win32dependencies:ExternalDependency (Windows 10, Windows 11)

Article
08/16/2024

Specifies an external dependency that is not included in the MSIX but will be chain installed as part of the app installation. If the specified minimum version of the external dependency is not already installed on the OS, the Microsoft App Installer app will retrieve the minimum version from an external repository and install the dependency. Microsoft maintains a list of dependencies that can be installed using this method. See the Remarks section for the current list of allowed packages.

Important

win32dependencies:ExternalDependency only applies to installations that use the Microsoft App Installer app. If a package is installed using any other mechanism, such as the PackageManager API, a Powershell cmdlet, Microsoft Intune or any other mechanism other than via the App Installer app, then win32dependencies:ExternalDependency is ignored.

Element hierarchy

[<Dependencies>]

<win32dependencies:ExternalDependency>

Syntax

<win32dependencies:ExternalDependency
    Name = 'A string between 3 and 50 characters in length that consists of alpha-numeric characters, periods, and dashes only.' 
    Publisher = 'A string with a value between 1 and 8192 characters in length that fits the regular expression  of a distinguished name.'
    MinVersion = 'A version string in quad notation, ("Major.Minor.Build.Revision") where "Major" is not "0".'
    Optional = 'A boolean value.' />

Attributes and elements

Attributes

Attribute	Description	Data type	Required
Name	The dependency package name. For the list of allowed dependency packages, see the Remarks section below.	A string between 3 and 50 characters in length that consists of alpha-numeric characters, periods, and dashes only.	Yes
Publisher	The publisher of the dependency package.	A string with a value between 1 and 8192 characters in length that fits the regular expression of a distinguished name.	Yes
MinVersion	The minimum version of the external dependency. If the OS already has the minimum version installed, the installation will not be triggered.	A version string in quad notation, (`Major.Minor.Build.Revision`) where `Major` is not `0`.	Yes
Optional	When the installation is performed without an internet connection and this value is false, the installation will complete without installing the external dependency. If this value is true, an installation with no internet connection will fail.	A boolean value.	Yes

Child elements

None.

Parent elements

Parent Element	Description
Dependencies	Declares other packages that a package depends on to complete its software.

Examples

<Package
    xmlns:win32dependencies="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/externaldependencies"  
    IgnorableNamespaces="... win32dependencies">
    <Dependencies>  
        <TargetDeviceFamily
            Name="Windows.Universal"
            MinVersion="11.0.0.0" 
            MaxVersionTested="12.0.0.0"/>  
        <uap4:MainPackageDependency
            Name="MyApp"
            Publisher="CN=DianCert, O=Contoso Corporation, C=US" />  
        <win32dependencies:ExternalDependency
            Name="Microsoft.WebView2"
            Publisher="CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US"
            MinVersion="1.1.1.1"
            Optional="true"/>
    </Dependencies>  
</Package>

Remarks

This feature requires that Microsoft App Installer version 1.16.12651.0 or later be installed on the target machine. The app can be obtained from the Microsoft Store.

Allowed external dependencies

The following table lists the external dependencies that are currently allowed in the ExternalDependency element.

Package	Name attribute value	Publisher attribute value
Webview2	"Microsoft.WebView2"	"CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US"

Requirements

Item	Value
virtualization	`http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/externaldependencies`

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