A new update for Desktop App Converter adds support for Windows Pro editions and several changes to enhance the file system to make the program more efficient.
Last month Microsoft released its Desktop App Converter, after officially announcing the “Project Centennial” tool at BUILD 2016 in March. Now the company has now updated that build and added a number of new features and cleaned up some aspects.
The Desktop App Converter is a program (App) that allows developers to easily convert .NET 4.6.1 or Win32 desktop apps to the new format Microsoft uses for the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) in Windows 10.
As for today’s update, here is the complete changelog courtesy of Microsoft:
- Restored support for Pro edition of Windows.
- Converter -Setup flag now enables Windows Containers feature and handles base image expansion. Run the following from an elevated PowerShell prompt to do one time setup: PS C:\> .\DesktopAppConverter.ps1 -Setup -BaseImage BaseImage-12345.wim -Verbose
- Added auto-detection of app install path and moving application root outside of VFS to reduce any unnecessary file system redirections at runtime.
- Added auto-detection of the expanded base image as part of the conversion process.
- Added auto-detection for file type associations and protocols.
- Improved logic to detect Start Menu shortcut.
- Improved file system filtering to retain app installed MUI files.
- Updated the minimum supported desktop version (10.0.14342.0) for Project Centennial in the manifest.
The Desktop App Converter has already been put into action and developers have been adding their converted applications to the Windows Store. The idea behind Project Centennial is that it will entice more developers to build apps for the Store, which still lags behind its iOS and Android rivals in terms of quantity and arguably quality of apps.
Microsoft is also looking to the converter as a way to realize its Universal Windows Platform (UWP) idea, which will see apps work across all platforms, including Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox, and even HoloLens. At the moment, developers can convert their apps, but they will only be compatible with PCs, with full UWP functionality to come later.