Getting into Windows Store

[Albert Wiersch]

Hopefully someone smarter than me can help me understand...

I've read that Microsoft is making changes to the store and will be (or is) accepting 'standard' desktop apps... for example, 7-Zip seems to be available here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/7-zip-file-archiver/9p9klm51rp20

So... my questions are...

1. Is Microsoft accepting 'standard' desktop apps in the Windows Store?

2. If so, anyone know how to submit them? I already have a Microsoft "Dev Center" or "Partner Center" account where I have submitted store apps before but it was a pain and didn't seem worth the hassle. I tried to submit an Inno Setup EXE and it said it is an unknown package type.

3. Is there a way to convert an Inno Setup EXE into something that would be acceptable to the Windows Store? I did a search and Gavin Lambert mentioned the MSIX Packaging Tool... does anyone know if this tool can be used to wrap an Inno Setup installer file and submit it to the Windows Store? Has anyone done this?

Thanks.

[Albert Wiersch]

Well, I found this:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/msix/packaging-tool/create-app-package

But that is dated over a year ago and things seem to have changed since then.

So my basic/main question is... what is the best and easiest way to get an Inno Setup EXE into the Windows Store nowadays?

Thanks.