Adding, Deleting, and Moving Files and Folders in an App-V Package

AdminStudio 2025 | 29.0 | Microsoft App-V Assistant

The directories in the destination tree on the Files page of the Microsoft App-V Assistant represent how your application will look when it is installed on to your end users’ machines.

On the Files page, you can view all of the files and folders that are currently in your App-V package, add new files and folders to include in the App-V package, and delete files and folders from the App-V package.

Adding Files to an App-V Package

To add files to an App-V package, perform the following steps:

To add a files to an App-V package:

1. In the Microsoft App-V Assistant , open the Files page. The files and folders are listed in the Microsoft App-V Application tree, organized by installation directory.
   • Folders are listed in the column on the left, and all of the files in the selected folder are listed on the right. Blue folders are the supported MSI standard folders. The folder with the check mark is INSTALLDIR, which represents the main product installation directory.
2. Browse through the folder tree to find the folder that you would like to add files to.
3. Select the folder and click the Add Files button. The Open dialog box opens.
4. Select the file or files that you want to add and click Open . The files you selected are now listed.

tip

To select multiple files, use the Shift key (for contiguous files) or the Ctrl key (for non-contiguous files).

Adding a File by Dragging and Dropping Files from Your System

You can also add files or folders to your App-V package on the Files page by dragging them from a directory on your computer to the desired location in the tree.

Adding an Existing Folder (and Its Contents) to an App-V Package

To add an existing folder and all of the files and subfolders within it to an App-V package, perform the following steps:

To add an existing folder to an App-V package:

1. In the Microsoft App-V Assistant , open the Files page. The files and folders are listed in the Microsoft App-V Application tree, organized by installation directory.
   • Folders are listed in the column on the left, and all of the files in the selected folder are listed on the right. Blue folders are the supported MSI standard folders. The folder with the check mark is INSTALLDIR, which represents the main product installation directory.
2. Browse through the folder tree to find the folder that you would like to add files to.
3. Select the folder and click the Add Files button. The Open dialog box opens.
4. Select the file or files that you want to add and click Open . The files you selected are now listed.

Creating a New Folder

To create a new folder:

1. In the Microsoft App-V Assistant , open the Files page.
2. In the Microsoft App-V Application tree, right-click the folder that you want to contain the new folder, and click New Folder . InstallShield creates a new folder as a subfolder of the selected folder.
3. Enter a name for the new folder.

Moving Files and Folders

To change the folder’s location in the App-V package folder tree structure, perform the following steps:

To move a file or folder:

1. In the Microsoft App-V Assistant , open the Files page.
2. In the Microsoft App-V Application tree, right-click the folder that you want to contain the new folder, and click New Folder . InstallShield creates a new folder as a subfolder of the selected folder.
3. Enter a name for the new folder.

Deleting Files and Folders

To delete a file or a folder (and all of its contents) from an App-V package, perform the following steps:

To delete a file or folder:

1. In the Microsoft App-V Assistant , open the Files page.
2. In the Microsoft App-V Application tree, right-click the folder that you want to contain the new folder, and click New Folder . InstallShield creates a new folder as a subfolder of the selected folder.
3. Enter a name for the new folder.

InstallShield removes the selected file or folder.

warning

If you choose to delete a folder, you are also deleting all of the files and subfolders that the folder contains from the entire project, not just from the App-V package.

note

You cannot delete predefined folders. You can only turn off the display of those folders. For more information, see Controlling the Display of Predefined Folders.