of your MSIX, APPX packages.

Customize MSIX, APPX app appearance

Update the MSIX package or APPX package display and identity properties, app appearance settings such as name, description, background color and Start menu logos.

Edit manifest manually

Interrupt the package building to review and modify the prepared package manifest file. Use this option if your app requires deep customization of the package manifest file.

Automatically create documents with installation instructions

Record all your on-screen actions into a nice looking document with screenshots and annotations.

Package complexity assumption

Get a package complexity estimation using our default estimation criteria or create your own to match your business needs.

Package reports

Generate detailed package documentation using standard templates or create your report template.

Automate package testing

Use the Quality Approval app to check the package safety, compatibility and readiness for deployment, all with the help of a smart Wizard.

Leverage command line support

Write short scripts to automate the repackaging process, for instance, running the pre-install and post-install scans with MSI Generator.

Automate editing of MSI databases

Create scripts to automate routine packaging tasks and execute them against opened MSI databases.

Split multi-file components

Easily split all multi-file components into single-file components in just one click.

Update file attributes and file sequences

Update file attributes and fix file sequence numbers using pre-defined PACE Suite scripts.

Automatically integrate Active Setup

PACE Suite will put all user data in the right places when you enable automatic integration of Active Setup, which is invoked once per-user data was captured.

Validate MSI database against standard ICE rules or custom CUB files

In MSI tables, cells with errors or warnings will be highlighted in red with validation message in a tooltip. You can also instantly jump from validation results table to cells with errors.

Validate against custom defined rules/checklist

With Package Quality Assistant, ensure package quality and compliance with your corporate standards. Define your own validation rules using a built-in markup language and check if all your packages meet your specific requirements.

Leverage saved snapshots

Use saved snapshots to determine what changes your installations are making to the operating system.

Use portable version of PACE Suite wherever you are

PACE Suite has a portable version that you can launch on any physical or virtual machine, locally or from a network share or even on a USB flash drive.

Share packaging settings with your team

You can share profiles of packaging rules, such as naming conventions, properties, media distribution, COM advertising and shortcut handling rules, merge modules, and more. Easily switch these profiles at any moment. You can also share your exclusion filters.

Track orders, statuses, assignments

Review orders of the selected project(s) and their details in the intelligible and configurable list. The user access is configured separately for each project.

Create new orders

Create a new order for packaging, select its type and specify the required order attributes (fields).

Move order through its workflow

A workflow (a set of statuses and transitions between them) depends on the order type and may differ between various types of orders and projects. It can be saved as a template and reused in other order types of the projects.

View/change order attributes (fields)

Describe an order with the help of order attributes. They can be dramatically customized for each order type and project. The system supports pre-defined and user-defined attributes.

Communicate about orders (messages)

Communicate about the order right in this order using internal notes and public requests. Messages support rich text formatting, inserting images right in the message body, and an advanced module for designing tables of any complexity.

Upload/download order artifacts (files)

Transfer files between the customer and packaging team right in the order. There is no need anymore to manually use FTP or any other solutions.

Manage order links (references)

Use order links to see what other orders and package are referenced to the current order. Some links are automatically managed, and all of them the user can edit or remove.

Review packages

View packages of the selected project or multiple projects in the configurable list. These packages may be stored on various repositories and you can access any them directly from here.

Create new packages

Create new packages in the selected project with just a few clicks. All activities related to creating package folders on the repository are performed automatically.

View/change package attributes (fields)

Describe a package with the package attributes. They can be dramatically customized for each project. The system supports pre-defined and user-defined attributes.

Manage package content (files)

Repository Manager automatically connects to the project repository. The module allows the user to view content of the package (collection of files and folders), create, upload/download, move package resources, open package for editing, open folder in Windows Explore, etc.

Use automation for packaging

Configure and run a totally custom project automation. It can consist of multiple scripts and command lines which are stored in the project settings and may vary from project to project.

Deliver packages to customer

Deliver the packages to the customers in just a few clicks. There is no need to remember the address and connection credentials to the server. All delivery settings are automatically inherited from the project settings.

View/download delivered package

Download the output package right from the web portal using the friendly interface. Repository Manager identifies what files belong to the package, allows to download and (if needed) delete them.