Experiencing the app relationship viewer

This week is a relatively short blog post, focused on providing awareness for the recently introduced app relationship viewer. The app relationship viewer can be used to see which apps are directly connected to the selected app. Those connected apps are also known as child apps. Child apps can be either dependent apps or superseded apps. A dependent app relationship is an app that is configured as a dependency for the installation of the selected app, and a superseded app relationship is an app that is configured to be superseded by the installation of the selected app. Those relationships are shown within the app relationship viewer. But not just for the selected app, but also for the child apps. This blog post provides a brief look at the different app relationships, followed with an overview of the app relationship viewer.

Note: This post discusses the relationship from the perspective of the selected app in Microsoft Intune admin center.

Available app relationships

When looking at the app relationship viewer, it all starts with the available app relationships. The relationship from the selected app to another app. In other words, the parent-child relationship between those apps. That relationship can exist because of configured dependencies and supersedence, for the selected app.

Dependencies

The dependent app relationship defines that the selected app depends on the installation of the dependent app(s). Every dependent app must be installed before the selected app can be installed. There is a maximum number of 100 dependencies for the selected app, and that includes the dependencies of any dependent app. So, it’s applicable to the whole chain of dependencies. When configuring the dependent app relationship, it can be configured to be automatically installed when needed. For achieving that, the dependent app doesn’t need to be assigned and will be automatically targeted when needed.

Note: Keep in mind that dependent app relationships can only exist between Win32 apps of the same type (Windows app). Any Win32 app dependency must be a Win32 app.

Supersedence

The supersedence app relationship defines that an app will be superseded by the installation of the selected app. In general that is used to either update or replace an existing app. The actual behavior is depending on the configuration. There is a maximum number of 10 supersedence relations for the selected app, and that includes references to other apps. So, it’s applicable to the whole chain. When configuring the supersedence app relationship, it can be configured to first uninstall the existing app. Otherwise the existing app will be updated. Superseding apps don’t get automatic targeting when created.

Note: Keep in mind that supersedence app relationships can only exist between Win32 apps of the same type (Windows app or Windows catalog app). Any Win32 app supersedence must be a Win32 app.

Overview of the app relationship viewer

After being familiar with the available app relationships, it’s time to have a closer look at the app relationship viewer. The app relationship viewer is available for the two different Win32 app types, being the Windows app (Win32) and the Windows catalog app (Win32). The app relationship can only be available between apps of the same Win32 app type. As shown below in Figure 1, the app relationship viewer is available within the monitor section of the selected app and is named Relationship viewer. This provides a clear view on the relationships of an app and ultimately highlights the following important aspects:

• The app name suddenly becomes really important (see number 1). In this case the app name deliberately also includes the version number, as otherwise the app relationship viewer only contains all apps with the same name. A good reason to have another look at the naming convention that’s being used and if that’s differentiating enough.
• The different relationship have their own edge lines (see number 2). In this case the double edge line indicates a supersedence relationship. A dependency relationship would be indicated by a single edge line.
• Not directly visible, but the selected app is a Windows catalog app (Win32). Those apps can only have supersedence relationships and no dependency relationships.

More information

For more information about the app relationship viewer, refer to the following docs.

• Win32 app management in Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn
• Add and assign Win32 apps to Microsoft Intune (dependencies) | Microsoft Learn
• Add and assign Win32 apps to Microsoft Intune (supersedence) | Microsoft Learn