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Sideload Apps for All Users on a Device

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Applies To: Windows 8

You can provision an app for all users of a device online or offline through a Windows 8 image using Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) or Windows PowerShell.

Apps installed in a Windows 8 image are called provisioned apps. Provisioned apps are injected in the image and are installed for every user the first time the user logs on. This is the preferred method for making an app available to all users on a device. Provisioned apps are specific to a device and do not roam with the user. You can only install 24 provisioned apps in an image.

You can provision an app into any of the Windows 8 images image scenarios listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Windows 8 Image Scenarios

Scenario Description

Online

Use this scenario when modifying an installed Windows 8 image running on the target device. For this method, all users must be logged off of the targeted device before provisioning an app.

Offline

Use this scenario when modifying a Windows 8 image while running another operating system on the device, such as Windows Preinstallation Environment. Use this method to:

  • Create custom images that can later be deployed by using any image-based deployment method

  • Help ensure that no users are actively logged on to the image on the targeted device

You can use either of the following methods to provision an app:

For Windows images that have already been deployed, use the Add-AppxPackage cmdlet to deploy apps, as described in Sideload Apps for an Individual User. If you do use the DISM app provisioning commands on a deployed Windows image with active users, ensure that all users are logged off prior to using the DISM commands.

Note

A device does not have to be joined to a domain or have an activated sideloading product key to install or provision LOB apps, but the apps will not run until the device meets the sideloading requirement. For more information, see Prepare to Sideload Apps.

Use DISM Command Line to Provision an App for All Users

You can provision an app for all users on a device by using the DISM command line (dism.exe). The DISM tool is included in Windows 8 and the Windows Server 2012 operating system and can provision apps in an offline or online Windows image.

Use Windows PowerShell Cmdlets to Provision an App for All Users

You can provision an app for all users on a device by using the Add-ProvisionedAppxPackage cmdlet. This and other DISM cmdlets are in the dism Windows PowerShell module, which must be loaded in Windows PowerShell before you can run any of the DISM cmdlets. The dism module is included in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. Load the dism module by running the following Windows PowerShell command:

Import-Module dism

See also