When the packages are processed, a simple overview is shown with the current progress of the packages being processed at the moment and the queue.
The view contains the following information:
•Currently processed packages
The packages that are currently processed are shown with a blue background and a progress bar, which is informing about the current activity. For example, the picture above shows that TeamViewer files are currently being copied to the Virtual Machine.
•Name and command line
The name of the project and the command line shown underneath are most prominent information in this view.
•Supporting files (not shown in the picture above)
If a package has one or more supporting files, the counter is shown underneath the command line of the project.
•Task types (formats)
On the right side, a small text caption informs about the type of a task (for example Converting to MSI, Sequencing to App-V 5.x, etc.).
•Name of the virtual machine
Active tasks have the name of the virtual machine that is processing them. The name can be used to identify which machine has been allocated by PackBot and to check its console if a user interaction is to be expected. Additionally, for Hyper-V machines, clicking the name opens the RDP console allowing to connect to the virtual machine.
•Package queue
Packages that are pending are shown below. Their items show information similar to currently process package, with the exception of the name of a virtual machine. This is caused by the fact that the processing is non-deterministic and PackBot allocates the machines dynamically just before starting the task.
Active tasks can be canceled by pressing the X button in their progress bar. Canceling may take a few seconds depending on the progress, eventually the machine is returned back to the pool and ready to pick-up the next task from the list. In order to cancel all pending tasks, press the Cancel button. Finished tasks cannot be canceled and pending tasks cannot be canceled individually.
Interaction With the Repackaging Process
If one of the following is true:
•The second snapshot has been delayed, or
•the product cannot be installed silently, either by deliberately leaving a non-complete command line or implicitly by prompts shown by an otherwise silent install,
then it is required to interact with the installation. In most cases, this would be simply progressing the wizard and doing an extra post-installation job, but there are two special considerations which come from PackBot:
•Continuing with delayed snapshot
If the second snapshot is delayed, the user is expected to press a button when ready. The window is shown in the virtual machine and may look like the following:
•Rebooting the machine
If the second snapshot is delayed, the same window can be used to trigger a reboot of a virtual machine. The machine can be rebooted as many times as required.
Exit / Finish Conditions
Once all packages are finished, the Summary page is shown automatically. The result depends on the individual status of the repackaged tasks:
•If at least one task has been canceled, the overall status is also Canceled.
•If at least one task has failed, the overall status is Failed.
•If no task has been canceled or has failed, the overall status is Success.
Successfully Repackaged Apps
PackBot displays a basic info for each package that has finished successfully.
From this view, users may click on the task type (Converted to MSI) to jump directly to the output folder. When a log file is available, a button Show log is present and pressing it opens the log file created by the setup.
Troubleshooting Failed Packages
If a package fails, a view similar to the following one may be shown:
If there is a log file available, it is possible to click on the error message. In this example, clicking the link Process returned unsupported exit code 1603 opens an .msi log file that may be used to analyze the problem with the setup.