Publish Delphi EXE to Windows Store

Question

I wrote a Delphi application which contains a single EXE file. How can I publish it to Windows Store?

Monster

Surely there must be very detailed guides for this. Have you checked with Google? And more importantly, is this a metro-style application? – Azpurua

Thanks @JerryDodge, I did check and could not find any good direction. Am I missing here something? – Monster

This is the first result I found, which is exactly where you need to start: dev.windows.com/en-us/publish – Azpurua

But it's still extremely important - is this a metro-style app? Or just a traditional VCL application? Because the Windows Store is only for metro apps. – Azpurua

Delphi "metro" apps are just standard Win32 apps with metro-like styles applied to their UIs. They are not real metro apps, from Microsoft's perspective. So you cannot submit a Delphi app of any kind to the Windows Store at this time. – Ultima

update: blog.marcocantu.com/blog/… – Leet

Answer 1

The Windows Store doesn't support Classic (Native) Win32 apps, only Universal Windows Apps, which Delphi does not support at this time. So you cannot submit your Delphi app to the Windows Store.

However, Microsoft is currently working on Project Centennial, which will make it possible to package and publish classic Win32 apps to the Windows Store. You can signup for updates about it when it becomes available.

Beka

There is a comment on the Centennial page which mentions the requirement to use XAML for the user interface (I have read "start to convert your UI to XAML"). If this is true, porting Delphi apps would be 'not so easy' – Signalize

Not entirely true! Since 2012, it's already possible to at least have classic desktop application "listed". Effectively, it's just hyperlinks, the Windows store won't handle purchase and stuff. TeamViewer and several video games make use of this. Delphi 32 Bit applications fail the certification and cannot be listed. It looks like 64 bit applications may succeed: https://mcmap.net/q/1921054/-can-64bit-delphi-desktop-application-be-certified-for-windows-8-1 – Sevier

Project Centennial finally goes into public beta. Features required to run applications are only available in the insider preview Windows 10 (which is only for Pro and Enterprise currently), but better than nothing. Now we can develop good quality (i.e. written in Delphi and/or Ada) applications for Metro. – Aloft

Answer 2

Using 10.1 Berlin Update 2 - Anniversary Edition you can now create .appx for publishing to the Windows Store (uses the Desktop Bridge, formerly called Project Centennial)

Note that there are also updated installer engines from various parties that support the desktop bridge and can create an .appx for your Win32 executables

To publish those .appx to the store (note you can also install them directly if you allow that action at settings/security in Windows 10), you need to fill some online form that Microsoft requests to confirm you own the code. They review your submission and get back to you with the necessary actions to complete submission to the store

for more details, see:

• https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2016/12/08/conversion-options-bringing-existing-desktop-app-universal-windows-platform-using-desktop-bridge
• https://www.embarcadero.com/products/rad-studio/windows-10-store-desktop-bridge

Khelat

The hell with it. It already sounds too complicated to worth the effort. Microsoft has only few visitors/customers in its store. Better invest the time/money into decent SEO and promote/sell your product from your own website. No hassle to make an UWA app. I use BlueSnap to charge my customers. They have lower commissions than Microsoft Store. – Leet

Most complication is the need to make the prescribed assets and descriptions (even better if you have localized) ones (luckily they have option to make different sizes automatically at the store), but those are handly anyway for promoting one's app. It doesn't hurt to have many channels of distribution, usually they don't compete with your own site (could have a lower price/promotion for example at your own site). Some non-game apps seem to also publish via Steam, Itch.io and other channels now. This is cause users feel safer with an online library of software instead of backups of their own. – Khelat

btw, it is now even worth to have direct links from your site and social channels to your app on Microsoft Store, since they get very small percentage of the cost in such case - blog.marcocantu.com/blog/… – Khelat

BlueSnap charges me 4.9% (without any setup fee or a long verification process/sign-in documents as MS does). And it also doesn't force me to point the links to them (exclusively). If Microsoft wants to get traction with their pity MicrosoftStore they should come with a MUCH better offer and less restrictions! – Leet

I've never seen any requirement to point links to them. They just offer 95% take for the dev now if you point to them instead of the customer locating the app from their search / store browse actions. In the later case they offer 85% which isn't bad either. As I said more channels some times is better. You can put lower prices at channels you prefer (the ones that take less percent). – Khelat

If you want to get the 95% then you have to point. This makes the "pointing" a "requirement". You don't point, you get 85% which is RIDICULOUS high! Anyway, I can't sell through MSStore since my app is not UWA (another requirement). And I am not going to make it uwa until MSStore get more traction (customers). – Leet

You get 95% if customers reach there with an ad campaign tracking number, or without any tracking. If they find it from inside the store (say it's featured or suggested to some user), then they give 85%. Sounds fair to me. – Khelat

Also, do read about Project Centennial / Desktop Bridge. It does support native apps packing into .appx for Store distribution. It just targets x86 (x64 too I think). – Khelat