Convert win32 programs into Windows UWP apps

UWP = Universal Windows Platform

In the "Go crazy" series, I tried to convert Windows desktop application into a Windows 10 app… And guess what, I succeeded!

Sources

Necessary programs

  1. Convert .exe into .msi: !Exe2Msi: https://mega.nz/#!vdNCCK4Q!x0ohz2DDusOP73jaHX7woIRSsKDZf9blnPU7N6BzSuY
  2. Desktop App Converter 2.1 from Windows Store for local app converting
  3. Windows 10 Software Development Kit to create a locally signed certificate: https://developer.microsoft.com/nl-nl/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk

Process

Convert .exe into .msi

If there is no setup .msi file available, you will have to convert the setup .exe file into an .msi file using the downloaded Exe2Msi program.

The program itself should install automatically by double-clicking the Exe2Msi.appx file, but it doesn't.

So open the .appx file in 7-Zip or another compression tool and simply uncompress the exe2msi.exe file that's inside!

Convert .msi into .appx

Once you have a setup .msi file, you can convert this into an UWP file (Universal Windows Platform).

Make a certificate - or use an existing one...

Sign the .appx file

Install the Windows UWP app

In PowerShell (as Administrator), issue the following command:

add-appxpackage C:\<destination>\<folder>\YourApp.appx

Installation on other machines

ASUS VivoTab Smart: fails

Probably because it's a Windows 10 v1607

Dell XPS 1647:succeeds

I have to use the bridge10demo.com certificate from windowsblogitalia.com, but apart from that, it works:
  1. Eseguite un doppio click sul file auto-generated.pfx.
  2. Si avvierà Importazione guidata certificati.
  3. Selezionate Computer locale e cliccate Avanti.
  4. Alla richiesta di Controllo dell’account utente cliccate .
  5. Vi verrà chiesto di specificare il file da importare. Cliccate Sfoglia… e selezionate il file auto-generated.cer presente nella cartella Exe2Msi.
  6. Cliccate sul pulsante Avanti.
  7. Assicuratevi che la scelta sia impostata su Seleziona automaticamente l’archivio certificati secondo il tipo di certificato e cliccate Avanti.
  8. Cliccate sul pulsante Fine per terminare l’operazione.
Installation is even possible by double-clicking the .appx file (so not issuing the add-appxpackage cmdlet).

Issues

Now I give the impression that it's relatively simple. However, I met a lot of obstacles during this process. I'll mention here the ones I remember: