How will Scappman interact with applications that already exist on my device

Introduction

When applications are configured in Scappman, it can be that this application already was installed on devices by a user or other deployment tools. Scappman needs to take initial control over these application to control the version. This is done by adding a Scappman register key. This key contains the version and the installed language of the application.

// Example of Register key:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Scappman\Greenshot\1.2.10.6 x64 en

This key is also used as an additional detection rule in Intune to make sure the correct language is installed.

Install/update behavior

The install or update behavior is different for every application and how it was initially installed on devices.

As an example we'll use Google Chrome. Scappman uses the MSI installer to install Google Chrome on devices. If Google Chrome was previously installed with an EXE, then Scappman will first uninstall it before installing it. If the application is running on the device, Scappman will prompt the user to close the application first.

If the application is installed with the MSI and has the correct version, Scappman will not update the application, but will set a Scappman register key to take control.

Other applications might need a complete uninstall before Scappman can install the application.

Conclusion

It's difficult to define the exact install/uninstall behavior. This is because it depends on the install behavior of the application and how it was initially installed on devices.