5.4 Installing Applications

PickMeApp can keep track of all installation packages on your computer as well as remote application collections. As such, it can also be used as an application installer without going through the trouble of looking for the installation package on your computer or the web.

Install Settings

For more efficient management of your installations by PickMeApp, you need to configure your Install settings first.

1. To configure your install settings:
2. Click Settings on the Main Toolbar (see The PickMeApp User Interface).
3. On the Settings window, click the Install tab.

4. By default, the following Install settings are enabled:
   • Guess Silent Uninstallation
   • Create System Restore point prior to install
   • Make Downloads folder as PickMeApp Profile For more information, see Using Profiles.
5. By default, the following capture settings are disabled:
   • Allow reinstall installed programs with the same or older version
   • Install application with customized settings
   • Save installation packages
6. To disable or enable a setting, click the checkbox to its left.
7. By default, PickMeApp allows searching for installation packages in Web Repository. You can set this to Local Repository so PickMeApp will first look in the MyDownloads cache.
8. Click Apply to save the configuration settings.

Pre-deployment Checklist

It is recommended to upgrade Windows Installer to version 4.5 and up when working with PickMeApp. Many programs require a runtime environment to be installed on the destination system. As of now, PickMeApp does not check if the required environment is installed. Therefore, it is recommended to download and install the following:

• Microsoft .NET Framework (3.5 (and up)) 
• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes (see also VisualCppRedist AIO project) 
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Common Controls
• Java Runtime Environment

You can use PickMeApp Applicaiton Collection to install these environments.

Note: Some installation packages may have other requirements aside from the above.

Installing an application

Before you can install an application, you should select the Profile where its installation package is located. If you do not know where the installation package is located, you can filter the list of installation software packages for the application. For more information, see Filtering Installed Applications.

To install a single installation package:

1. Highlight the application you want to install on the Installation Software Packages panel.
2. Click the Install button on the Installation Package Bar.

3. Click Yes on the confirmation message to continue with the Install process.
4. The Progress Bar shows how far you are into the Install process. The Session Log Window also displays the status of the current session.
5. Once the Install process is completed, the Progress Bar is refreshed/cleared and the Current session tab under the Log Window displays an Installation process finished entry.

Installing Multiple Applications at the Same Time

It is possible to install several application packages at once only if these applications do not require user interaction during the installation process.

By default, PickMeApp tries to guess the non-interactive, unattended, and silent uninstallation sequence (see Install Settings). This allows installation of multiple applications.

While installing multiple applications, installation packages that do not allow unattended installations are identified and their install dialogs opened. Their installation is also skipped. Installation of these packages is left to the user to complete interactively.

To install multiple applications at the same time:

1. On the Installation Software Packages panel, check the boxes to the left of the applications to be installed. Alternatively, you can filter the list and narrow it down to the applications you want to install (see Filtering Installation Packages).
2. Click the Application Bar, then click Install, which is enabled only when you have marked/selected one or more applications listed under the active profile.

3. Click Yes on the confirmation messages to continue with the installation processes.
4. The Progress Bar shows how far you are into an application’s Install process. The Session Log Window also displays the status of the current session.
5. Once all selected packages are installed, the Progress Bar is refreshed/cleared and the Current session tab under the Log Window displays several Install processes is finished entries corresponding to the selected number of installation packages.

Automatic Installation of Packages Within Profiles

PickMeApp Pro offers an "Automatically Install Packages" setting within each installation package profile, which can be toggled on or off according to your specific needs.

When this setting is enabled, the profile icon will display a special overlay, visually indicating its active status.

Upon activating this setting, PickMeApp continuously monitors the profile for new packages. When a new package is detected, the software:

• Checks if the application is already installed. 
• Compares the installed version to determine if an update is needed. 
• Verifies the "Allow reinstall installed programs with the same or older version" setting in the Install Tab of the Settings dialog. 

The software will automatically install the package if it's new or updated and will reinstall it only if explicitly permitted by the install settings.

Activating the "Automatically Install Packages" setting in any profile triggers a review of all packages within that profile to ensure they are up-to-date. Additionally, restarting PickMeApp initiates a recheck of all packages in profiles where this setting is enabled.

Installations are scheduled during periods when PickMeApp is idle, putting the software in a busy state during the process. This setup allows you to pause, stop, or skip installations as needed, ensuring that ongoing installations do not interfere with your regular use of PickMeApp or your computer.

Note: If the automatic installation process is stopped, it will resume in about one minute, starting from where it was last paused. To completely halt the automatic installation process, make sure to toggle off the "Automatically Install Packages" setting for all profiles.