Thinapp50 Manual

ThinApp Users Guide
ThinApp 5.0
This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced
by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this
document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-000400-03
VMware, Inc.
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Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com
2 VMware, Inc.
ThinApp Users Guide
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
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VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks
and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
VMware, Inc. 3
Contents
AboutThisBook 7
1 InstallingThinApp 9
ThinAppRequirements 9
OperatingSystems,Applications,andSystemsThatThinAppSupports 9
ApplicationsThatThinAppCannotVirtualize 10
RecommendationsforInstallingThinApp 10
UsingaCleanComputer 10
UsingtheEarliestOperatingSystemRequiredforUsers 11
InstallThinAppSoftware 11
CheckingThinAppInstallationFiles 11
2 CapturingApplications 13
PhasesoftheCaptureProcess 13
PreparingtoCaptureApplications 13
CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizard 14
CreateaSystemImageBeforetheApplicationInstallation 14
RescantheSystemwiththeInstalledApplication 14
DefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtualEnvironment 15
SetEntryPoints 15
ManagewithVMwareHorizonApplicationManager 15
SetUserGroups 16
DefiningIsolationModesforthePhysicalFileSystem 16
SetFileSystemIsolationModes 18
StoringApplicationChangesintheSandbox 18
CustomizetheSandboxLocation 18
SendAnonymousStatisticstoVMware 18
CustomizeThinAppProjectSettings 19
DefiningPackageSettings 19
CustomizePackageSettings 20
OpeningProjectandParameterFiles 20
BuildVirtualApplications 21
AdvancedPackageConfiguration 21
ModifyingSettingsinthePackage.iniFile 21
ModifyingSettingsinthe##Attributes.iniFile 22
CapturingInternetExplorer6onWindowsXP 22
RequirementsforCapturingInternetExplorer6onWindowsXP 23
CaptureInternetExplorer6onWindowsXPbyUsingtheSetupCaptureWizard 23
ExtractingandRegisteringThinDirect 24
CapturingMultipleApplicationInstallerswithThinAppConverter 24
ThinAppConverterProcess 24
SystemRequirementsforRunningThinAppConverter 25
PreparingtheConfigurationFileforThinAppConverter 25
PredefinedEnvironmentVariables 31
3 DeployingApplications 33
ThinAppDeploymentOptions 33
DeployingThinAppwithDeploymentTools 33
ThinApp Users Guide
4 VMware, Inc.
DeployingThinAppintheVMwareViewEnvironment 33
DeployingThinApponNetworkShares 34
DeployingThinAppUsingExecutableFiles 34
EstablishingFileTypeAssociationswiththethinreg.exeUtility 34
ApplicationSyncEffectonthethinreg.exeUtility 34
Runthethinreg.exeUtility 35
Optionalthinreg.exeParameters 35
BuildinganMSIDatabase 37
CustomizingMSIFileswithPackage.iniParameters 37
ModifythePackage.iniFiletoCreateMSIFiles 37
ControllingApplicationAccesswithActiveDirectory 39
Package.iniEntriesforActiveDirectoryAccessControl 39
StartingandStoppingVirtualServices 40
AutomaticStartupforVirtualServices 40
UsingThinAppPackagesStreamedfromtheNetwork 41
HowThinAppApplicationStreamingWorks 41
RequirementsandRecommendationsforStreamingPackages 42
StreamThinAppPackagesfromtheNetwork 43
UsingCapturedApplicationswithOtherSystemComponents 43
PerformingPasteOperations 43
AccessingPrinters 43
AccessingDrivers 43
AccessingtheLocalDisk,theRemovableDisk,andNetworkShares 43
AccessingtheSystemRegistry 44
AccessingNetworkingandSockets 44
UsingSharedMemoryandNamedPipes 44
UsingCOM,DCOM,andOutofProcessCOMComponents 44
StartingServices 44
UsingFileTypeAssociations 44
SampleIsolationModeConfigurationDependingonDeploymentContext 45
ViewofIsolationModeEffectontheWindowsRegistry 45
4 UpdatingandLinkingApplications 47
ApplicationUpdatesThattheEndUserTriggers 47
ApplicationSyncUpdates 47
ApplicationLinkUpdates 50
ApplicationUpdatesThattheAdministratorTriggers 54
ForcinganApplicationSyncUpdateonClientMachines 55
UpdatingApplicationswithRuntimeChanges 55
AutomaticApplicationUpdates 56
DynamicUpdatesWithoutAdministratorRights 57
UpgradingRunningApplicationsonaNetworkShare 57
FileLocks 57
UpgradeaRunningApplication 57
SandboxConsiderationsforUpgradedApplications 58
UpdatingtheThinAppVersionofPackages 58
relinkExamples 58
5 LocatingtheThinAppSandbox 59
SearchOrderfortheSandbox 59
ControllingtheSandboxLocation 61
StoretheSandboxontheNetwork 61
StoretheSandboxonaPortableDevice 61
SandboxStructure 62
MakingChangestotheSandbox 62
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Contents
ListingVirtualRegistryContentswithvregtool 62
6 CreatingThinAppSnapshotsandProjectsfromtheCommandLine 63
MethodsofUsingthesnapshot.exeUtility 63
CreatingSnapshotsofMachineStates 63
CreatingtheTemplatePackage.inifilefromTwoSnapshotFiles 64
CreatingtheThinAppProjectfromtheTemplatePackage.iniFile 64
DisplayingtheContentsofaSnapshotFile 65
Samplesnapshot.exeCommands 65
CreateaProjectWithouttheSetupCaptureWizard 65
Customizingthesnapshot.iniFile 66
7 ThinAppFileSystemFormatsandMacros 67
VirtualFileSystemFormats 67
ThinAppFolderMacros 67
ListofThinAppMacros 68
Processing%SystemRoot%inaTerminalServicesEnvironment 69
8 CreatingThinAppScripts 71
CallbackFunctions 71
ImplementScriptsinaThinAppEnvironment 72
.batExample 72
TimeoutExample 72
ModifytheVirtualRegistry 73
.regExample 73
StoppingaServiceExample 73
CopyingaFileExample 73
AddaValuetotheSystemRegistry 74
APIFunctions 75
AddForcedVirtualLoadPath 75
ExitProcess 75
ExpandPath 76
ExecuteExternalProcess 76
ExecuteVirtualProcess 77
GetBuildOption 77
GetFileVersionValue 77
GetCommandLine 78
GetCurrentProcessName 78
GetOSVersion 79
GetEnvironmentVariable 80
RemoveSandboxOnExit 80
SetEnvironmentVariable 80
SetfileSystemIsolation 81
SetRegistryIsolation 81
WaitForProcess 81
9 MonitoringandTroubleshootingThinApp 83
ProvidingInformationtoTechnicalSupport 83
LogMonitorOperations 83
TroubleshootActivitywithLogMonitor 84
PerformAdvancedLogMonitorOperations 84
LogFormat 86
TroubleshootingSpecificApplications 90
TroubleshootRegistrySetupforMicrosoftOutlook 90
ViewingAttachmentsinMicrosoftOutlook 90
ThinApp Users Guide
6 VMware, Inc.
StartingExplorer.exeintheVirtualEnvironment 91
TroubleshootingJavaRuntimeEnvironmentVersionConflict 91
Glossary 93
Index 97
VMware, Inc. 7
TheThinAppUsersGuideprovidesinformationabouthowtoinstallThinApp,captureapplications,deploy
applications,andupgradeapplications.You canrefertothisguidetocustomizeparametersandperform
scripting.
Intended Audience
ThisbookisintendedforanyonewhoinstallsThinAppanddeployscapturedapplications.Typicalusersare
systemadministratorsresponsibleforthedistributionandmaintenanceofcorporatesoftwarepackages.
VMware ThinApp Documentation
ThecompletedocumentationsetforVMwareThinAppconsistsofthefollowingdocuments.
ThinAppUsersGuide.Conceptualandproceduralinformationtohelpyoucompleteatask.
ThinApp5.0ReleaseNotes.Latebreakingnewsanddescriptionsofknownissuesandworkarounds.
Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhavecomments,sendyour
feedbacktodocfeedback@vmware.com.
Technical Support and Education Resources
Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.To accessthecurrentversion
ofthisbookandotherbooks,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Online and Telephone Support
Touseonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductandcontractinformation,and
registeryourproducts,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support.
Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthefastestresponseon
priority1issues.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.
Support Offerings
TofindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds,goto
http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
About This Book
ThinApp Users Guide
8 VMware, Inc.
VMware Professional Services
VMwareEducationServicescoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcoursematerials
designedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Coursesareavailableonsite,intheclassroom,andlive
online.Foronsitepilotprograms andimplementationbestpractices,VMwareConsultingServicesprovides
offeringsto helpyouassess,plan,build,andmanageyourvirtualenvironment.To accessinformationabout
educationclasses,certificationprograms,andconsultingservices,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/services.
Legal Notice
ThinAppusestheregularexpressionlibraryoriginallywrittenbyHenrySpencer.
Copyright(c)1986,1993,1995byUniversityofToronto.
WrittenbyHenrySpencer.Notderivedfromlicensedsoftware.
Permissionisgrantedtoanyonetousethissoftwareforanypurposeonanycomputersystem,andto
redistributeitinanyway,subjecttothefollowingrestrictions:
1 Theauthorisnotresponsiblefortheconsequencesofuseofthissoftware,nomatterhowawful,evenif
theyarisefromdefectsinit.
2 Theoriginofthissoftwaremustnotbemisrepresented,eitherbyexplicitclaimorbyomission.
3 Alteredversionsmustbeplainlymarkedassuch,andmustnotbemisrepresented(byexplicitclaimor
omission)asbeingtheoriginalsoftware.
4 Thisnoticemustnotberemovedoraltered.
VMware, Inc. 9
1
YoucanuseThinApptoisolateapplications,simplifyapplicationcustomization,deployapplicationsto
differentoperatingsystems,andeliminateapplicationconflict.
Thisinformationincludesthefollowingtopics:
ThinAppRequirementsonpage 9
RecommendationsforInstallingThinApponpage 10
InstallThinAppSoftwareonpage 11
CheckingThinAppInstallationFilesonpage 11
ThinApp Requirements
ReviewtherequirementsforoperatingsystemsandcapturedapplicationsbeforeinstallingThinApp.
Operating Systems, Applications, and Systems That ThinApp Supports
ThinAppsupportsvariousoperatingsystems,applications,andsystems.
32bitplatformsincludeWindows8,Windows2000,Windows XP,WindowsXPE,Windows2003Server,
WindowsVista,WindowsServer2008,Windows7
64bitplatformsincludeWindows8,Windows864bit,WindowsXP64bit,Windows200364bit,
WindowsVista64 bit,Windows Server 2008 64bit,Windows Server 2008 R2 64bit,Windows 7 64 bit
16bitapplicationsrunningon32bitWindowsoperatingsystems
32bitapplicationsrunningon32bitand64bitWindowsoperatingsystems
TerminalServerandCitrixXenapp
ThinAppsupportsJapaneseapplicationscapturedandrunonJapaneseoperatingsystems.
CertainoperatingsystemsandapplicationsarenotsupportedbyThinApp.
16bitornonx86platformssuchasWindowsCE
Installing ThinApp 1
ThinApp Users Guide
10 VMware, Inc.
Applications That ThinApp Cannot Virtualize
ThinAppcannotconvertsomeapplicationsintovirtualapplicationsandmightblockcertainapplicationfunctions.
Youmustusetraditionalinstallationtechnologiestodeploysomeapplicationtypes.
Applicationsthatdonotnativelysupportthedeploymentoperatingsystem.
Ifanoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportthenativeinstallationofanapplication,thatoperatingsystemis
notasupportedThinAppdeploymentplatformforthatapplication.
Applicationsrequiringinstallationofkernelmodedevicedrivers
ODBCdriversworkbecausetheyareusermodedrivers.
Antivirusandpersonalfirewalls
Scannerdriversandprinterdrivers
SomeVPNclients
Device Drivers
ApplicationsthatrequiredevicedriversdonotworkwhenpackagedwithThinApp.Youmustinstallthose
devicedriversintheiroriginalformatonthehostcomputer.BecauseThinAppdoesnotsupportvirtualized
devicedrivers,youcannotuseThinApptovirtualizeantivirus,VPNclients,personalfirewalls,anddiskand
volumemountingrelatedutilities.
IfyoucaptureAdobeAcrobat,youcanmodifyandsavePDFfiles,butyoucannotusethePDFprinterdriver
thatenablesyoutosavedocumentstoPDFformat.
Shell Integration
SomeapplicationsthatprovideshellintegrationhavereducedfunctionswhentheyexistinaThinApp
package.Forexample,avirtualapplicationthatintegrateswithWindowsExplorercannotaddspecificentries
totheWindowsExplorercontextmenus.
DCOM Services that are Accessible on a Network
ThinAppisolatesCOMandDCOMservices.ApplicationsthatinstallDCOMservicesareaccessibleonthe
localcomputeronlybyothercapturedapplicationsrunninginthesameThinAppsandbox.ThinAppsupports
virtualDCOMandCOMonthesamecomputerbutdoesnotsupportnetworkDCOM.
Global Hook Dynamic Link Libraries
SomeapplicationsusetheSetWindowsHookExAPIfunctiontoaddaDLLfiletoallprocessesonthehost
computer.TheDLLinterceptsWindowsmessagestocapturekeyboardandmouseinputfromother
applications.ThinAppignoresrequestsfromapplicationsthatusetheSetWindowsHookExfunctiontotryto
installglobalhookDLLs.ThinAppmightreducetheapplicationfunctions.
Recommendations for Installing ThinApp
WhenyouinstallThinApp,considertherecommendationsandbestpracticesforthesoftware.
Using a Clean Computer
VMwarerecommendsusingacleancomputertoinstallThinAppbecausetheenvironmentaffectsthe
applicationcaptureprocess.AcleancomputerisaphysicalorvirtualmachinewithonlyaWindowsoperating
systeminstalled.Inacorporateenvironmentwhereyouhaveabasedesktopimage,thebasedesktopimage
isyourcleancomputer.Thedesktopcomputermightalreadyhavesomecomponentsandlibrariesinstalled.
VMware, Inc. 11
Chapter 1 Installing ThinApp
Applicationinstallersskipfilesthatalreadyexistonthecomputer.Iftheinstallerskipsfiles,theThinApp
packagedoesnotincludethemduringtheapplicationcaptureprocess.Theapplicationmightfailtorunon
othercomputerswherethefilesdonotexist.Acleancomputerenablesthecaptureprocesstoscanthe
computerfilesystemandregistryquickly.
IfyouinstallThinAppandcaptureanapplicationonacomputerthathasMicrosoft.NET2.0already
installed,.NET2.0isnotincludedintheThinApppackage.Thecapturedapplicationrunsonlyoncomputers
thathave.NET2.0alreadyinstalled.
Using Virtual Machines for Clean Computers
Theeasiestwaytosetupacleancomputeristocreateavirtualmachine.YoucaninstallWindowsonthe
virtualmachineandtakeasnapshotoftheentirevirtualmachineinitscleanstate.Afteryoucapturean
application,youcanrestorethesnapshotandrevertittoacleanvirtualmachinestatethatisreadyforthenext
applicationcapture.
YoucanuseVMwareWorkstationorotherVMwareproductstocreatevirtualmachines.Forinformation
aboutVMwareproducts,seetheVMwareWebsite.
Using the Earliest Operating System Required for Users
InstallThinApponacleancomputerwiththeearliestversionoftheoperatingsystemyouplantosupport.
In mostcases,theearliestplatformisWindows 2000orWindows XP.MostpackagescapturedonWindowsXP
workonWindows2000.In somecases,WindowsXPincludessomeDLLsthatWindows2000lacks.ThinApp
excludestheseDLLsfromthecapturedapplicationpackageiftheapplicationtypicallyinstallstheseDLLs.
AfteryoucreateaThinAppapplicationpackage,youcanoverwritefilesinthepackagewithupdatedversions
andrebuildtheapplicationwithoutthecaptureprocess.
Install ThinApp Software
UsetheThinAppexecutablefiletoinstallThinApp.
Install ThinApp software
1 DownloadThinApptoacleanphysicalorvirtualWindowsmachine.
2 DoubleclicktheThinAppexecutablefile.
3 InthePatentListsdialogbox,clickNext.
4 Acceptthelicense,typetheserialnumber,andtypealicensedisplaynamethatappearswhenyouopen
applicationsthatThinAppcaptures.
5 ClickInstall.
ThinAppisinstalled.
Checking ThinApp Installation Files
TheThinAppinstallationgeneratestheVMwareThinAppdirectoryinC:\Program Files\VMware.Youmight
checkthefilesinthisdirectorytoperformoperationssuchasstartingtheLogMonitorutilitytoviewrecent
activity.
ThefollowingkeyfilesintheVMwareThinAppdirectoryaffectThinAppoperations:
AppSync.exeKeepscapturedapplicationsuptodatewiththelatestavailableversion.
logging.dllGenerates.tracefiles.
Logging64.dllGenerates.tracefilesfor64bitapplications.
dll_dump.exeListsallcapturedapplicationsthatarecurrentlyrunningonasystem.
log_monitor.exeDisplaystheexecutionhistoryanderrorsofanapplication.
ThinApp Users Guide
12 VMware, Inc.
relink.exeUpdatesexistingpackagestothelatestThinAppversioninstalledonthesystem.
sbmerge.exeMergesruntimechangesrecordedintheapplicationsandboxwiththeThinAppproject
andupdatesthecapturedapplication.
SetupCapture.exeCapturesandconfiguresapplicationsthroughawizard.
snapshot.exeComparesthepreinstallationenvironmentandpostinstallationenvironmentduringthe
applicationcaptureprocess.
Snapshot64.exe
ThinAppstartsthisutilityduringthesetupcaptureprocess.
snapshot.iniStoresentriesforthevirtualregistryandvirtualfilesystemthatThinAppignoresduring
theprocessofcapturinganapplication.
Thesnapshot.exefilereferencesthesnapshot.inifile.Advancedusersmightmodifythe
snapshot.inifiletoensurethatThinAppdoesnotcapturecertainentrieswhencreatinganapplication
package.
template.msiBuildstheMSIfiles.
Youcancustomizethistemplatetoensurethatthe.msifilesgeneratedbyThinAppadheretocompany
deploymentproceduresandstandards.Forexample,youcanaddregistrysettingsthatyouwant
ThinApptoaddtoclientcomputersaspartoftheinstallation.
thinreg.exeRegisterscapturedapplicationsonacomputer.
ThisregistrationincludessettingupshortcutsandtheStartmenuandsettingupfiletypeassociations
thatallowyoutoopenapplications.
tlink.exeLinkskeymodulesduringthebuildprocessofthecapturedapplication.
vftool.exeCompilesthevirtualfilesystemduringthebuildprocessofthecapturedapplication.
vregtool.exeCompilesthevirtualregistryduringthebuildprocessofthecapturedapplication.
ThinDirect.AdmxIsaWindowsgrouppolicyfile,ThinDirectusesittoidentifythechangesinWindows
registrywhenagrouppolicysettingischanged.
ThinDirect.AdmThinDirect.admallowsyoutochangeThinDirect.txtfilesthathavealreadybeen
deployedtousermachines.
ThinDirect.msiInstallsandregisterstheThinDirectpluginandthelauncherforthevirtualbrowser.
ThinDirect.AdmlThinAppusesthisfiletospecifythelanguagesettingsforMicrosoftWindowsor
MicrosoftOffice.
VMware, Inc. 13
2
Youcancaptureapplicationstopackageanapplicationintoavirtualenvironment.
TheSetupCapturewizardisthemainmethodtocaptureapplicationsandsetinitialapplicationparameters.
Advanceduserswhomustcaptureapplicationsfromthecommandlinecanusethesnapshot.exeutility
insteadoftheSetupCapturewizard.
Thissectionincludesthefollowingtopics:
PhasesoftheCaptureProcessonpage 13
PreparingtoCaptureApplicationsonpage 13
CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizardonpage 14
AdvancedPackageConfigurationonpage 21
CapturingInternetExploreronWindowsXPonpage 22
CapturingMultipleApplicationInstallerswithThinAppConverteronpage 24
Phases of the Capture Process
Capturinganapplicationinvolvessystemscans,applicationconfiguration,packageconfiguration,and
generationofthevirtualapplicationfordistribution.
TheSetupCapturewizardsetsinitialparametersfortheapplication.Youcancustomizethefullsetof
parametersoutsideofthewizard.
Preparing to Capture Applications
Preparingforthecaptureprocessinvolvesunderstandingtheneedsanddependenciesoftheapplication.
Fortargetapplicationsthathavedependenciesonotherapplications,libraries,orframeworks,youcancapture
thedependenciesorusetheApplicationLinkutilitytolinkseparatevirtualapplicationsatruntime.
Fortargetapplicationsthatrequirelocaleformats,suchasaspecificdateformat,youcancapturetheminan
environmentwiththerequiredlocalesetting.ThinApprunsvirtualapplicationsaccordingtotheregionaland
languagesettingsonthecapturesystemratherthanthesettingsonthesystemthatrunstheapplication.
AlthoughyoucanmodifythedefaultlocalesettingbycommentingouttheLocaleIdentifierparameterin
thePackage.inifileandrebuildingtheapplication,youcanavoidcomplicationsinthecaptureenvironment.
Capturing Applications 2
ThinApp Users Guide
14 VMware, Inc.
Capturing Applications with the Setup Capture Wizard
Thecaptureprocesspackagesanapplicationandsetsinitialapplicationparameters.Ifyouuseavirtual
machine,considertakingasnapshotbeforeyourunthewizard.Asnapshotoftheoriginalcleanstateenables
youtoreverttothesnapshotwhenyouwanttocaptureanotherapplication.
ThisinformationusesMozillaFirefoxasakeyexampleforapplicationcapture.
Create a System Image Before the Application Installation
TheSetupCapturewizardstartsthecaptureprocessbyscanningthesystemtoassesstheenvironmentand
createabaselinesystemimage.
Create a system image before the application installation
1 Downloadtheapplicationstocapture.
Forexample,downloadFirefoxSetup2.0.0.3.exeandcopyittothecleancomputeryouareworking
with.
2 Closeanyapplications,suchasvirusscans,thatmightchangethefilesystemduringthecaptureprocess.
3 Fromthedesktop,selectStart>Programs>VMware>ThinAppSetupCapture.
4 (Optional)IntheReadytoPrescandialogbox,clickAdvancedScanLocationstoselectthedrivesand
registryhivestoscan.
YoumightwanttoscanaparticularlocationotherthantheC:\driveifyouinstallapplicationstoa
differentdrive.Inrarecases,youmightwanttoavoidscanningaregistryhiveifyouknowthatthe
applicationinstallerdoesnotmodifytheregistry.
5 ClickPrescantoestablishabaselinesystemimageoftheharddriveandregistryfiles.
Thescanningprocesstakesabout10secondsforWindowsXP.
Rescan the System with the Installed Application
YoucaninstalltheapplicationtovirtualizebeforetheSetupCapturewizardrescansthesystemandassess
changesfromtheinitialsystemimage.
Install the application and rescan the system
1 WhentheInstallApplicationpageappears,minimizetheSetupCapturewizardandinstallthe
applicationstocapture.
Forexample,doubleclickFirefoxSetup2.0.0.3.exe to installFirefox.Iftheapplicationneedsto
restartaftertheinstallation,restartthesystem.TheprocessrestartstheSetupCapturewizard.
2 (Optional)IfyouarecapturingInternetExplorer,intheInstallApplicationpage,clickInternetExplorer,
tocompleteadditionalstepsbeforeinstallingthebrowser.
IfyouarecapturingInternetExplorer6onWindowsXP,seeCapturingInternetExploreronWindows
XPonpage 22.
Formoreinformationaboutentrypoints,seeDefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtual
Environmentonpage 15.
3 (Optional)Makeanynecessaryconfigurationchangestocomplywithyourcompanypolicies,suchas
usingspecificsecuritysettingsoraparticularhomepage.
Ifyoudonotmakeconfigurationchangesatthistime,eachusermustmakechanges.
4 (Optional)Starttheapplicationandrespondtoanymessagesforinformationbeforeyoucontinuewith
theSetupCapturewizard.
Ifyoudonotrespondtoanymessagesatthistime,eachuserwhousestheapplicationmustdosoduring
theinitialstart.
VMware, Inc. 15
Chapter 2 Capturing Applications
5 Closetheapplication.
6 MaximizetheSetupCapturewizard,clickPostscantoproceedwithanotherscanofthecomputer,and
clickOKtoconfirmthepostscanoperation.
ThinAppstoresthedifferencesbetweenthefirstbaselineimageandthisimageinavirtualfilesystemand
virtualregistry.
Defining Entry Points as Shortcuts into the Virtual Environment
Entrypointsaretheexecutablefilesthatactasshortcutsintothevirtualenvironmentandstartthevirtual
application.Theentrypointsyoucanchoosefromdependontheexecutablefilesthatyourcaptured
applicationcreatesduringinstallation.
Forexample,ifyouinstallMicrosoftOffice,youcanselectentrypointsforMicrosoftWord,MicrosoftExcel,
andotherapplicationsthatareinstalledduringaMicrosoftOfficeinstallation.IfyouinstallFirefox,youmight
selectMozilla Firefox.exeandMozilla Firefox (SafeMode).exeifusersrequiresafemodeaccess.
DuringthebuildprocessthatoccursattheendoftheSetupCapturewizard,ThinAppgeneratesone
executablefileforeachselectedentrypoint.IfyoudeploytheapplicationasanMSIfileorusethe
thinreg.exeutility,thedesktopandStartmenushortcutscreatedonuserdesktopspointtotheseentry
points.
Entry Points for Troubleshooting
ThinAppprovidesentrypointstotroubleshootyourenvironment.
Debugginganapplicationmightinvolvethefollowingentrypoints:
cmd.exeStartsacommandpromptinavirtualcontextthatenablesyoutoviewthevirtualfilesystem.
regedit.exeStartstheregistryeditorinavirtualcontextthatenablesyoutoviewthevirtualregistry.
Entrypointsstartnativeexecutablefilesinavirtualcontext.Entrypointsdonotcreatevirtualpackagesof
cmd.exeandregedit.exe.
Ifyoucannotpredicttheneedfordebuggingortroubleshootingtheenvironment,youcanusetheDisabled
parameterinthePackage.inifileatalatertimetoactivatetheseentrypoints.
Set Entry Points
Youcandesignatetheexecutablefilesthatmakeupthelistofentrypoints.ThinAppinstallstheexecutable
filesduringthecaptureprocess.
Set entry points in the Setup Capture wizard
1 OntheEntryPointspage,selectthecheckboxesforuseraccessibleentrypoints.
ThewizarddisplaystheexecutablefilesthatweredirectlyaccessiblethroughthedesktoporStartmenu
shortcuts.
2 (Optional)Todebugyourenvironment,selecttheShowentrypointsusedfordebuggingcheckboxto
displaytheregedit.exe,andcmd.exetroubleshootingoptions.
Manage with VMware Horizon Application Manager
YoucanuseVMwareHorizonApplicationManagertomanagethedeploymentandentitlementofThinApp
packages.SeeUsingVMwareHorizonApplicationManagertoManagetheDeploymentandEntitlementofThinApp
Packages,availablefromtheThinAppdownloadsite.
Set User Groups
ThinAppcanuseActiveDirectorygroupstoauthorizeaccesstothevirtualapplication.Youcanrestrictaccess
toanapplicationtoensurethatusersdonotpassittounauthorizedusers.
ThinApp Users Guide
16 VMware, Inc.
ActiveDirectoryDomainServicesdefinesecuritygroupsanddistributiongroups.ThinAppcanonlysupport
nestedsecuritygroups.
Set user groups in the Setup Capture wizard
1 OntheGroupspage,limittheuseraccesstotheapplication.
a SelectOnlythefollowingActiveDirectorygroups.
b ClickAddtospecifyActiveDirectoryobjectandlocationinformation.
2 (Optional)ChangethemessagethatappearsforusersthatThinAppcannotauthorize.
Defining Isolation Modes for the Physical File System
Isolationmodesdeterminethelevelofreadandwriteaccesstothenativefilesystemoutsideofthevirtual
environment.Youmightadjustisolationmodesettingsdependingontheapplicationandtherequirementsto
protectthephysicalsystemfromchanges.
TheselectionofisolationmodesinthecaptureprocessdeterminesthevalueoftheDirectoryIsolationMode
parameterinthePackage.inifile.Thisparametercontrolsthedefaultisolationmodeforthefilescreatedby
thevirtualapplicationexceptwhenyouspecifyadifferentisolationmodeinthe##Attributes.inifilefor
anindividualdirectory.
Theselectionofadirectoryisolationmodedoesnotaffectthefollowingareas:
ThinApptreatswriteoperationstonetworkdrivesaccordingtotheSandboxNetworkDrivesparameter
inthePackage.inifile.Thisparameterhasadefaultvaluethatdirectswriteoperationstothephysical
drive.ThinApptreatswriteoperationstoremovabledisksaccordingtotheSandboxRemovableDisk
parameterinthePackage.inifile.Thisparameterhasadefaultvaluethatdirectswriteoperationstothe
physicaldrive.
IfyousavedocumentstothedesktoporMy Documentsfolder,ThinAppsavesthedocumentstothe
physicalsystem.ThinAppsetstheisolationmodeinthe##Attributes.inifilesin%Personal%and
%Desktop%toMergedevenwhenyouselectWriteCopyisolationmode.
Applying Merged Isolation Mode for Modifications Outside the Package
WithMergedisolationmode,applicationscanreadandmodifyelementsonthephysicalfilesystemoutside
ofthevirtualpackage.SomeapplicationsrelyonreadingDLLsandregistryinformationinthelocalsystem
image.
TheadvantageofusingMergedmodeisthatdocumentsthatuserssaveappearonthephysicalsysteminthe
locationthatusersexpect,insteadofinthesandbox.Thedisadvantageisthatthismodemightclutterthe
systemimage.Anexampleofthecluttermightbefirstexecutionmarkersbysharewareapplicationswritten
torandomcomputerlocationsaspartofthelicensingprocess.
WhenyouselectMergedisolation,ThinAppcompletesthefollowingoperations:
SetstheDirectoryIsolationModeparameterinthePackage.inifiletoMerged.
SetsupexceptionsthatapplyWriteCopyisolationtothefollowingdirectoriesandtheirsubdirectories:
%AppData%
Option Description
ObjectTypes Specifiesobjects.
Locations Specifiesalocationintheforest.
CheckNames Verifyobjectnames.
Advanced LocatesusernamesintheActiveDirectoryforest.
CommonQueries(underAdvanced) Searchesforgroupsaccordingtonames,descriptions,disabledaccounts,
passwords,anddayssincelastlogin.
VMware, Inc. 17
%Common AppData%
%Local AppData%
%Program Files Common%
%ProgramFilesDir%
%SystemRoot%
%SystemSystem%
ThinAppretainsMergedisolationmodeforthe%SystemSystem%\spoolsubdirectorybycreatingan
exceptiontothe%SystemSystem%parentdirectoryisolationmode.
Betweentheprescanandpostscancaptureoperations,assignsFullisolationmodetoanydirectoriesthat
theapplicationcreatesduringtheinstallation.Thisprocessisunrelatedtotheisolationmodeofanynew
directoriesthattherunningvirtualapplicationcreates.
MergedisolationmodeintheSetupCapturewizardhasthesameeffectasMergedisolationmodeinthe
Package.inifile,includingthedirectoryexceptionsthatspecifyWriteCopyisolationmode.TheSetup
Capturewizardandmanualcaptureprocesswiththesnapshot.exe utilityconfigurethedirectory
exceptionsforyouwiththe##Attributes.inifileswithinthedirectories.
Applying WriteCopy Isolation Mode to Prevent Modifications Outside of the Package
WithWriteCopyisolationmode,ThinAppcaninterceptwriteoperationsandredirectthemtothesandbox.
YoucanuseWriteCopyisolationmodeforlegacyoruntrustedapplications.Althoughthismodemightmake
itdifficulttofinduserdatafilesthatresideinthesandboxinsteadofthephysicalsystem,thismodeisuseful
forlockeddowndesktopswhereyouwanttopreventusersfromaffectingthelocalfilesystem.
WhenyouselectWriteCopyisolationintheSetupCapturewizard,ThinAppcompletesanumberof
operations.
SetstheDirectoryIsolationModeparameterinthePackage.inifiletoWriteCopy.
SetsupexceptionsthatapplyMergedisolationtothesedirectories
%Personal%
%Desktop%
%SystemSystem%\spool
Betweentheprescanandpostscancaptureoperations,assignsFullisolationmodetoanydirectoriesthat
theapplicationcreatesduringtheinstallation.Thisprocessisunrelatedtotheisolationmodeofanynew
directoriesthattherunningvirtualapplicationcreates.
WriteCopyisolationmodeintheSetupCapturewizardhasthesameeffectasWriteCopyisolationmodeinthe
Package.inifile,includingthedirectoryexceptionsthatspecifyMergedisolationmode.TheSetupCapture
wizardandsnapshot.exeutilityconfigurethedirectoryexceptionsforyouwiththe##Attributes.inifiles
withinthedirectories.
Set File System Isolation Modes
Thecaptureprocesssetsthelevelofreadandwriteaccesstothephysicalfilesystemtodeterminewhich
directoriesarevisibleandwritablebythevirtualapplication.
For informationaboutFullisolationandregistryisolationthatareavailableonlyoutsideoftheSetupCapture
wizard,seeDirectoryIsolationModeandRegistryIsolationModeinThinAppPackage.iniParameters
ReferenceGuide.
Set file system isolation modes in the Setup Capture wizard
OntheIsolationpage,selecttheisolationmodeforthephysicalfilesystem.
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18 VMware, Inc.
Storing Application Changes in the Sandbox
Thesandboxisthedirectorywhereallchangesthatthecapturedapplicationmakesarestored.Thesandbox
isruntimemodificationstorageandisnotacache.Thenexttimeyouopentheapplication,thosechangesare
incorporatedfromthesandbox.
Whenyoudeletethesandboxdirectory,theapplicationrevertstoitscapturedstate.Youmightdeletea
sandboxwhenanapplicationhasaproblemandyouwanttoreverttheapplicationbacktotheworking
originalstate.
Customize the Sandbox Location
Youcandeploythesandboxtoalocalusermachine,carryitonamobileUSBdevice,orstoreitinanetwork
location.
Ifyoudeploythesandboxtoalocalmachine,usetheusersprofileasthesandboxlocation.Thedefault
locationofthesandboxforFirefoxmightbe%AppData%\Thinstall\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.Thetypical
%AppData%locationisC:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Application Data.Theusersprofile
isthedefaultlocationbecauseofthewriteaccess.
Anetworklocationisusefulforbackingupthesandboxandforuserswhologintoanycomputerandkeep
theirapplicationsettings.Usetheabsolutepathtothelocation,suchas\\thinapp\sandbox\Firefox.You
canselectanetworklocationevenifanapplicationisinstalledonalocalmachine.
Aportabledevicelocationisusefultokeepthesandboxdataonthedevicewheretheapplicationresides.
Customize the sandbox location in the Setup Capture wizard
OntheSandboxpage,selecttheusersprofile,applicationdirectory,orcustomlocationforthesandbox.
Send Anonymous Statistics to VMware
ToimproveThinAppsupportforapplications,VMwareusesthecaptureprocesstoconfirmwhethertocollect
anonymousdataaboutdeployedThinApppackages.Thedataincludestheapplicationstarttime,total
runningtime,andnumberofrunsfortheapplication.
Send anonymous statistics to VMware
OntheUsageStatisticspage,clicktheYesSendanonymoususagestatisticstoVMwareoptionbuttonto
confirmthedatacollectionstatus.
Customize ThinApp Project Settings
Aprojectisthedatathatthecaptureprocesscreates.Youcannotrunordeploythecapturedapplicationuntil
youbuildapackagefromtheprojectfiles.
Settinguptheprojectinvolvesdeterminingtheinventorynameandtheprojectlocation.Theinventoryname
facilitatesinternaltrackingoftheapplicationanddeterminesthedefaultprojectdirectoryname.
Option Description
Fullwriteaccesstononsystemdirectories
(Mergedisolationmode)
Allowstheapplicationtoreadresourcesonandwritetothelocalmachine.
Restrictedwriteaccess(WriteCopy
isolationmode)
Allowstheapplicationtoreadresourcesonthelocalmachineandto
restrictmostmodificationstothesandbox.
ThinAppcopiesfilesystemchangestothesandboxtoensurethat
ThinApponlymodifiescopiesoffilesinsteadoftheactualphysicalfiles.
VMware, Inc. 19
Customize project settings in the Setup Capture wizard
1 OntheProjectSettingspage,changetheinventoryname.
Usingthethinreg.exeutilityordeployingthecapturedapplicationasanMSIfilecausestheinventory
nametoappearintheAddorRemoveProgramsdialogboxforWindows.
2 ChangethedirectorywhereyouwanttosavetheThinAppproject.
IfyoukeepthedefaultdirectoryandcaptureFirefox2.0.0.3,thepathmightappearasC:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox (2.0.0.3).
Defining Package Settings
ApackageistheexecutablefileorMSIfilewithexecutablefilesthatyouusetorunordeployacaptured
application.Youbuildapackagefromtheprojectfiles.
Settingupthepackageduringthecaptureprocessinvolvesspecifyinginformationaboutthemainvirtual
applicationfilethatservesastheprimarydatacontainer,MSIgeneration,andcompression.
Defining the Primary Data Container
TheprimarydatacontaineristhemainvirtualapplicationfilethatincludestheThinAppruntimeandthe
readonlyvirtualfilesystemandvirtualregistry.Theprimarydatacontainerfileisa.exeora.datfilethat
residesinthesame/bindirectorywithanysubordinateapplicationexecutablefiles.Entrypointsreference
theinformationintheprimarydatacontainer.
Toidentifytheprimarydatacontainerafteryoucaptureanapplication,checktheReadOnlyDataparameter
inthePackage.inifile.
Generating MSI Packages in the Capture Process
YoucancaptureanapplicationanddeployitasanMSIWindowsinstallationpackage.TheMSIinstallation
placestheapplicationintheC:\Program Filesdirectory.
AtypicalFirefoxapplicationdoesnotrequireanMSIinstallation.Otherapplications,suchasMicrosoftOffice,
thatintegratewithapplicationdeliverytools,workwellasanMSIpackage.MSIgenerationrequiresyouto
installtheMSIonthetargetdevicebeforeyoucanusetheapplicationpackage.
MSIpackagesautomatetheprocessofregisteringfiletypeassociations,registeringdesktopandStartmenu
shortcuts,anddisplayingcontrolpanelextensions.IfyouplantodeployThinAppexecutablefilesdirectlyon
eachcomputer,youcanaccomplishthesameregistrationbyusingthethinreg.exeutility.
Compressing Packages in the Capture Process
Compressingapackageinthecaptureprocessdecreasesthesizeofanexecutablepackagebutdoesnotaffect
MSIpackages.
Compressioncanreducetheondiskstoragerequirementby50percentbutslowstheapplicationperformance
whenThinAppuncompressesinitialblocksthatstarttheapplication.VMwaredoesnotrecommend
compressionfortestbuildsbecausecompressionincreasesthebuildtime.
Customize Package Settings
Thecaptureprocessincludesinitialsettingsfortheprimarydatacontainer,MSIpackages,andexecutable
packagecompression.
Customize package settings in the Setup Capture wizard
1 OnthePackageSettingspage,selecttheprimarydatacontainerfromthelistthatisbasedonyour
executablefileentrypoints.
Ifthesizeoftheprimarycontainerissmallerthan200MB,ThinAppcreatesa.exefileastheprimary
container.ForasmallapplicationsuchasFirefox,any.exefilecanserveasthemaindatacontainer.
ThinApp Users Guide
20 VMware, Inc.
Ifthesizeoftheprimarycontainerislargerthan200MB,ThinAppcreatesaseparate.datfileasthe
primarycontainerbecauseWindowsXPandWindows2000cannotshowshortcuticonsforlarge
.exefiles.Generatingseparatesmall.exefilestogetherwiththe.datfilefixestheproblem.
Ifthesizeoftheprimarycontainerisbetween200MBand1.5GB,ThinAppcreatesthedefault.dat
fileunlessyouselecta.exefiletooverridethedefault.datfile.
2 (Optional)Ifyouselecta.exefiletooverridethedefault.datfilewhenthesizeoftheprimarycontainer
isbetween200MBand1.5GB,ignorethegeneratedwarning.
Selectinga.exefileenablesallapplicationstoworkproperlybutmightpreventtheproperdisplayof
icons.
3 (Optional)Ifyoucannotselectaprimarydatacontainer,typeaprimarydatacontainernametogenerate
a.datfile.
IfyouplantousetheApplicationSyncutilitytoupdateacapturedapplication,ThinAppusestheprimary
datacontainernameduringtheprocess.Youmustusethesamenameacrossmultipleversionsofthe
application.Youmightnotbeabletoselectthesameprimarydatacontainernamefromthelist.
For example,MicrosoftOffice2003andMicrosoftOffice2007donothavecommonentrypointnames.
4 (Optional)SelecttheGenerateMSIpackagecheckboxandchangetheMSIfilename.
5 (Optional)TocreateasmallerexecutablepackageforlocationssuchasaUSBdevice,selecttheCompress
virtualpackagecheckbox.
6 ClickSave.
Opening Project and Parameter Files
Thecaptureprocessprovidesanopportunitytoreviewtheprojectfilestoupdatesettingsbeforebuildingthe
executablepackageorMSIpackage.
Forexample,ifyoucaptureFirefox2.0.0.3,youmightbrowsetheC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware
ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3directorytoupdateasetting,suchasanActiveDirectory
specification,inthePackage.inifilethatcontainstheparameterssetduringthecaptureprocess.For
informationaboutupdatingsettings,seeAdvancedPackageConfigurationonpage 21.
Theprojectincludesfolders,suchas%AppData%,thatrepresentfilesystempathsthatmightchangelocations
whenrunningondifferentoperatingsystemsorcomputers.Mostfoldershave##Attributes.inifilesthat
specifytheisolationmodeatthefolderlevel.
Build Virtual Applications
Youcanadjustprojectfilesandbuildtheapplicationfordeployment.
Build virtual applications in the Setup Capture wizard
1 (Optional)OntheReadytoBuildpage,scanorchangetheprojectfiles.
2 (Optional)Topreventabuildfromtakingplace,selecttheSkipthebuildprocesscheckbox.
Youcanbuildthepackageatalatertimewiththebuild.batfileinthevirtualapplicationfolder.For
example,aFirefox2.0.0.3pathtothebuild.batfilemightbeC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware
ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\build.bat.
3 ClickBuildtobuildanexecutablepackageorMSIpackagecontainingthefilesyouinstalledduringthe
captureprocess.
Option Description
EditPackage.ini Modifyapplicationparametersfortheentirepackage.
Openprojectfolder BrowseThinAppprojectfilesinWindowsExplorer.
VMware, Inc. 21
4 (Optional)DeselecttheOpenfoldercontainingprojectexecutablesafterclickingFinishcheckboxto
viewtheexecutablefilesandMSIfilesatalatertime.
5 ClickFinish.
YoucanrebuildthepackageatanytimeafteryouclickFinishtomakechanges.
Advanced Package Configuration
Advancedusersmightmodifyconfigurationfiles,suchasthePackage.inior##Attributes.inifiles,
beforebuildingthepackageduringthecaptureoraftertheinitialbuildofthepackage.
Modifying Settings in the Package.ini File
YoucanmodifythePackage.inifiletoupdatetheoverallpackage.
Thefileresidesinthecapturedapplicationfolder.AFirefox2.0.0.3pathmightbeC:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\Package.ini.
Thefollowingparametersareafewexamplesofsettingsthatyoumightmodify:
DirectoryIsolationModeSetstheisolationmodetoMerged,WriteCopy,orFull.
PermittedGroupsRestrictsuseofanapplicationpackagetoaspecificsetofActiveDirectoryusers.
SandboxNameIdentifiesthesandbox.
Youmightkeepthenameforincrementalapplicationupdatesandchangethenameformajorupdates.
SandboxPathSetsthesandboxlocation.
SandboxNetworkDrivesSpecifieswhethertoredirectwriteoperationsonthenetworksharetothe
sandbox.
RequiredAppLinksSpecifiesalistofexternalThinApppackagestoimporttothecurrentpackageat
runtime.
OptionalAppLinksSpecifiesalistofexternalThinApppackagestoimporttothecurrentpackageat
runtime.
ForinformationaboutallPackage.iniparameters,downloadacopyoftheThinAppPackage.iniReferencefrom
theThinAppdownloadsite
Modify the Package.ini File
UseatexteditortomodifythePackage.inifile.
Modify the Package.ini file
1 OpenthePackage.inifilelocatedinthecapturedapplicationfolder.
Forexample,aFirefox2.0.0.3pathmightbeC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware
ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\Package.ini.
2 Activatetheparametertoeditbyremovingthesemicolonatthebeginningoftheline.
Forexample,activatetheRemoveSandboxOnExitparameterforFirefox.
RemoveSandboxOnExit=1
3 Deleteorchangethevalueoftheparameterandsavethefile.
4 Doubleclickthebuild.batfileinthecapturedapplicationfoldertorebuildtheapplicationpackage.
Forexample,aFirefox2.0.0.3pathtothebuild.batfilemightbeC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware
ThinApp Users Guide
22 VMware, Inc.
Modifying Settings in the ##Attributes.ini File
The##Attributes.inifileexistsinthefoldermacrosoftheprojectfolderandappliesconfigurationsettings
atthedirectorylevel.ThePackage.inifileappliessettingsattheoverallapplicationlevel.Youcanusethe
DirectoryIsolationMode,CompressionType,andExcludePatternparametersinan##Attributes.ini
filetooverridethePackage.inisettingsatthedirectorylevel.
Forexample,youcansettheisolationmodeatthedirectoryorapplicationleveltodeterminewhichfilesand
registrykeysarevisibleandwrittenbythevirtualapplicationyoucreate.Thedetailedsettinginthe
##Attributes.inifileoverridestheoverallPackage.inisetting.ThePackage.inisettingdeterminesthe
isolationmodeonlywhenThinAppdoesnothave##Attributes.iniinformation.
The##Attributes.inifileappearsinmostfoldersforthecapturedapplication.For example,the
Attributes.inifilemightbelocatedinC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware
ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\%AppData%\##Attributes.ini.
Modify the ##Attributes.ini File
Useatexteditortomodifythe##Attributes.inifile.
Modify the ##Attributes.ini file
1 Inthe##Attributes.inifile,uncomment,update,ordeletetheparameter.
Capturing Internet Explorer on Windows XP
AfteryouusetheSetupCapturewizardtocaptureInternetExplorerrunningonWindowsXP,onatest
machineyoucanusetheThinAppThinDirectplugintoredirectWebsitesorspecificpagestoautomatically
openinavirtualInternetExplorerbrowser.YoucanviewWebpagesthatareincompatibleinthenative
versionofInternetExplorerinthevirtualInternetExplorer.Alistismaintainedthatfacilitatesaredirection
processforspecifiedincompatibledomainsandpages.
YoucanalsoinstallInternetExplorerpluginssuchasJavaruntimeplugins.Thepluginsaretreatedasany
otherfileduringSetupCapture.ThepluginsareembeddedintheInternetExplorercapture.
AftertheThinDirectpluginissuccessfullyinstalledinyournativebrowser,whenauserrequestsaURLthat
isincludedintheredirectlist,amessageappearsinthenativebrowsertoalerttheuserthatthepageisbeing
redirectedtoavirtualInternetExplorerbrowser.Thevirtualbrowseropens,therequestedURLappearsand
thenativebrowserisclosed.
Requirements for Capturing Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP
BeforeyoustarttheSetupCapturewizardthefollowingrequirementsmustbemet:
YoumusthaveacleanvirtualmachinewithWindowsXPinstalled.
EnsurethatWindowsXPincludesalltheservicepacksandMicrosoftupdates,sothatInternetExplorer
6iscapturedwiththelatestsecurityfixesfromMicrosoft.
ThinAppmustbeinstalledonthesamemachine.
Capture Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP by Using the Setup Capture Wizard
CapturingInternetExplorer6usingtheSetupCapturewizardissimilartothatofcapturingother
applications.Therearetwokeydifferences.WhenyouusetheSetupCapturewizardtocaptureInternet
Explorer6onWindowsXP,youdefineanentrypointtoInternetExplorer.YoualsouseThinDirecttospecify
URLsthatwillberedirectedtothevirtualizedInternetExplorer6browser.
SeeCapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizardonpage 14forafulloverviewofthestandard
SetupCaptureprocess.
VMware, Inc. 23
RunsetupcaptureonamachinerunningWindowsXPwithServicePack3,andwiththe.NETframework
installed.
Capture Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP
1 CreateasystemimageusingthePrescanprocessoftheSetupCapturewizard.
2 IntheInstallApplicationdialogbox,clickInternetExplorer.
3 SelectIncludeentrypointforafullyvirtualizedInternetExplorer6inthevirtualpackageandclickOK.
Thisoptioncapturesboththefilesthatchangedduringsetupcaptureandotherrequiredfilesandregistry
settings.
4 InstallanypluginsforInternetExplorerthatyouwanttobeincludedinthepackage.
5 RescanthesystemusingthePostscanprocessoftheSetupCapturewizard.
6 IntheSetupCaptureEntryPointsdialogbox,selectthedefault,VirtIE6.exe.
7 FollowthepromptsuntiltheNativeBrowserRedirectdialogboxappears.
8 CreatealistoftheWebsitesandpagesthatyouwanttoredirecttothevirtualInternetExplorer6package.
Eachentrymustbeonaseparateline.
Youcanusewildcards,forexample*.example.com.
Youcanspecifyasitesothatallpagesonthatsiteareredirected,forexample,www.example.com.
Youcanspecifyasitenamefollowedbyapagename,sothatthespecificpageisredirected,for
examplejavatester.org/version.html.
9 (Optional)Whenyouhavesavedthepackage,opentheThinDirect.txtfile,whichcontainstheentry
pointtoInternetExplorer6andthelistofredirectaddresses,andeditthefile.
ThisfileonlyexistsafteryoucreateentriesintheNativeBrowserRedirectdialogbox.
Theredirectionlistislocatedin%appdata%\roaming\Vmware\VMware Thinapp\Thindirect.
10 Followthepromptstobuildtheproject.
TheThinDirect.exefileisembeddedinthepackage,withthepluginThinDirect.dllandplugin
launcherThinDirectLauncher.exefiles.
Extracting and Registering ThinDirect
AfteryouhavebuilttheInternetExplorer6package,youneedtoextractandregistertheThinDirectplugin
onthetestmachine.TheThinDirectpluginmustbeinstalledaspartofthevirtualpackage.Thepluginis
installedinyournativebrowserduringtheregistrationprocess.
Extract and register ThinDirect
Intheconsole,runthethinreg /a VirtIE6.execommandtoextracttheThinDirectapplication,andextract
andregistertheThinDirectlibrary.
TheThinDirectapplicationisinstalledintheProgram Files/VMware/VMware ThinApp/ThinDirect
directory.
YoucanhavemultipleThinDirecttextfilesintheThinDirectdirectory,iftheyallhaveuniquenames.The
ThinDirectpluginthenreadsallfiles.
Inadditiontoindividualmachineregistration,youcanregisterWebpageredirectsonaindividualuserbasis
byomittingthe/aswitch.ToachieveindividualuserredirectsrequiresthattheThinDirectpluginbe
installedasaseparatestepfromanAdministratoraccount.IfyoudonotinstalltheThinDirectpluginasa
separatestep,Thinregdisplaysanerror.
YoucanpushadditionalWebpageredirecttoendusercomputersbycopyingfileswithaspecificformatto
specificindividualmachineorindividualuserlocations.
ThinApp Users Guide
24 VMware, Inc.
Capturing Multiple Application Installers with ThinApp Converter
OnvirtualmachinesrunningaWindowsoperatingsystem,youcanuseThinAppConvertertoconvert
multipleapplicationinstallersintoThinApppackages.Afteryouprovideaconfigurationfilewithspecific
settingsthattheconverteraccesses,ThinAppConverterrunsapplicationsinsilentmode.Silentmodemeans
thattheprocessoccurswithoutrequiringuserinput,afterinitialconfigurationsettingsarespecified.ThinApp
Convertertransparentlycapturesinstallationcontent,generatesThinAppprojects,andbuildtheprojectsinto
aThinApppackageinvirtualmachinesyouspecifyintheconfigurationfile.Thisprocessisfullyautomated,
fromwhenThinAppConverterstartstorununtiltheThinApppackageisbuilt.
TheThinAppexecutablefileandtheapplicationinstallerscanrunonvirtualmachines.
ThinApp Converter Process
BeforeyourunThinAppConverter,youmustusetheThinAppConverter.iniconfigurationfileasa
templatetospecifythevirtualmachineenvironmentonwhichtheapplicationstobeconvertedreside,the
networksharepaths,andvariousothermandatoryandoptionalparameters.Youthenusethe-fcommand
lineswitchtospecifytheconfigurationfilethatyoucreated,whichThinAppConverterwilluse.Forexample,
ThinAppConverter.exe -f myConfig.ini.
ThinAppConverterreadstheconfigurationfiletoidentifywhichinstallersaretobeconvertedandthevirtual
machinesonwhichtheconversionistooccur.
ThinAppConverterthenpowersoneachvirtualmachineandtakesasnapshotthatisusedafterthe
conversionprocessiscomplete.
Afterthesnapshotistaken,ThinAppConverterpushesasilentcaptureagenttovirtualmachines.Thesilent
captureagentrunstransparentlyonthevirtualmachines,capturingtheapplicationinstallationprocessina
similarwaytothatoftheSetupCapturewizardwhenasingleapplicationisbeingcaptured.Thesilentcapture
agentperformsthefollowingactions:
RunsaThinAppprescan
Installsanapplicationfromthenetworksharespecifiedintheconfigurationfile
Runsapostscan
GeneratesaThinAppprojectonthenetworksharespecifiedintheconfigurationfile
Performsprojectpostprocessingtasks
BuildstheThinAppprojectonthenetworkshareintoapackage
ThesilentcaptureagentthenreturnscontroltotheThinAppConverter,whichrevertsthevirtualmachinesto
theirprecapturestate,usingtheiroriginalsnapshot.
Theprocessisthenrepeatedforthenextapplicationinstallationprocessthatneedstobeconverted.When
multiplevirtualmachinesarespecified,thecaptureagentrunsonthemachinessimultaneously.Asavirtual
machinebecomesavailable,itisonceagainusedforconvertingthenextapplication
ThinApp Converter Limitations
Notallapplicationinstallationprocessessupportsilentinstallationmode.ThinAppConverterdoesnot
supportautomaticcaptureforaninstallationprocessthatdoesnotsupportsilentinstallation.
Theinstallerdirectorynamemustnotcontaintheequalssymbol(=).
System Requirements for Running ThinApp Converter
ThinAppConverterrequiresoneofthefollowingvirtualmachineenvironments:
VMwareESXServer4.0,orlater
VMwarevCenterServer4.0,orlater
VMwareWorkstation7.0,orlater
VMware, Inc. 25
Thevirtualmachinesthatareusedintheconversionprocessmusthavethefollowingitemsinstalled:
WindowsXPwithServicePack3,WindowsVista,orWindows7
ThelatestversionofVMwareTools
ThinAppConverterincludesaprivatecopyoftheVMwareVIXAPIlibrary.Ifamorerecentversionofthe
libraryalreadyexistsonthehostmachine,ThinAppConvertertriestousethenewestversion.
VMwarerecommendsthatyouuseWindows2003orWindows2008asafileserverfornetworkshare.Thefile
serverneedstohavesufficientsystemresourcestohandlealargequantityoffileoperations.Donotusethe
hostmachinethatrunstheThinAppConverterexecutablefileasthefileserverforthenetworkshare.
WhenusingaVMwareWorkstationenvironment,ensurethatthenetworksettingsareinbridgedmode.
Preparing the Configuration File for ThinApp Converter
Asampleconfigurationfile,ThinAppConverter.ini,isincludedintheThinAppinstallation.Thefileis
generallylocatedinC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp.
Modifyorcreateacopyofthisfiletosuityourrequirements.UseUTF8encodingwhenyouspecifyparameter
values.
TheThinAppConverter.ini configurationfileincludesthefollowingsectionheadings:
[HostEnvironment]containsvirtualmachinehostingparameters.
[VirtualMachineN]containsvirtualmachinespecificparameters.
[Settings]containsparametersthatprovideglobalcontrolofthecaptureprocess.
[AppSettings:AppName] containsoptionalapplicationspecificparameters.
HostEnvironment
TheHostEnvironmentsectionoftheconfigurationfilecontainstheconnectionparametersforconnectingto
VMwareESXServer,VMwarevCenterServer,orVMwareWorkstationonalocalmachine.
[HostEnvironment]parametersaremandatory.
Youcanonlyspecifyasingleendpointatatimeintheconfigurationfile.Forexample,ifyouplantouse
asingleVMwareESXServer,youcanhaveThinAppConverter.exedirectlyconnecttothatserver.
YoucannotspecifymorethanoneESXserver.TousemorethanoneESXserver,configure
ThinAppConverter.exe toconnecttoVMwarevCenterServer,whichmanagesmultipleESXservers.
YoucanusealocallyinstalledVMwareWorkstation.
VirtualMachineHost
ThenameofthevirtualmachinetowhichThinAppConverteristoconnect.
ToconnectasingleVMwareESXServer,usetheIPaddressorhostnameoftheESXserver.
ToconnecttoVMwarevCenterServer,usetheIPaddressorHOSTnameofthevCenterserver.
ToconnecttoalocalVMwareWorkstationinstance,uselocalhost.
ForVMwareESXServerorVMwarevCenterServer,ifyouarenotusingstandardHTTPSwithport443,
youcanspecifytheentireURL.
Examples
ThefollowingexampleshowsavirtualmachinespecifiedbyESXserverhostname.
[HostEnvironment]
VirtualMachineHost=MyEsx.vmware.com
ThefollowingexampleshowsavirtualmachinespecifiedbyIPaddress.
[HostEnvironment]
ThinApp Users Guide
26 VMware, Inc.
VirtualMachineHost=10.13.11.23
Thefollowingexampleshowsalocalmachinespecifiedaslocalhost.
[HostEnvironment]
VirtualMachineHost=localhost
HostLoginUserName
Theloginusernameforthehostmachine.
UsethesameloginusernameforconnectingtotheserverasyouuseforloggingintotheVMwarevSphere
Client.Youmusthavesufficientprivilegestoturnonandoffvirtualmachines,takevirtualmachinesnapshots,
andsoon.
YoucanuseUPNformatwhenyouspecifyausernameforvCenter.Forexample,user@domain.com.
HostLoginUserNameisignoredwhenloggingintoVMwareWorkstation.
HostLoginPasswordorHostLoginPasswordBase64
Theloginpasswordforthehostmachine.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyouspecifypasswords:
Youcanentercleartext.
Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordfortheHostLoginPasswordBase64parameter.Specifying
anencodedpassworddoesnotincreasesecurity.YouneedtoprotecttheactualINIfile.
Allpasswordsarehandledinthesameway.
HostLoginPasswordPrompt
Specifiesthattheuserbepromptedtoenterapassword.
IfyoudonotwanttostorethevSphereServerpasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.
Whensettotrue,apromptalwaysappears,evenifaHostLoginPasswordisspecifiedintheconfigurationfile.
Example
Thefollowingexampleshowsatypicalhostenvironmentspecification.Thevirtualmachinenameisspecified
astheESXserverhostname.Apasswordhasbeenspecified,howevertheuserwillstillbepromptedtoenter
aspassword,asspecifiedinHostLoginPasswordPrompt.
[HostEnvironment]
VirtualMachineHost=MyEsx.vmware.com
HostLoginUserName=root
HostLoginPassword=secret
HostLoginPasswordPrompt=true
VirtualMachineN
TheVirtualMachineNsectionoftheconfigurationfilecontainsalistoftheWindowsbasedvirtualmachines
thatwillbeutilizedintheconversionprocess.
CreateaVirtualMachineX sectionforeachvirtualmachinethatyouwanttoinclude,andspecifytheir
parameters.Xis1,andsubsequentvirtualmachinesectionsarenumberedsequentially.
[VirtualMachineN]parametersaremandatory.
VmxPath
Specifytheconfigurationpathofthevirtualmachine.
ForESXServerorvCenterServer,youcanidentifythevirtualmachineconfigurationfilepathusingthe
vSphereClient.
Identify the virtual machine configuration path using the vSphere Client
1 RightclickthevirtualmachineandselectEditSettings.
2 ClicktheOptionstab,andcopythestringfromtheVirtualMachineConfigurationFilefield.
VMware, Inc. 27
3 Usethisstringasthevirtualmachineconfigurationfilepath.
ForWorkstation,specifytheentirefilepathonthehostonwhichtheVMXconfigurationfileresides.For
example,C:\MyVMs\Windows XP\WindowsXP.vmx.Donotplacethepathinquotationmarks,evenifthepath
containsaspace.
UserName
Avalidusernameforthevirtualmachineguestoperatingsystem.Theusermusthaveadministrator
privilegesforthevirtualmachineguestoperatingsystem.
YoucanuseUPNformatwhenyouspecifyausername.Forexample,user@domain.com.
PasswordorPasswordBase64
Avalidpasswordforthevirtualmachineguestoperatingsystem.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyou
specifypasswords:
Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordforthePasswordBase64parameter.
Specifyinganencodedpassworddoesnotincreasesecuritystrength.YouneedtoprotecttheactualINI
file.
Allpasswordsarehandledinthesameway.
IfthePasswordsettingisnotused,thepasswordfortheguestisassumedtobeblank.MostWindowsvirtual
machinesdonotsupportautomationwithemptypasswords,soyoushouldspecifyaguestpassword.
PasswordPrompt
Ifyoudonotwanttostorethevirtualmachinepasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.
Whensettotrue,apromptalwaysappears,evenifapasswordisspecifiedintheconfigurationfile.
Examples
FollowingisanexampleforanESXserverbasedenvironment.Apasswordhasbeenspecifiedand,as
PasswordPromptissettofalse,theuserwillnotbepromptedtoenterapassword.
[VirtualMachine1]
VmxPath=[Storage] WinXP_Converter/WinXP_Converter.vmx
UserName=administrator
Password=secret
PasswordPrompt=false
FollowingisanexampleforaVMwareWorkstationbasedvirtualmachine.Onvirtualmachine1,
PasswordPrompthasbeensettotrue.Theuserwillbepromptedforapasswordeventhoughapasswordhas
beenspecifiedintheconfiguration.
[VirtualMachine1]
VmxPath=C:\MyVMs\Windows XP\Windows XP.vmx
UserName=administrator
Password=secret
PasswordPrompt=true
[VirtualMachine2]
VmxPath=C:\MyVMs\Windows 7\Windows 7.vmx
UserName=adminuser@mydomain.com
Password=
PasswordPrompt=true
NOTEDonotplacethepathinquotationmarks,evenifthepathcontainsaspace.
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28 VMware, Inc.
Settings
TheSettingssectionoftheconfigurationfilecontainstheparametersfortheapplicationinstallationdirectory
andThinAppprojectoutputdirectory,intheformofUNC.Italsocontainsseveralparameterscontrollingthe
conversionprocessbehavior.
ThinAppConverteronlyrequiresreadonlypermissionsforthenetworksharethatcontainstheapplication
installers.Itrequiresread/writepermissionsforthenetworksharethatcontainstheThinAppprojects.
Ifinputandoutputdirectoriesareonthesamefileserver,youmustusethesameuseraccounttoconnectthem.
InputUncPath
SpecifythenetworkshareUNCpathfortheapplicationinstallers.Forexample:\\fileserver\sharename,
or\\fileserver\sharename\dirname.
InputMountUserName
Specifytheusernameusedforconnectingtothatnetworkshare.UPNformatcanbeusedwhenyouspecify
adomainuser,forexampleuser@domain.com
InputMountPasswordorInputMountPasswordBase64
Specifythepasswordforconnectingtothenetworkshare.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyouspecify
passwords:
Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordforthePasswordBase64 parameter.
InputMountPasswordPrompt
Ifyoudonotwanttostorethenetworksharepasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.
OutputUncPath
SpecifythenetworkshareUNCpathtothelocationofthegeneratedThinAppprojects.
Forexample:\\fileserver\sharename,or\\fileserver\sharename\dirname
OutputMountUserName
SpecifytheusernameusedforconnectingtotheOutputUncPath networkshare.UPNformatcanbeusedto
specifyadomainuser,forexample,user@domain.com.
OutputMountPasswordorOutputMountPasswordBase64
Specifythepasswordforconnectingtothenetworkshare.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyouspecify
passwords:
Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordforthePasswordBase64parameter.
OutputMountPasswordPrompt
Ifyoudonotwanttostorethenetworksharepasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.
Example
Followingisanexampleofnetworksharespecifications.Theuserfortheapplicationinstallationdirectoryhas
onlyreadpermissions.Forboththeinputandoutputnetworkshares,apromptwilldisplay,requiringauser
toenterapassword.
[Settings]
VMware, Inc. 29
InputUncPath=\\AppInstallerServer\AppInstallers\ThinAppMigration
InputMountUserName=readonlyUser
InputMountPassword=secret
InputMountPasswordPrompt=true
OutputUncPath=\\DeploymentServer\ThinAppProj
OutputMountUserName=readwriteUser
OutputMountPassword=secret
OutputMountPasswordPrompt=true
ThinApp Converter Logic for Detecting the Application Installation Processes
Fortheapplicationinstallersnetworkshare,ThinAppConverterexaminesallsubdirectoriesunderthe
specifiedUNCpathrecursively,includingtheirsubdirectories.Foreachsubdirectory,itdetermineswhich
commandtorunforsilentapplicationinstallationusingthefollowinglogic:
1 AttemptstofindavalueforInstallationCommandinthe[AppSettings:AppName]sectionofthe
configurationfile.IfsuccessfulThinAppConverterusesthatvalue.
2 Attemptstofindafilenamedinstall.cmdorinstall.bat.Ifsuccessful,ThinAppConverterrunsthat
file.
3 IfThinAppConverterfindsasingle.cmdor.batfile,itrunsthatfile.
4 IfThinAppConverterfindsasingle.exefile,itrunsthatfile.
5 IfThinAppConverterfindsasingle.mstfile,itrunsthatfileandaddsthenecessarysilentinstallation
switches.
6 IfThinAppConverterfindsasingle.msifile,itrunsthatfileandaddsthenecessarysilentinstallation
switches.
IfnoneofthestepsenableThinAppConvertertofindacorrectinstallationcommand,thesubdirectoryis
skipped.Awarningisloggedinthelogfile.
YoumustremoveallnetworkconnectionstothefileserverreferencedintheINIfilefromthehostonwhich
yourunThinAppConverter,topreventconflictbetweenusercredentials.
PackageIniOverrideFile
SpecifythefilepathtotheglobalPackage.inioverridefile.
ThisoptionalparameterenablesyoutospecifyaglobaloverridefileforPackage.ini thatisgeneratedfor
eachThinAppproject.ThevaluesintheoverridefilearemergedintoPackage.iniintheThinAppproject
thatisgeneratedforeachapplication.
Globaloverridesareusefulwhenyouhaveaglobalpolicysetting,forexample,PermittedGroupin
Package.ini.
APackage.inioverridefileisformattedlikeastandardWindowsINIfile.YoucanaddINIparametersand
valuesthatarerelevanttothePackage.inifile.
Thepathisrelativetotheapplicationinstallersnetworkshare.Usingtheexampleforspecifyingthenetwork
sharesfortheapplicationinstallersandThinAppprojects,ifyouspecify
PackageIniOverrideFile=override.ini,ThinAppConverterwilltrytofindthefileunder
\\AppInstallerServer\AppInstaller.Youcanprovideamoreexplicitvaluebyusingpredefined
variables.Formoreinformation,seePredefinedEnvironmentVariablesonpage 31.
YoucanspecifyaPackage.inifileforeachapplication.Thisprocessisdescribedaspartofthe
[AppSettings:AppName]section.
ExclusionList
SpecifyacommaorsemicolonseparatedlistofapplicationdirectoriesthatThinAppwillskipwhensearching
forapplicationinstallers.
Thelistiscaseinsensitive.
YoucanspecifywildcardsforDOSstylefilenames.Forexample,Microsoft*. ?and*aresupported.
ThinApp Users Guide
30 VMware, Inc.
Example
Followingisanexampleofanexclusionspecificationusingawildcard.
[Settings]
ExclusionList=App?.old;FireFox1.0
ProjectPostProcessingCommand
Specifythefilepathtotheprojectpostprocessingcommand.
Thefilepathisrelativetotheapplicationinstallersnetworkshare.Usingtheexampleforspecifyingthe
networksharesfortheapplicationinstallersandThinAppprojects,ifyouspecify
ProjectPostProcessingCommand=addscript.bat,ThinAppConverterwilltrytofindthefileunder
\\AppInstallerServer\AppInstaller.Youcanprovideamoreexplicitvaluebyusingpredefined
StopOnError
SpecifywhetherThinAppConvertershouldstopconvertinganapplicationifitencountersanerror,or
continuewiththeotherapplications.Thedefaultvalueisfalse.
BuildAfterCapture
SpecifywhethertheThinAppConvertershouldbuildtheThinAppProjectsintopackagesfollowingcapture.
Thedefaultvalueistrue.
DetectIdle
SpecifywhetherThinAppConvertershouldtrytodetectifanapplicationinstallerisstalled,forexamplewhen
theapplicationiswaitingforuserinputontheguestvirtualmachinebecauseincorrectsilentinstallation
switcheswerespecified.
Thedefaultvalueistrue.ThinAppConvertermightnotbeabletodetectallsituationsinwhichtheinstaller
isidle.
InstallerTimeout
SpecifyhowlongThinAppConvertershouldwaitforanapplicationinstallertofinishbeforeitquits.
Bydefault,thevalueis7200seconds.
AppSettings:AppName
Thisoptionalsectionprovidesparametersthatyoucanusetoaddsettingsthatarespecifictoanapplication.
AppNameistheactualnameofthesubdirectorythatcontainstheapplicationinstaller.Theseparameterscan
beaddedtoeachAppSettingssection.Inmostcircumstances,youwillnotneedtoconfigurethissection.
InstallationCommand
SpecifyhowThinAppConvertershouldstarttheapplicationinstaller.Ifthereisnovalue,ThinAppConverter
attemptstoselectoneinstallationcommandusingthelogicdescribedinThinAppConverterLogicfor
DetectingtheApplicationInstallationProcessesonpage 29.
PackageIniOverrideFile
ThePackage.inioverridefilethatisappliedtoasingleapplicationinstaller.Whenthisparameterhasavalue,
theglobaloverridefileisprocessedfirst,followedbythisapplicationspecificoverridefile.
Thefilepathisrelativetotheapplicationinstallersubdirectory.Usingtheexampleatthebottomofthissection,
ifyouspecifyPackageIniOverrideFile=override.ini,ThinAppConverterwilltrytofindthefileunder
\\AppInstallerServer\AppInstaller\Adobe.Youcanprovideamoreexplicitvaluebyusingpredefined
ProjectPostProcessingCommand
Specifytheprojectpostprocessingcommandforthespecificapplication.
VMware, Inc. 31
Whenthisparameterhasavalue,theglobaloverridefileisprocessedfirst,followedbythis
applicationspecificpostprocessingcommand.
Example
Followingisanexampleofhowtoapplyanapplicationspecificoverrideduringpostprocessing.
[AppSettings:Adobe]
InstallationCommand=AdbeRdr920_en_US.exe /sAll
PackageIniOverrideFile=override.ini
[AppSettings:TextPad]
InstallationCommand=silent_install.bat
ProjectPostProcessingCommand=%AppInstallerDir%\addscript.bat
Predefined Environment Variables
ThevaluesforPackageIniOverrideFile(globalandperapplication),ProjectPostProcessingCommand
(globalandperapplication),andInstallationCommandcancontainenvironmentvariables.ThinApp
Converterexpandsthevaluebeforeusingit.
ThinAppConverteraddsthesevariablesaspredefinedenvironmentvariables:
%AppInstallersRootDir%TheUNCpathoftheapplicationinstallersthatisspecifiedin
InputUncPathinthe[Settings]section.
%AppInstallerDir%Thesubdirectoryunder%AppInstallersRootDir%fortherelevantapplication.
%ThinAppProjectsRootDir%TheUNCpathforthegeneratedThinAppprojectsthatisspecifiedin
OutputUncPathinthe[Settings]section.
%ThinAppProjectDir%Thesubdirectoryunder%ThinAppProjectsRootDir%fortherelevant
application.
Example
FollowingisanexampleofhowpredefinedvariablescanbeusedinthePackageIniOverrideFile,
ProjectPostProcessingCommand,andInstallationCommandparameters.
[Settings]
PackageIniOverrideFile=%AppInstallersRootDir%\AppSyncSettings.ini
;will resolve to \\AppInstallerServer\AppInstaller\AppSyncSettings.ini
[AppSettings:Adobe]
InstallationCommand=AdbeRdr920_en_US.exe /sAll
PackageIniOverrideFile=%AppInstallerDir%\override.ini
;will resolve to \\AppInstallerServer\AppInstaller\Adobe\AppSyncSettings.ini
ThinApp Users Guide
32 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 33
3
Deployingcapturedapplicationsinvolvesworkingwithdeploymenttools,thethinreg.exeutility,MSIfiles,
andActiveDirectory.
ThinAppDeploymentOptionsonpage 33
EstablishingFileTypeAssociationswiththethinreg.exeUtilityonpage 34
BuildinganMSIDatabaseonpage 37
ControllingApplicationAccesswithActiveDirectoryonpage 39
StartingandStoppingVirtualServicesonpage 40
UsingThinAppPackagesStreamedfromtheNetworkonpage 42
UsingCapturedApplicationswithOtherSystemComponentsonpage 44
SampleIsolationModeConfigurationDependingonDeploymentContextonpage 46
ThinApp Deployment Options
Youcandeploycapturedapplicationswithdeploymenttools,inaVMwareViewenvironment,ona
networkshare,orasbasicexecutablefiles.
Deploying ThinApp with Deployment Tools
Mediumandlargeenterprisesoftenusemajordeploymenttools,suchasSymantec,BMC,andSMStools.
ThinAppworkswithallmajordeploymenttools.
Whenyouuseanyofthesetools,youcancreateMSIfilesforthecapturedapplicationsandfollowthesame
processyouusetodeploynativeMSIfiles.Seedeploymentinstructionsfromthetoolvendors.Forinformation
aboutMSIfiles,seeBuildinganMSIDatabaseonpage 37.
Deploying ThinApp in the VMware View Environment
YoucanuseVMwareViewtodistributeThinApppackages.
Theworkflowfordeployingpackagesmightinvolvethefollowingtasks:
Creatingexecutablefilesforthecapturedapplications.
Storingtheexecutablefilesonanetworkshare.
Deploying Applications 3
ThinApp Users Guide
34 VMware, Inc.
Creatingaloginscriptthatqueriesapplicationsentitledtotheuserandrunsthethinreg.exeutilitywith
theoptionthatregisterstheapplicationsonthelocalmachine.Loginscriptsareusefulfornonpersistent
desktops.SeeEstablishingFileTypeAssociationswiththethinreg.exeUtilityonpage 34.
Controllinguseraccesstofileshares.ITadministratorsmightcontrolaccessbyorganizingnetworkshares
basedonfunctionandassociatingpermissionswithnetworksharesbasedonthosefunctional
boundaries.
Deploying ThinApp on Network Shares
Smallandmediumenterprisestendtouseanetworkshare.Youcancreateexecutablefilesforthecaptured
applicationandstorethemonanetworkshare.Eachtimeyoudeployanewapplicationoranupdatetoan
existingpackage,youcannotifyclientuserstorunthethinreg.exeutilitywithanappropriateoption.
ITadministratorscancontroluseraccesstofilesharesbyorganizingnetworksharesbasedonfunctionand
associatingpermissionswithnetworksharesbasedonthosefunctionalboundaries.
ThedifferencesbetweenthenetworkshareoptionandtheVMwareViewoptionarethatthenetworkshare
optionassumesamixofphysicalandvirtual(persistent)desktopsandinvolvesusersrunningthe
thinreg.exeutilitydirectlyinsteadofrelyingonloginscripts.
Deploying ThinApp Using Executable Files
Youcanuseabasicdeploymentoptionwithexecutablefileswhendiskuseislimited.
Youcancreateexecutablefilesforthecapturedapplications,copythemfromacentralrepository,andrunthe
thinreg.exeutilitymanuallytoregisterfiletypeassociations,desktopshortcuts,andtheapplication
packageonthesystem.
Establishing File Type Associations with the thinreg.exe Utility
IfyoucreateexecutablefilesinsteadofMSIfilesduringthecaptureprocess,youmustrunthethinreg.exe
utilitytoopenfiles,suchasa.docdocumentoran.htmlpage.Forexample,ifyouclickaURLinanemail
message,ThinAppmustbesettostartFirefox.Youdonothavetorunthethinreg.exeutilityforMSIfiles
becauseMSIfilesstarttheutilityduringtheapplicationinstallation.
Thethinreg.exeutilitycreatestheStartmenuanddesktopshortcuts,setsupfiletypeassociations,adds
deinstallationinformationtothesystemcontrolpanel,andunregisterspreviouslyregisteredpackages.The
utilityenablesyoutoseethecontrolpanelextensionsforapplications,suchasQuicktimeorthemailcontrol
panelappletforMicrosoftOutlook2007.Whenyourightclickafile,suchasa.docfile,thethinreg.exe
utilityenablesyoutoseethesamemenuoptionsfora.docfileinanativeenvironment.
IfanapplicationrunsSMTPorHTTPprotocols,suchasanemaillinkonaWebpagethatneedstoopen
MicrosoftOutlook2007,thethinreg.exeutilitystartsavailablevirtualapplicationsthatcanhandlethose
protocols.Ifvirtualapplicationsarenotavailable,thethinreg.exeutilitystartsnativeapplicationsthatcan
handlethoseprotocols.
ThedefaultlocationoftheutilityisC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp.
Application Sync Effect on the thinreg.exe Utility
TheApplicationSyncutilityaffectsthethinreg.exeutilityduringtheupdateprocess.
Ifyouadd,modify,orremoveexecutablefiles,thethinreg.exeutilityreregistersthefiletypeassociations,
shortcuts,andicons.
Ifyouinstallprotocols,MIMEtypes,controlpanelapplets,andtemplatesotherthanexecutablefiles,the
thinreg.exeutilityreregisterstheseelements.
VMware, Inc. 35
Chapter 3 Deploying Applications
Run the thinreg.exe Utility
Thisexampleofrunningthethinreg.exeutilityprovidessomesamplecommands.
Thepackagenameinthethinreg.execommandscanappearinthefollowingways:
C:\<absolute_path_to_.exe>
Relativepathto.exefile
\\<server>\<share>\<path_to_.exe>
Asavariation,youcanuseawildcardspecification,suchas*.exe.
Ifthepathorfilenamecontainsspaces,enclosethepathindoublequotationmarks.Thefollowing
commandshowstheuseofdoublequotationmarks.
thinreg.exe "\\DEPLOYSERVER\ThinApps\Microsoft Office Word 2007.exe"
Forinformationaboutthinreg.exeparameters,seeOptionalthinreg.exeParametersonpage 35.
Run the thinreg.exe utility
1 DeterminetheexecutablefilesthatThinAppmustregisterwiththelocalenvironment.
2 Fromthecommandline,typethethinreg.execommand.
thinreg.exe [<optional_parameters>] [<package1.exe>][<package2.exe>][<packages_by_wildcard>]
IftheservernameisDEPLOYSERVERandtheshareisThinApps,usethefollowingexampletoregister
MicrosoftWordfortheloggedinuser.
ThinReg.exe "\\DEPLOYSERVER\ThinApps\Microsoft Office 2007 Word.exe"
UsethefollowingexampletoregisterallMicrosoftOfficeapplicationsinthespecifieddirectoryforthe
loggedinuser.
ThinReg.exe "\\DEPLOYSERVER\ThinApps\Microsoft Office *.exe"
Optional thinreg.exe Parameters
Thethinreg.exeutilitymonitorsthePermittedGroupssettinginthePackage.inifile,registeringandun
registeringpackagesasneeded.Whenthethinreg.exeutilityregistersapackageforthecurrentuser,the
utilitycreatesonlytheshortcutsandfiletypeassociationsthatthecurrentuserisauthorizedforinthe
PermittedGroupssetting.Ifthissettingdoesnotexist,thecurrentuserisauthorizedforallexecutablefiles.
Whenthethinreg.exeutilityregistersapackageforalluserswiththe/allusersparameter,ThinApp
createsallshortcutsandfiletypeassociationsregardlessofthePermittedGroupssetting.Whenyou
doubleclickashortcuticonthatyouarenotauthorizedfor,youcannotruntheapplication.
Ifthepackagenameyouwanttoregisterorunregistercontainsspaces,youmustencloseitindoublequotation
marks.
ForinformationaboutthePermittedGroupssettingandsupportforActiveDirectorygroups,see
PermittedGroupsparameterinThinAppPackage.iniParametersReferenceGuide.
Table 31listsoptionalparametersforthethinreg.exeutility.Anycommandthatusesthe/aparameter
requiresadministratorrights.
ThinApp Users Guide
36 VMware, Inc.
Table 3-1. Optional thinreg.exe Parameters
Parameter Purpose Sample Usage
/a,/allusers Registersapackageforallusers.
Ifanunauthorizeduserattemptstorun
theapplication,amessageinformsthe
userthatheorshecannotrunthe
application.
thinreg.exe /a
"\\<server>\<share>\Microsoft Office
2007 Word.exe"
/q,/quiet Preventsthedisplayofanerrormessage
foranunrecognizedcommandline
parameter.
thinreg.exe /q <unknown_option>
/u,/unregister,
/uninstall
Unregistersapackage.
Thiscommandremovesthesoftwarefrom
theAdd/RemoveProgramscontrolpanel
applet.
UnregisterMicrosoftWordforthecurrentuser.
thinreg.exe /u
2007 Word.exe"
UnregisterallMicrosoftOfficeapplicationsfor
thecurrentuserandremovetheAdd/Remove
Programsentry.
thinreg.exe /u
"\\server\share\Microsoft Office *.exe"
Ifauserregistersthepackagewiththe/a
parameter,youmustusethe/aparameterwhen
unregisteringthepackage.
thinreg.exe /u /a *.exe
/r,/reregister Reregistersapackage.
Undertypicalcircumstances,the
thinreg.exeutilitycandetectwhethera
packageisalreadyregisteredandskipsit.
The/roptionforcesthethinreg.exe
utilitytoreregisterthepackage.
thinreg.exe /r
2007 Word.exe"
Ifauserregistersthepackagewiththe/a
parameter,youmustusethe/awhen
reregisteringthepackage.
thinreg.exe /r /a *.exe
/k,
/keepunauthorized,
/keep
Preventstheremovalofregistration
informationevenifyouarenolonger
authorizedtoaccessanapplication
package.
Withoutthisoption,thethinreg.exe
utilityremovestheregistration
informationforthatpackageifitdetects
youarenolongerauthorizedtoaccessthe
package.
ThinAppstoresauthorizationinformation
inthePermittedGroupsparameterofthe
Package.inifile.
thinreg.exe /k
2007 Word.exe"
/noarp Preventsthecreationofanentryinthe
Add/RemoveProgramscontrolpanel
applet.
thinreg.exe /q /noarp
2007 Word.exe"
/norelaunch Startsthethinreg.exeutilityon
MicrosoftVistawithoutelevated
privileges.Standarduserscanstartthe
utilitywithoutauseraccountcontrol
(UAC)popupwindow.
Whenthethinreg.exeutilitydetectsa
needformoreprivileges,suchasthe
privilegesrequiredforthe/allusers
parameter,theutilityrestartsitselfasa
privilegedprocessandgeneratesaUAC
popupwindow.The/norelaunch
optionblocksthisrestartprocessand
causestheregistrationtofail.
thinreg.exe /q /norelaunch
2007 Word.exe"
VMware, Inc. 37
Building an MSI Database
IfyoudonotcreateMSIfilesduringthecaptureprocess,youcanstillcreatethesefilesafterbuildingan
application.AnMSIdatabaseisusefulfordeliveringcapturedapplicationsthroughtraditionaldesktop
managementsystemstoremotelocationsandautomaticallycreatingshortcutsandfiletypeassociations.
Basic ActiveDirectorygrouppoliciesprovidewaystodistributeandstartMSIpackages.
ThinAppcreatesanMSIdatabasethatcontainscapturedexecutablefiles,installerlogic,andthethinreg.exe
utility.
Customizing MSI Files with Package.ini Parameters
YoucancustomizethebehaviorofMSIfilesbymodifyingPackage.iniparametersandrebuildingthe
applicationpackage.
ThefollowingparameterscanaffectMSIconfiguration:
TheMSIInstallDirectoryparametersetstheinstallationdirectoryforthepackage.
Forexample,includeMSIInstallDirectory=C:\Program Files\inthePackage.inifile.
TheMSIDefaultInstallAllUsersparametersetswhethertoinstallthepackageforallorindividual
users.ThinAppinstallsthepackageinthe%AppData%userdirectory.
Forexample,includeMSIDefaultInstallAllUsers=0inthePackage.inifile.
Formoreinformationaboutthisparameter,seeSpecifyingaDatabaseInstallationforIndividualUsers
andMachinesonpage 38.
TheMSIFileNameparameternamesthepackage.
Forexample,includeMSIFilename=Firefox30.msiinthePackage.inifile.
TheMSIRequireElevatedPrivilegesparameterindicateswhetheraninstallerneedselevated
privilegesfordeploymentonMicrosoftVista.Installationsforindividualusersdonotusuallyneed
elevatedprivilegesbutpermachineinstallationsrequiresuchprivileges.
Forexample,includeMSIRequireElevatedPrivileges=1inthePackage.inifile.
TheMSIProductCodeparametermakesiteasiertoinstallanewversionoftheapplication.AnMSI
databasecontainsaproductcodeandanupgradecode.Whenyouupdateapackage,keeptheoriginal
valueoftheMSIUpgradeCodeparameter.
Iftheparametervalueofthenewversionisthesameasthevalueoftheoldversion,theinstallation
promptsyoutoremovetheoldversion.Ifthevaluesfortheparameteraredifferent,theinstallationun
installstheoldversionandinstallsthenewversion.
VMwarerecommendsthatyouavoidspecifyinganMSIProductCodevalueandallowThinAppto
generateadifferentproductcodeforeachbuild.
Regardlessoftheparametervaluesspecifiedatbuildtime,youcanoverridethesettingsatdeploymenttime.
SeeForceMSIDeploymentsforEachUserorEachMachineonpage 38.
Modify the Package.ini File to Create MSI Files
FormoreinformationaboutMSIparameters,seeCustomizingMSIFileswithPackage.iniParameterson
page 37.
BeforeyoucanmodifyMSIparameters,youmustaddanentryfortheMSIFilenameparametertogenerate
MSIfiles.
ThinApp Users Guide
38 VMware, Inc.
Modify the MSI parameters
1 InthePackage.inifile,typetheMSIfilename.
MSIFilename=<filename>.msi
Forexample,thefilenameforFirefoxmightbeMozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3.msi.
2 (Optional)UpdateotherMSIparameters.
Specifying a Database Installation for Individual Users and Machines
YoucanmodifytheinstallationoftheMSIdatabaseforusersandmachines.
ThinAppinstallstheMSIdatabaseacrossallmachines.Youcanchangethedefaultinstallationwiththe
followingparametervalues:
Tocreateadatabaseinstallationforindividualusers,useavalueof0forthe
MSIDefaultInstallAllUsersparameterinthePackage.inifile.Thisvaluecreatesmsiexec
parametersforeachuser.
Toallowadministratorstocreateadatabaseinstallationforallusersonamachine,ortoallowan
individualuserwithoutadministratorrightstocreateaninstallationonlyforthatuser,useavalueof2
fortheMSIDefaultInstallAllUsersparameter.AdministratorsbelongtotheAdministratorsActive
Directorygroup.
FormoreinformationabouttheMSIDefaultInstallAllUsersparameter,referThinAppPackage.ini
ParametersReferenceGuide.
Force MSI Deployments for Each User or Each Machine
Regardlessoftheparametervaluesspecifiedatbuildtime,youcanoverrideMSIsettingsatdeploymenttime.
Forexample,ifyoucreatedthedatabasewithavalueof1fortheMSIDefaultInstallAllUsersparameter,
youcanstillforceindividualuserdeploymentsforFirefox3.0withthemsiexec /i Firefox30.msi
ALLUSERS=""command.
IfyouusetheALLUSERS=""argumentforthemsiexeccommand,ThinAppextractsthecapturedexecutable
filestothe%AppData%userdirectory.
Deploying 64 bit MSI
SetPackage.iniparameterMSIIs64Bittoinstall64bitMSItoProgramFilesinsteadofProgramFiles(x86)on
64bitsystem.
Example
MSIIs64Bit=1
Force MSI Deployments for Individual Users or for All Users on a Machine
(Optional)Fromthecommandline,typethemsiexec /i <database>.msi ALLUSERS=""commandto
forcedeploymentsforindividualusers.
(Optional)Fromthecommandline,typethemsiexec /i <database>.msi ALLUSERS=1commandto
forcedeploymentsforallusersonamachine.
Override the MSI Installation Directory
YoucanusethemsiexeccommandtooverridethedefaultMSIinstallationdirectory.
WhenThinAppperformsanindividualmachineMSIdeployment,thedefaultinstallationdirectoryisthe
localizedequivalentof%ProgramFilesDir%\<inventory_name> (VMware ThinApp).IfyouinstallaFirefox
packageforeachmachine,thepackageresidesin%ProgramFilesDir%\Mozilla Firefox (VMware ThinApp).
WhenThinAppperformsanMSIdeploymentforindividualusers,thedefaultinstallationdirectoryis
%AppData%\<inventory_name> (VMware ThinApp).
VMware, Inc. 39
Inbothcases,youcanoverridetheinstallationdirectorybypassinganINSTALLDIRpropertytothemsiexec
command.
Override the MSI Installation Directory
Fromthecommandline,typethemsiexec /i <database>.msi
INSTALLDIR=C:\<my_directory>\<my_package>command.
Deploying MSI Files on Microsoft Vista
WhenyoudeployMSIfilesonVista,youmustindicatewhetheraninstallerneedselevatedprivileges.Typical
individualuserinstallationsdonotrequireelevatedprivilegesbutindividualmachineinstallationsrequire
suchprivileges.
ThinAppprovidestheMSIRequireElevatedPrivilegesparameterinthePackage.inifilethatspecifies
theneedforelevatedprivilegeswhenthevalueissetto1.Specifyingavalueof1forthisparameterorforcing
anindividualuserinstallationfromthecommandlinecangenerateUACprompts.Specifyingavalueof0for
thisparameterpreventsUACpromptsbutthedeploymentfailsformachinewideinstallations.
Controlling Application Access with Active Directory
YoucancontrolaccesstoapplicationsusingActiveDirectorygroups.
Whenyoubuildapackage,ThinAppconvertsActiveDirectorygroupnamesintoSecurityIdentifier(SID)
values.ASIDisasmallbinaryvaluethatuniquelyidentifiesanobject.SIDvaluesarenotuniqueforafew
groups,suchastheadministratorgroup.BecauseThinAppstoresSIDvaluesinpackagesforfuturevalidation,
thefollowingconsiderationsapplytoActiveDirectoryuse:
YoumustbeconnectedtoyourActiveDirectorydomainduringthebuildprocessandthegroupsyou
specifymustexist.ThinApplooksuptheSIDvalueduringthebuild.
Ifyoudeleteagroupandrecreateit,theSIDmightchange.Inthiscase,rebuildthepackageto
authenticateagainstthenewgroup.
Whenusersareoffline,ThinAppcanauthenticatethemusingcachedcredentials.Iftheuserscanloginto
theirmachines,authenticationstillworks.Useagrouppolicytosettheperiodwhencachedcredentials
arevalid.
CachedcredentialsmightnotrefreshonclientsuntilthenextActiveDirectoryrefreshcycle.Youcanforce
agrouppolicyonaclientbyusingthegpupdatecommand.Thiscommandrefresheslocalgrouppolicy,
grouppolicy,andsecuritysettingsstoredinActiveDirectory.YoumightlogoutbeforeActiveDirectory
credentialsarerecached.
Certaingroups,suchastheAdministratorsgroupandEveryonegroup,havethesameSIDonevery
ActiveDirectorydomainandworkgroup.OthergroupsyoucreatehaveadomainspecificSID.Users
cannotcreatetheirownlocalgroupwiththesamenametobypassauthentication.
ActiveDirectoryDomainServicesdefinesecuritygroupsanddistributiongroups.Ifyouusenested
groups,ThinAppcanonlysupportnestedsecuritygroups.
Package.ini Entries for Active Directory Access Control
ThinAppprovidesthePermittedGroupsparameterinthePackage.inifiletocontrolActiveDirectory
access.
PermittedGroups Parameter
Whenyoustartacapturedapplication,thePermittedGroupsparametercheckswhetherauserisamember
ofaspecifiedActiveDirectorygroup.IftheuserisnotamemberoftheActiveDirectorygroup,ThinAppdoes
notstarttheapplication.ForinformationaboutrestrictingpackagestoActiveDirectorygroups,see
PermittedGroupsparameterinThinAppPackage.iniParametersReferenceGuide.
ThinApp Users Guide
40 VMware, Inc.
InthefollowingPackage.inientry,App1andApp2inheritPermittedGroupsvalues.
[BuildOptions]
PermittedGroups=Administrators;OfficeUsers
[App1.exe]
...
..
[App2.exe]
...
...
Inthefollowingentry,onlyusersbelongingtotheApp1usersgroupcanusetheApp1.exefile,andmembers
oftheEveryonegroupcanusetheApp2.exefile.The defaultmessagefordenieduserschangesforApp1.
[BuildOptions]
PermittedGroups=Everyone
[App1.exe]
PermittedGroups=App1Users
AccessDeniedMsg=Sorry, you cant run this application
..
[App2.exe]
...
...
PermittedComputers Parameter
Whencapturedapplicationisstarted,thePermittedComputersparameterverifieswhetherthecomputerisa
memberofaspecifiedActiveDirectorygroup.IfthecomputerisnotamemberofActiveDirectorygroup,
Thinappdoesnotstarttheapplication.Thisparametercanbeusedas:
PermittedComputers=xpsystemgroup;win7systems
ThePackage.inientryforapplicationPDCoverridestheglobalsettingsandallentrypointswillinheritthese
settingsfromPDC.
ForExample:
[BuildOptions]
PermittedComputers=OfficeComputers
[Microsoft Office 2010.dat]
PermittedComputers=xpsystemgroup;
[Microsoft Word 2010.exe]
...
...
[Microsoft excel 2010.exe]
...
...
Intheaboveexample,PermittedComputerssettingsfor[MicrosoftOffice2010.dat]willoverridetheglobal
optionprovidedin[BuildOptions]asthisfileisthePDC.WordandExcelapplicationswillinheritsettings
from[MicrosoftOffice2010.dat].
Starting and Stopping Virtual Services
WhenyoucaptureanddeployapackagethatcontainsaWindowsservice,suchastheSQLServerservice,any
usercanrunthepackageandstartandstoptheservice.Unlikenativeapplications,virtualapplicationsdonot
requireadministratorrightsfortheseoperations.
Automatic Startup for Virtual Services
Youcaninstallavirtualserviceasaphysicalservice,sothatitstartswhenthephysicalmachineisstarted.The
virtualserviceremainsinitsThinAppprojectpackage,butisregisteredonthephysicalmachineand
controlledusingthenativelyinstalledservicemanagementtools.
VMware, Inc. 41
Afteryoupackageyourservice,forexampleApacheServer,youregisteritonthephysicalmachine,usingthe
ThinReg.exeapplication.Theserviceiscreatedasanativeservice,usinginformationfromthevirtual
registry.Theserviceisavailabletoallusersusingthevirtualapplication.Theserviceisnotuserspecific.
Theprocessiscomposedofthefollowingtasks:
CapturingtheservicebyusingThinApp
RegisteringtheserviceonthephysicalmachinebyusingThinReg
Create a virtual service for automatic startup
1 Onacleanlocalmachine,useThinApptocapturetheservice.
2 Afterthepostscanprocessiscomplete,intheSetupCaptureReadytoBuilddialog,click
EditPackage.ini.
ThePackage.inifileopensinatexteditor.
3 Searchfortheservicesentry.
Theentryisfollowedbythenameoftheservicethatyoucaptured.
Bydefault,theentryiscommentedout.
4 Removethesemicolon(;)fromthestartoftheline.
5 SavethePackage.inifile.
6 BuildtheThinAppproject.
Youcannowregisteryourvirtualservicesothatitcanbemanagedbyusingthenativeservicesmanagement
tools.
Register the virtual service on a machine
1 RuntheThinReg.exeapplication.
2 Atthecommandline,typeC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\ThinReg /a *.exe.
Youmustuse/a toregisterservices.IfyourunThinAppwithoutthisoption,theserviceisnotregistered.
Youcanchangethepath,ifrequiredforyoursystem.
3 FromtheStartmenu,selectPrograms>AdministrativeTools>Services.
Yourvirtualserviceapplicationappearsinthelistofservices.
Youcanmanagetheserviceinthesamewayasanynativelyinstalledservice.
ThinApp Users Guide
42 VMware, Inc.
Using ThinApp Packages Streamed from the Network
Anynetworkstoragedevicecanserveasastreamingserverforhundredsorthousandsofclientcomputers.
SeeFigure 31.
Figure 3-1. Data Block Streaming over a Network Share
Ontheenduserdesktop,youcancreateshortcutsthatpointtothecentrallyhostedexecutablefilepackages.
Whentheuserclickstheshortcut,theapplicationbeginsstreamingtotheclientcomputer.Duringtheinitial
streamingstartupprocess,theThinAppstatusbarinformstheuseroftheprogress.
How ThinApp Application Streaming Works
WhenyouplacecompressedThinAppexecutablefilesonanetworkshareorUSBflashdrive,thecontents
fromtheexecutablefilestreamtoclientcomputersinablockbasedfashion.Asanapplicationrequestsspecific
partsofdatafiles,ThinAppreadsthisinformationinthecompressedformatoverthenetworkusingstandard
Windowsfilesharingprotocol.Foraviewoftheprocess,seeFigure 32.
Afteraclientcomputerreceivesdata,ThinAppdecompressesthedatadirectlytomemory.BecauseThinAppdoes
notwritedatatothedisk,theprocessisfast.Alargepackagedoesnotnecessarilytakealongtimetoloadover
thenetworkandthepackagesizedoesnotaffectthestartuptimeofanapplication.Ifyouaddanextra20GB
filetoapackagethatisnotinuseatruntime,thepackageloadsatthesamespeed.Iftheapplicationopensand
reads32KBofdatafromthe20GBfile,ThinApponlyrequests32KBofdata.
TheThinAppruntimeclientisasmallpartoftheexecutablefilepackage.WhenThinApploadstheruntime
client,itsetsuptheenvironmentandstartsthetargetexecutablefile.Thetargetexecutablefileaccessesother
partsoftheapplicationstoredinthevirtualoperatingsystem.Theruntimeclientinterceptssuchrequestsand
servesthembyloadingDLLsfromthevirtualoperatingsystem.
Theloadtimeoftheruntimeclientacrossanetworkisafewmilliseconds.AfterThinApploadstheruntime
clienttomemoryontheclientcomputer,theendusercomputercalculateswhichblocksofdataarerequired
fromtheserverandreadsthembasedonapplicationactivity.
Whentheapplicationmakessubsequentreadrequestsforthesamedata,theWindowsdiskcacheprovides
datawithoutrequiringanetworkreadoperation.Iftheclientcomputerrunslowonmemory,Windows
discardssomeofitsdiskcacheandprovidesthememoryresourcetootherapplications.
Sams
Sandbox
Joes
Sandbox
Jills
Sandbox
shared folder
VMware, Inc. 43
Figure 3-2. Application Streaming
Requirements and Recommendations for Streaming Packages
ThinAppdoesnotrequirespecificserversoftwaretoprovidestreamingcapability.AnyWindowsfileshare,
NASdevice,orSMBsharecanprovidethiscapability.Theamountofdatathatneedstotransferbeforethe
applicationcanbeginrunningvariesforeachapplication.MicrosoftOfficerequiresthatonlyafractionofthe
packagecontentsstreambeforeanapplicationcanrun.
VMwarerecommendsthatyouuseThinAppstreaminginaLANbasedenvironmentwithaminimumof
100MBnetworks.ForWANandInternetdeploymentsthatinvolvefrequentorunexpecteddisconnections,
VMwarerecommendsoneofthefollowingsolutions:
UseaURLtodeploytheapplications.
Useadesktopdeploymentsolutiontopushthepackagetothebackground.Allowtheapplicationtorun
onlyaftertheentirepackagedownloads.
Thesesolutionsreducefailuresandeliminatesituationsinwhichtheapplicationrequiresunstreamed
portionsduringanetworkoutage.Acompanywithmanybranchofficestypicallydesignatesoneapplication
repositorythatmirrorsacentralsharedfolderateachbranchoffice.Thissetupoptimizeslocalperformance
forclientmachineslocatedateachbranchoffice.
Security Recommendations for Streaming Packages
VMwarerecommendsthatyoumakeacentralshareddirectoryforthepackagereadonly.Userscanreadthe
packagecontentsbutnotchangetheexecutablefilecontents.Whenapackagestreamsfromasharedlocation,
ThinAppstoresapplicationchangesintheusersandbox.Thedefaultsandboxlocationis
%AppData%\Thinstall\<application_name>.Youcanconfigurethesandboxlocationatruntimeorat
packagetime.
Acommonconfigurationistoplacetheusersandboxonanothercentralstoragedevice.Theusercanuseany
computerandkeepindividualapplicationsettingsatacentralshare.Whenpackagesstreamfromacentral
share,theyremainlockeduntilallusersexittheapplication.
packaged executable
local PC
64KB (Block 1)
decompressed
(Block 1)
decompressed
(Block 2)
64KB (Block 2)
64KB (Block 3)
64KB (Block 4)
64KB (Block 5)
compressed file
128KB read request
VMware ThinApp VOS
virtual registry
Ethernet
ThinApp Users Guide
44 VMware, Inc.
Stream ThinApp Packages from the Network
Userscanaccesspackagedapplicationsthroughthenetwork.
Stream packages from the network
1 PlacetheThinApppackageinalocationaccessibletoclientcomputers.
2 Sendalinktouserstoruntheapplicationdirectly.
Using Captured Applications with Other System Components
Capturedapplicationscaninteractwithothercomponentsinstalledonthedesktop.
Performing Paste Operations
ReviewthefollowingpasteoperationsandlimitationswithThinApp:
PastingcontentfromsysteminstalledapplicationstocapturedapplicationsThispasteoperationis
unlimited.Thevirtualapplicationcanreceiveanystandardclipboardformats,suchastext,graphics,and
HTML.ThevirtualapplicationcanreceiveObjectLinkingandEmbedding(OLE)objects.
PastingfromcapturedapplicationstosystemapplicationsThinAppconvertsOLEobjectscreatedin
virtualapplicationstosystemnativeobjectswhenyoupastethemintonativeapplications.
Accessing Printers
Acapturedapplicationhasaccesstoanyprinterinstalledonthecomputerthatitisrunningon.Captured
applicationsandapplicationsinstalledonthephysicalsystemhavethesameprintingability.
YoucannotuseThinApptovirtualizeprinterdrivers.Youmustmanuallyinstallprinterdriversonacomputer.
Accessing Drivers
Acapturedapplicationhasfullaccesstoanydevicedriverinstalledonthecomputerthatitisrunningon.
Capturedapplicationsandapplicationsinstalledonthephysicalsystemhavethesamerelationshipwith
devicedrivers.Ifanapplicationrequiresadevicedriver,youmustinstallthedriverseparatelyfromthe
ThinApppackage.
Sometimes,anapplicationwithoutanassociateddrivermightfunctionwithsomelimitations.Forexample,
AdobeAcrobatinstallsaprinterdriverthatenablesapplicationssystemwidetorenderPDFfilesusingaprint
mechanism.WhenyouuseacapturedversionofAdobeAcrobat,youcanuseittoload,edit,andsavePDF
fileswithouttheprinterdriverinstallation.Otherapplicationsdonotdetectanewprinterdriverunlessthe
driverisinstalled.
Accessing the Local Disk, the Removable Disk, and Network Shares
Whenyoucreateaprojectstructure,ThinAppconfiguresisolationmodesfordirectoriesandregistrysubtrees.
Theisolationmodescontrolwhichdirectoriestheapplicationcanreadandwritetoonthelocalcomputer.
ReviewthedefaultconfigurationoptionsdescribedinTable 32.
Table 3-2. Default Configuration Options
Component Description
Harddisk AnexampleofaharddiskisC:\.Isolationmodesselectedduringthe
captureprocessaffectaccess.UserscanwritetotheirDesktopandMy
Documentsfolders.Othermodificationsthattheapplicationmakesgo
intotheusersandbox.Thedefaultlocationofthesandboxisinthe
ApplicationDatadirectory.
Removabledisk Bydefault,anyuserwhohasaccessrightscanreadorwritetoany
locationonaremovabledisk.
VMware, Inc. 45
Accessing the System Registry
Bydefault,capturedapplicationscanreadthefullsystemregistryaspermittedbyaccesspermissions.Specific
partsoftheregistryareisolatedfromthesystemduringthepackagecreationprocess.Thisisolationreduces
conflictsbetweendifferentversionsofvirtualapplicationsandsysteminstalledapplications.Bydefault,
ThinAppsavesallregistrymodificationsfromcapturedapplicationsinanisolatedsandboxandthesystem
remainsunchanged.
Accessing Networking and Sockets
Capturedapplicationshavestandardaccesstonetworkingfeatures.Capturedapplicationscanbindtolocal
portsandmakeremoteconnectionsiftheuserhasaccesspermissionstoperformtheseoperations.
Using Shared Memory and Named Pipes
Capturedapplicationscaninteractwithotherapplicationsonthesystembyusingsharedmemory,named
pipes,mutexobjects,andsemaphores.
ThinAppcanisolatesharedmemoryobjectsandsynchronizationobjects.Thisisolationmakestheminvisible
tootherapplications,andotherapplicationobjectsareinvisibletoacapturedapplication.
Using COM, DCOM, and Out-of-Process COM Components
CapturedapplicationscancreateCOMcontrolsfromthevirtualenvironmentandthesystem.IfaCOM
controlisinstalledasanoutofprocessCOM,thecontrolrunsasavirtualprocesswhenacapturedapplication
usesit.Youcancontrolmodificationsthatthecapturedapplicationsmake.
Starting Services
Capturedapplicationscanstartandrunsysteminstalledservicesandvirtualservices.Systemservicesrunin
thevirtualenvironmentthatcontrolsthemodificationsthattheservicescanmake.
Using File Type Associations
Capturedapplicationscanrunsysteminstalledapplicationsbyusingfiletypeassociations.Youcanaddfile
typeassociationstothelocalcomputerregistrytopointtocapturedexecutablefilesforindividualusersand
machines.
Networkmappeddrives Bydefault,anyuserwhohasaccessrightscanreadorwritetoany
locationonanetworkmappeddisk.
UNCnetworkpaths Bydefault,anyuserwhohasaccessrightscanreadorwritetoany
locationonaUNCnetworkpath.
Table 3-2. Default Configuration Options (Continued)
Component Description
ThinApp Users Guide
46 VMware, Inc.
Sample Isolation Mode Configuration Depending on Deployment
Context
Isolationmodescontrolthereadandwriteaccessforspecificsystemdirectoriesandsystemregistrysubkeys.
YoucanadjustisolationmodestoresolvetheproblemsinTable 33.
View of Isolation Mode Effect on the Windows Registry
Figure 33showsasectionoftheWindowsregistryforacomputerthathasolderMicrosoftOfficeapplications
installed.MicrosoftOffice2003createstheHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0
registrysubtree.
Figure 3-3. Windows Registry as Seen by Windows Regedit
WhenThinApprunsacapturedversionofMicrosoftVisio2007,ThinAppsetsthe
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Officeregistrysubtreetofullisolation.Thissettingprevents
Microsoft Visio 2007fromfailingbecauseofregistrysettingsthatmightpreexistonthehostcomputeratthe
samelocation.
Table 3-3. Sample Problems and Solutions That Use Isolation Modes
Problem Solution
Anapplicationfailstorunbecause
previousorfutureversionsexist
simultaneouslyorfailtouninstall
properly.
UsetheFullisolationmode.
ThinApphideshostcomputerfilesandregistrykeysfromtheapplication
whenthehostcomputerfilesarelocatedinthesamedirectoriesand
subkeysthattheapplicationinstallercreates.
FordirectoriesandsubkeysthathaveFullisolation,theapplicationsonly
detectvirtualfilesandsubkeys.Anysystemvaluesthatexistinthesame
locationareinvisibletotheapplication.
Anapplicationfailsbecauseusersdidnot
designortestitforamultiuser
environment.Theapplicationfailsto
modifyfilesandkeyswithoutaffecting
otherusers.
UsetheWriteCopyisolationmode.
ThinAppmakescopiesofregistrykeysandfilesthattheapplicationwrites
andperformsallthemodificationsinauserspecificsandbox.
FordirectoriesandsubkeysthathaveWriteCopyisolation,theapplication
recognizesthehostcomputerfilesandvirtualfiles.Allwriteoperations
converthostcomputerfilesintovirtualfilesinthesandbox.
Anapplicationfailsbecauseithaswrite
permissiontogloballocationsandisnot
designedforalockeddowndesktop
environmentfoundinacorporatesetting
oronWindowsVista.
UsetheWriteCopyisolationmode.
ThinAppmakescopiesofregistrykeysandfilesthattheapplicationwrites
andperformsallthemodificationsinauserspecificsandbox.
FordirectoriesandsubkeysthathaveWriteCopyisolation,theapplication
recognizesthehostcomputerfilesandvirtualfiles.Allwriteoperations
converthostcomputerfilesintovirtualfilesinthesandbox.
ODBC
Office
10.0
11.0
8.0
9.0
Common
Delivery
Live Meeting
Outlook
PowerPoint
Visio
VMware, Inc. 47
Figure 34showstheregistryfromtheperspectiveofthecapturedMicrosoftVisio2007.
Figure 3-4. Windows Registry as Seen by the Captured Microsoft Visio 2007
Office
12.0
Access Connectivity
Common
Registration
User Settings
Visio
10.0
11.0
8.0
9.0
Common
Delivery
Live Meeting
Outlook
PowerPoint
Visio
ThinApp Users Guide
48 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 49
4
Youcanupdatevirtualapplicationswithdifferentutilitiesdependingontheextentofchangeand
dependenciesonotherapplications.
ApplicationUpdatesThattheEndUserTriggersonpage 49
ApplicationUpdatesThattheAdministratorTriggersonpage 56
AutomaticApplicationUpdatesonpage 58
UpgradingRunningApplicationsonaNetworkShareonpage 59
SandboxConsiderationsforUpgradedApplicationsonpage 60
UpdatingtheThinAppVersionofPackagesonpage 60
Application Updates That the End User Triggers
ThinAppprovidestheApplicationSyncandApplicationLinkutilitiestoupdateapplicationswithnew
versionsornewcomponents.TheApplicationSyncutilityupdatesanentireapplicationpackage.
The ApplicationLinkutilitykeepssharedcomponentsordependentapplicationsinseparatepackages.
Application Sync Updates
TheApplicationSyncutilitykeepsdeployedvirtualapplicationsuptodate.Whenanapplicationstartswith
thisutilityenabled,theapplicationqueriesaWebservertodetermineifanupdatedversionoftheexecutable
fileisavailable.Ifanupdateisavailable,thedifferencesbetweentheexistingpackageandthenewpackage
aredownloadedandusedtoconstructanupdatedversionofthepackage.Theupdatedpackageisusedfor
futurelaunches.
TheApplicationSyncutilityisusefulformajorconfigurationupdatestotheapplication.Forexample,you
mightupdateFirefoxtothenextmajorversion.Remoteusersoruserswhoarenotconnectedtothecorporate
networkcanmakeuseoftheApplicationSyncutilitybyembeddingupdatesettingswithinthepackageand
usinganyWebservertostoretheupdatedversionofthepackage.
Using Application Sync in a Managed or Unmanaged Environment
Ifyouusevirtualapplicationsthatupdateautomaticallyinamanagedcomputerenvironment,donotusethe
ApplicationSyncutilitybecauseitmightclashwithotherupdatecapabilities.
Ifanautomaticupdatefeatureupdatesanapplication,theupdateexistsinthesandbox.IftheApplicationSync
utilityattemptstoupdatetheapplicationafteranautomaticapplicationupdate,theversionupdatestoredin
thesandboxtakeprecedenceoverthefilescontainedintheApplicationSyncversion.Theorderofprecedence
forupdatingfilesisthefilesinthesandbox,thevirtualoperatingsystem,andthephysicalmachine.
Ifyouhaveanunmanagedenvironmentthatdoesnotupdateapplicationsautomatically,usetheApplication
Syncutilitytoupdateapplications.
Updating and Linking Applications 4
ThinApp Users Guide
50 VMware, Inc.
Update Firefox 2.0.0.3 to Firefox 3 with Application Sync
ThisexampleshowstheApplicationSyncupdateprocessforFirefox.
TheupdateprocessinvolvesmodifyingthePackage.inifile.The AppSyncURLparameterrequiresaURL
path.ThinAppsupportsHTTP,HTTPS,andfileprotocols.ForinformationaboutallApplicationSync
parameters,referThinAppPackage.iniParametersReferenceGuide.
Update Firefox 2.0.0.3 to Firefox 3
1 CaptureFirefox2.0.0.3andFirefox3intoseparatepackages.
2 Verifythattheprimarydatacontainernameisthesameforbothpackages.
Theprimarydatacontainer,determinedduringthesetupcaptureprocess,isthefilethatcontainsthevirtual
filesystemandvirtualregistry.IfyouhaveaFirefox2.0.0.3packagethathasMozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3.exe
asthenameoftheprimarydatacontainer,andyouhaveaFirefox3packagethathasMozilla Firefox 3.dat
asthenameoftheprimarydatacontainer,changethenameintheShortcutparametertoacommon
name.Forexample,youcanuseFirefox.exeasaname.
3 ModifythePackage.inifileineachpackage.
a OpenthePackage.inifilelocatedinthecapturedapplicationfolder.
Forexample,aFirefox2.0.0.3pathtothePackage.inifilemightbeC:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\Package.ini.
b UncommenttheApplicationSyncparametersyouwanttoeditbyremovingthesemicolonatthe
beginningoftheline.
YoumustuncommenttheAppSyncURLparametertoenabletheutility.
c Changethevalueoftheparametersandsavethefile.
Forexample,youcancopyanexecutablefileofthelatestFirefoxversiontoamappednetworkdrive
andtypeapathtothatlocationasthevalueoftheAppSyncURLparameter.IfZ:isthemappeddrive
andFirefoxisthenameofthedirectorythatstorestheexecutablefile,asamplepathis
file:///Z:/Firefox/Firefox.exe.
MakesurethattheAppSyncURLpathisthesameinbothPackage.inifilesandpointstotheupdated
version.
4 Inthecapturedapplicationfolder,doubleclickthebuild.batfiletorebuildtheapplicationpackage.
5 ToupdateFirefox2.0.0.3toFirefox3,starttheexecutablefile,suchasMozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3.exe,
inthe\bindirectory.
WhenyoustarttheapplicationbeforetheexpirationtimesetintheAppSyncExpirePeriodparameterof
thePackage.inifile,ThinAppdownloadstheupdateinthebackgroundasyouworkwiththe
application.Thenexttimeyoustarttheapplication,youcanseetheupdatedversion.
Whenyoustarttheapplicationafterthepackageexpires,ThinAppdownloadstheupdateinthe
foregroundandpreventsyoufromworkingwiththeapplication.Whenthedownloadisready,ThinApp
restartstheapplicationwiththenewversion.
Fix an Incorrect Update with Application Sync
IfyouhavemultipleApplicationSyncdownloadupdates,suchasmultipleMicrosoftOfficeupdates,anda
certainupdatehasanadverseeffectorneedstobewithdrawn,youcanaddresstheproblem.
Fix an incorrect update
PlacethecorrectupdateontheserverthatThinAppcanaccess.
Theupdateisappliedthenexttimetheapplicationisstartedonaclientmachine.
VMware, Inc. 51
Chapter 4 Updating and Linking Applications
Application Sync Effect on Entry Point Executable Files
TheApplicationSyncutilityupdatesentrypointexecutablefiles.Forexample,assumeyoudeploya
Microsoft Office2007packagethatdoesnotincludeMicrosoftPowerPoint.TheMicrosoft Office
PowerPoint 2007.exeentrypointdoesnotexistfortheoriginalpackage.Ifyourebuildthe
Microsoft Office 2007packagetoincludeMicrosoftPowerPoint,andyouusetheApplicationSyncutilityto
updateclientmachines,theenduserscanaccessanentrypointexecutablefileforMicrosoftPowerPoint.
Updating thinreg.exe Registrations with Application Sync
Ifyouregistervirtualapplicationsonthesystemusingthinreg.exeandupdateapplicationswiththe
ApplicationSyncutility,youcanupdateregistrationsbyplacingacopyofthinreg.exe,locatedin
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp,alongsidetheupdatedpackageontheserver.
Maintaining the Primary Data Container Name with Application Sync
TheApplicationSyncutilityrequiresthatthenameoftheprimarydatacontainer,thefilethatstoresvirtual
filesandregistryinformation,isthesamefortheoldandnewversionsofanapplication.Forexample,you
cannothaveanoldversionwithMicrosoft Office Excel 2003.exeastheprimarydatacontainername
whilethenewversionhasMicrosoft Office 2007.datastheprimarydatacontainername.Toverifythe
nameoftheprimarydatacontainer,seetheReadOnlyDataparameterinthePackage.inifile.Formore
informationabouttheprimarydatacontainer,seeDefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtual
Environmentonpage 15.
Completing the Application Sync Process When Applications Create Child Processes
Whenacapturedapplicationcreateschildprocesses,ThinAppcannotcompletetheApplicationSyncprocess.
Forexample,youmightcreateMicrosoftOffice2003andMicrosoftOffice2007packages,modifythe
AppSyncURLparameterinthePackage.inifileforbothpackages,andcopytheMicrosoftOffice2007package
toaWebserverandtheMicrosoftOffice2003packagetoaclientmachine.
IfyoustarttheMicrosoftOffice2003packagebeforetheexpirationtimesetintheAppSyncExpirePeriod
parameterofthePackage.inifile,ThinAppcandownloadtheupdateinthebackgroundasyouworkwith
theapplicationbutisunabletoshowtheupdatedversionthenexttimeyoustarttheapplication.Ifyoustart
theapplicationafterthepackageexpires,ThinAppisunabletodownloadtheupdateintheforegroundand
restarttheapplicationwhenthedownloadisready.
MicrosoftOffice2003andMicrosoftOffice2007areexamplesofapplicationsthatcreatechildprocesses.
ThinAppcannotcompleteApplicationSyncupdatesuntilallchildprocessesstop.Youcanperformoneofthe
followingtaskstoresolvetheissue:
Logoutandlogintothemachinetostopthechildprocesses.
Createascripttoendthechildprocesses.
Forexample,youcancreateascripttoendthectfmon.exeandmdm.exechildprocessesassociatedwith
MicrosoftOffice2003andMicrosoftOffice2007.
Preventthestartupofthechildprocess,suchasthectfmon.exeprocessassociatedwithMicrosoftOffice
andInternetExplorerapplications.
Prevent the Startup of the ctfmon.exe Process for Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer
Preventingthestartupofthectfmon.exeprocessrequiresknowledgeoftheThinAppsandboxand
sbmerge.exeutility.Forinformationaboutthesbmerge.exeutility,seeUpdatingApplicationswith
RuntimeChangesonpage 57.
ThinApp Users Guide
52 VMware, Inc.
Prevent the startup of the ctfmon.exe process
1 Ifyoudidnotactivatethecmd.exeentrypointduringthecaptureprocess,settheDisabledparameter
forthecmd.exeentryinthePackage.inifileto0andrebuildthepackagewiththebuild.batutility.
Thisgeneratesanexecutablefileforthecmd.exeentrypointinthe/bindirectory.
2 Copythe/bindirectoryinthecapturedapplicationdirectorytoacleanvirtualmachineordeletethe
sandboxfortheMicrosoftOfficepackage.
3 Doubleclickthecmd.exeentrypoint.
4 IntheWindowscommandprocessor,runtheINTL.CPLcommand.
5 IntheLanguagestaboftheRegionalandLanguagesdialogbox,clickDetails.
6 IntheAdvancedtaboftheTextServicesandInputLanguagesdialogbox,selecttheTurnoffadvanced
textservicescheckbox.
7 ClickOKinalltheopendialogboxesandleavetheWindowscommandprocessoropen.
8 UnregistertheMSIMTF.dllandMSCTF.dllfileswiththeREGSVR32.EXE/U <DLL_file>command.
Seeknowledgebasearticle282599intheMicrosoftWebsite.
9 ClosetheWindowscommandprocessor.
10 IfthevirtualmachinedoesnotresideonthesamemachinewhereThinAppisinstalled,copythesandbox
fromthepackagetothepackagingsystem.
Thedefaultsandboxlocationis%APPDATA%\Thinstall.
11 Fromthestandardcommandpromptonthepackagingsystem,usethesbmerge.exeutilitytomergethe
updatedsandboxwiththepackage.
AsamplecommandisSBMERGE APPLY ProjectDir "C:\Program Files\VMware
\VMware ThinApp\Captures\Microsoft Office Professional 2007" SandboxDir
"%APPDATA%\Thinstall\Microsoft Office Pro 2007".
12 Rebuildthepackageandtestthepackageonacleanvirtualmachinetoconfirmthatthectfmon.exe
processnolongerexists.
Application Link Updates
TheApplicationLinkutilityconnectsdependentapplicationsatruntime.Youcanpackage,deploy,andupdate
componentpiecesseparatelyratherthancaptureallcomponentsinthesamepackage.
ThinAppcanlinkupto250packagesatatime.Eachpackagecanbeanysize.
TheApplicationLinkutilityisusefulforthefollowingobjects:
LargesharedlibrariesandframeworksLinkruntimecomponents,suchas.NET,JRE,orODBCdrivers,
withdependentapplications.
Forexample,youcanlink.NETtoanapplicationevenifthelocalmachinefortheapplicationprevents
theinstallationof.NEToralreadyhasadifferentversionof.NET.
Ifyouhavemultipleapplicationsthatrequire.NET,youcansavespaceandmakeasingle.NETpackage
andpointthemultipleapplicationstothe.NETpackage.Whenyouupdate.NETwithasecurityfix,you
canupdateasinglepackageratherthanmultiplepackages.
AddoncomponentsandpluginsPackageanddeployapplicationspecificcomponentsandplugins
separatelyfromthebaseapplication.
Forexample,youmightseparateAdobeFlashPlayerorAdobeReaderfromabaseFirefoxapplication
andlinkthecomponents.
YoucandeployasingleMicrosoftOfficepackagetoallusersanddeployindividualaddoncomponents
foreachuser.
VMware, Inc. 53
IfyoucaptureMicrosoftOfficeandtrytoaccessaPDFattachmentinthevirtualMicrosoftOutlook
environment,youcansetupMicrosoftOfficetodetectalinkedAdobeReaderpackageonthenetwork
whenAdobeReaderisnotavailablewithintheimmediatevirtualorphysicalenvironment.
HotfixesandservicepacksLinkupdatestoanapplicationandrollbacktoapreviousversionifusers
experiencesignificantissueswiththenewversion.Youcandeployminorpatchestoapplicationsasa
singlefileandreducetheneedforrollbacks.
TheApplicationLinkutilityprovidesbandwidthsavings.Forexample,ifyouhaveMicrosoftOffice2007
ServicePack1andyouwanttoupdatetoServicePack2withoutApplicationLink,youwouldtransfer
1.5GbofdatapercomputerwiththedeploymentofanewOffice 2007ServicePack2package.The
ApplicationLinkutilitytransfersjusttheupdatesandnotthewholepackagetothecomputers.
View of the Application using Application Link
Figure 41showstherunningapplicationwithamergedviewofthesystem,thebaseapplication,andall
linkedcomponents.Files,registrykeys,services,COMobjects,andenvironmentvariablesfromdependency
packagesarevisibletothebaseapplication.
Figure 4-1. View of the System, Base Application, and Linked Components Using Application Link
Link a Base Application to the Microsoft .NET Framework
Reviewthissampleworkflowtolinkabaseapplication,MyApp.exe,toaseparatepackagethatcontainsthe
Microsoft.NET2.0Framework.Makesurethatthebaseapplicationcaptureprocessdoesnotincludethe
Microsoft.NET2.0Framework.For informationabouttheprocessofcapturinganapplication,seeChapter 2,
CapturingApplications,onpage 13.
ForinformationaboutrequiredandoptionalApplicationLinkparametersandformatsinthePackage.ini
file,referThinAppPackage.iniParametersReferenceGuide.
Local Disk (C:)
Documents and Settings
Program Files
Common Files
ComPlus Applications
Local Disk (C:)
Program Files
Base Application
Local Disk (C:)
Documents and Settings
Program Files
Base Application
Common Files
ComPlus Applications
Component1
Local Disk (C:)
Program Files
Component1
Application Link
merged view of
System Files
+ Base Application
+ Component Package
Component Package
Base Application
System Files
ThinApp Users Guide
54 VMware, Inc.
Link an application to Microsoft .NET
1 Capturetheinstallationofthe.NET2.0Framework.
Duringthecaptureprocess,youmustselectatleastoneuseraccessibleentrypoint.
2 Renamethe.exefilethatThinAppproducestoa.datfile.
Thisrenamingpreventsusersfromaccidentallyrunningtheapplication.
Thenameofthe.datfileyouselectdoesnotmatterbecauseusersdonotrunthefiledirectly.
For example,usedotnet.dat.
3 Savethe.NETprojecttoC:\Captures\dotnet.
4 Capturethebaseapplicationbyusingthesamephysicalsystemorvirtualmachinewiththe.NET
frameworkalreadyinstalled.
5 SavetheprojecttoC:\Captures\MyApp.
6 OpenthePackage.inifileinthecapturedapplicationfolderforthebaseapplication.
7 EnabletheRequiredAppLinksparameterforthebaseapplicationbyaddingthefollowinglineafterthe
[BuildOptions]entry.
RequiredAppLinks=dotnet.dat
ApplicationLinkparametersmustreferencetheprimarydatacontaineroftheapplicationyouwantto
linkto.Youcannotreferenceshortcut.exefilesbecausethesefilesdonotcontainanyapplications,files,
orregistrykeys.
8 Buildthe.NET2.0andbaseapplicationpackages.
a Doubleclickthebuild.batfileinC:\Captures\MyApp.
b Doubleclickthebuild.batfileinC:\Captures\dotnet.
RunningthesebatchfilesbuildsseparateThinApppackages.
9 DeploytheapplicationstoanenduserdesktopinC:\Program Files\MyApp.
a CopyC:\Captures\MyApp\bin\MyApp.exeto
\\<end_user_desktop>\<Program_Files_share>\MyApp\MyApp.exe.
b CopyC:\Captures\dotnet\bin\cmd.exeto
\\<end_user_desktop>\<Program_Files_share>\MyApp\dotnet.dat.
Set Up Nested Links with Application Link
ThinAppsupportsnestedlinkswiththeApplicationLinkutility.Forexample,ifMicrosoftOfficelinkstoa
servicepack,andtheservicepacklinkstoahotfix,ThinAppsupportsallthesedependencies.
ThisprocedurereferstoAppA,whichrequiresAppB;andAppB,whichrequiresAppC.Assumethefollowing
folderlayoutfortheprocedure:
C:\AppFolder\AppA\AppA.exe
C:\AppFolder\AppB\AppB.exe
C:\AppFolder\AppC\AppC.exe
ForinformationaboutsettinguprequiredandoptionalApplicationLinkparametersinthisprocedure,refer
ThinAppPackage.iniParametersReferenceGuide.
Set up nested links
1 CaptureApplicationA.
2 InthePackage.inifile,specifyApplicationBasarequiredoroptionalapplicationlink.
Forexample,addRequiredLinks=\AppFolder\AppB\AppB.exetothefile.
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3 CaptureApplicationB.
4 InthePackage.inifileforApplicationB,specifyApplicationCasarequiredoroptionalapplicationlink.
Forexample,addRequiredLinks=\AppFolder\AppC\AppC.exetothefile.
5 CaptureApplicationC.
IfyoustartApplicationA,itcanaccessthefilesandregistrykeysofApplicationBandApplicationBcan
accessthefilesandregistrykeysofApplicationC.
Affecting Isolation Modes with Application Link
ThinApploadsanApplicationLinklayerduringapplicationstartupandmergesregistryentriesandfile
systemdirectories.IfThinAppfindsaregistrysubkeyorfilesystemdirectorythatdidnotpreviouslyexistin
themainpackageorlayerthatisalreadymerged,ThinAppusestheisolationmodespecifiedinthelayerbeing
loaded.If theregistrysubkeyorfilesystemdirectoryexistsinthemainpackageandalayerthatisalready
merged,ThinAppusesthemostrestrictiveisolationmodespecifiedinanyofthelayersormainpackage.
The orderofmostrestrictivetoleastrestrictiveisolationmodesisFull,WriteCopy,andMerged.
PermittedGroups Effect on Linked Packages
IfyoulinktwoapplicationsandyouspecifyavalueforthePermittedGroupsparameter,theuseraccount
usedforstartingtheapplicationmustbeamemberofatleastoneoftheActiveDirectorygroupsforthis
parameterinthePackage.inifilesofbothapplications.ForinformationaboutthePermittedGroups
parameter,referThinAppPackage.iniParametersReferenceGuide.
Sandbox Changes for Standalone and Linked Packages
Sandboxchangesfromlinkedpackagesarenotvisibletothebaseexecutablefile.Forexample,youcaninstall
AcrobatReaderasastandalonevirtualpackageandasalinkedpackagetothebaseFirefoxapplication.When
youstartAcrobatReaderasastandaloneapplicationbyrunningthevirtualpackageandyouchangethe
preferences,ThinAppstoresthechangesinthesandboxforAcrobatReader.WhenyoustartFirefox,Firefox
cannotdetectthosechangesbecauseFirefoxhasitsownsandbox.Openinga.pdffilewithFirefoxdoesnot
reflectthepreferencechangesthatexistinthestandaloneAcrobatReaderapplication.
Import Order for Linked Packages
ThinAppimportslinkedapplicationsaccordingtotheorderofapplicationsintheRequiredAppLinksor
OptionalAppLinksparameter.Ifeitherparameterspecifiesawildcardcharacterthattriggerstheimportof
morethanonefile,alphabeticalorderdetermineswhichpackageisimportedfirst.
TheOptionalAppLinksparametermightappearasOptionalAppLinks=a.exe;b.exe;plugins\*.exe.
Usinga.exeandb.exeassampleexecutablefiles,ThinAppimportslinkedpackagesintheorderdescribed
inTable 41.
Forinformationaboutnestedlinks,seeSetUpNestedLinkswithApplicationLinkonpage 54.
Table 4-1. Imported Linked Packages
Import
Order Linked Package
1 Baseapplication
2 a.exe
3 b.exe
4 Pluginsloadedinalphabeticalorder
5 Nestedpluginsfora.exe
6 Nestedpluginsforb.exe
7 Nestedpluginsforthefirstsetofpluginsinthislist
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File and Registry Collisions in Linked Packages
Ifthebaseapplicationandadependentpackagelinkedtothebaseapplicationcontainfileorregistryentries
atthesamelocation,acollisionoccurs.Whenthishappens,theorderofimportoperationsdetermineswhich
packagehaspriority.Thelastpackageimportedhaspriorityinsuchcasesandthefileorregistrycontentsfrom
thatpackagearevisibletotherunningapplications.
VBScript Collisions in Linked Packages
VBScriptnamecollisionsmightpreventscriptsinotherimportedpackagesfromrunning.Ifyoulinkpackages
withApplicationLinkandthosepackageshavescriptswiththesamename,ThinAppplacestheVBScripts
fromthelinkedpackagesintoasinglepool.Forscriptswiththesamename,ThinApprunsthescriptfromthe
lastimportedpackageanddisregardstheotherscripts.
Forexample,abasepackagemightcontainthea.vbs andb.vbsfilesandadependentpackagemightcontain
theb.vbsandc.vbsfiles.Becauseafilenamecollisionexistsbetweentheb.vbsfiles,theVBScriptinthelast
importedpackagespecifiedinaRequiredAppLinksorOptionalAppLinksparameteroverridesany
previouslyimportedscriptswiththesamename.Inthiscase,ThinAppcondensesthepooloffour.vbsfiles
intoasinglepoolwiththea.vbsfilefromthebasepackageandb.vbsandc.vbsfilesfromthedependent
package.
VBScript Function Order in Linked Packages
InapoolofVBScriptsforpackageslinkedwithApplicationLink,functionsinthemainbodiesofthescripts
runinalphabeticalorderofthescriptnames.ThinAppcallbackfunctionsinthescriptsruninreverse
alphabeticalorderofthescriptnamesinthepool.
Storing Multiple Versions of a Linked Application in the Same Directory
Ifthedirectoryholdsalinkedpackage,andyouaddanupdatedversionofthelinkedpackageinthesame
directory,theApplicationLinkutilitydetectsandusestheupdatedversion.
Using Application Sync for a Base Application and Linked Packages
IfyouuseApplicationLinktolinkpackagestoabasepackage,andyoustartthebasepackage,Application
Synccanupdateonlythebasepackage.Forexample,ifyoubuildaMicrosoftOffice2007packagewith
ApplicationSyncentriesinthePackage.inifile,buildanAdobeReaderpackagewithApplicationSync
entriesinthePackage.inifile,useApplicationLinktolinkthetwopackages,andstartMicrosoftOffice2007,
ApplicationSynconlyupdatesMicrosoftOffice2007.YoucanupdatebothMicrosoftOffice2007andAdobe
Readerbystartingeachapplicationseparately.
Ifyoudonotupdatealltheapplicationsandlinkabaseapplicationtoanexpiredplugin,thebaseapplication
canstillloadandusetheplugin.
Application Updates That the Administrator Triggers
ThinAppprovidestheAppSync.exeandsbmerge.exeutilitiesforadministrators.
TheAppSync.exeutilityforcesanApplicationSyncupdateonaclientmachine.
Thesbmerge.exeutilitymakeincrementalupdatestoapplications.Forexample,anadministratormightuse
theutilitytoincorporateapluginforFirefoxortochangethehomepageofaWebsitetopointtoadifferent
defaultsite.
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Forcing an Application Sync Update on Client Machines
YoucanusetheAppSynccommandtoforceanApplicationSyncupdateonaclientmachine.Youmightwant
toupdateapackagestoredinalocationwherestandardusersdonothavewriteaccess.Inthissituation,you
cannotuseApplicationSyncparameterstocheckforupdateswhenanapplicationstartsbecauseusersdonot
havetherequiredrightstoupdatethepackage.YoucanscheduleadailyAppSync.exerununderanaccount
withsufficientprivileges.TheApplicationSyncparameters,suchasAppSyncUpdateFrequency,inthe
Package.inifiledonotaffecttheAppSynccommand.
ToforceanApplicationSyncupdate,usetheAppSync <Application_Sync_URL>
<executable_file_path>command.ThevalueoftheURListhesameastheApplicationSyncURLinthe
Package.inifileandtheexecutablefilepathisthepathtotheexecutablefilethatrequirestheupdate.
Updating Applications with Runtime Changes
Thesbmerge.exeutilitymergesruntimechangesrecordedintheapplicationsandboxbackintoaThinApp
project.Atypicalworkflowforthisutilityinvolvesthefollowingtasks:
Capturinganapplication.
Buildingtheapplicationwiththebuild.batfile.
Runningacapturedapplicationandcustomizingthesettingsandvirtualenvironment.ThinAppstores
thechangesinthesandbox.
Runningthesbmerge.exeutilitytomergeregistryandfilesystemchangesfromthesandboxintothe
ThinAppproject.
Rebuildingthecapturedapplicationwiththebuild.batfile
Deployingtheupdatedapplication.
Merge Sandbox Changes with Firefox
Thisprocedureforthesbmerge.exeutilityusesFirefox2.0.0.3asanexampleofacapturedapplication.
Merge sandbox changes with Firefox 2.0.0.3
1 CaptureFirefox2.0.0.3.
3 CreateaThinstalldirectoryinthebindirectoryforthesandboxlocation.
4 StartFirefoxandmakeachangetothesettings.
Forexample,changethehomepage.
5 Fromthecommandline,navigatetothedirectorywheretheThinAppprojectfolderresides.
Forexample,navigatetoC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla
Firefox 2.0.0.3.
6 Fromthecommandline,typethe"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\sbmerge" Print
command.
ThinAppprintsthechangesthataffectedthesandboxfolderwhenusingthecapturedapplication.
7 Fromthecommandline,typethe"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\sbmerge" Apply
command.
ThinAppemptiestheThinstallfolderandmergesthesandboxchangeswiththeapplication.
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sbmerge.exe Commands
Thesbmerge.exe Printcommanddisplayssandboxchangesanddoesnotmakemodificationstothe
sandboxororiginalproject.
Thesbmerge.exe Applycommandmergeschangesfromthesandboxwiththeoriginalproject.This
commandupdatestheprojectregistryandfilesystemtoreflectchangesanddeletesthesandboxdirectory.
Usage
"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\sbmerge" Print [<optional_parameters>]
"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\sbmerge" Apply [<optional_parameters>]
Optional Parameters
Theoptionalsbmerge.exeparametersspecifyprojectandsandboxpathsandblockprogressmessagesand
mergingofsandboxfiles.
Automatic Application Updates
Ifanapplicationcanupdateautomatically,itsupdatemechanismfunctionswithThinApp.Iftheapplication
downloadstheupdateandrunsaninstallerorpatchingprogram,thisactivityoccursinsidethevirtual
environmentandThinAppstoresthechangesfromtheupdatesoftwareinthesandbox.Whentheapplication
restarts,itusestheversionoftheexecutablefileinthesandboxandnottheexecutablefilefromtheoriginal
package.
Forexample,ifyoucaptureFirefox1.5,yourautoupdatemechanismmightpromptyoutoupgradetoFirefox2.0.
Ifyouproceedwiththeupgrade,theapplicationdownloadstheupdates,writestheupdatestothesandbox,
andpromptsyoutorestarttheapplication.Whenyourunthecapturedapplicationagain,Firefox2.0starts.
If youdeletethesandbox,Firefoxrevertsbacktoversion 1.5.
Tomergechangesthatanautoupdatemechanismmakeswiththeoriginalpackagetobuildanupdated
executablefile,usethesbmerge.exeutility.See ApplicationUpdatesThattheAdministratorTriggerson
page 56.
Table 4-2. Optional sbmerge.exe Parameters
Parameter Description
-ProjectDir <project_path> Ifyoustartthesbmerge.execommandfromalocationotherthantheapplication
projectfolder,usetheabsoluteorrelativepathtotheprojectdirectoryusingthe
-ProjectDir <project_path>parameter.A samplecommandis"C:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\sbmerge" Print ProjectDir
"C:\<project_folder_path>"".
-SandboxDir <sandbox_path> Whenyoustartacapturedapplication,itsearchesforthesandboxinaparticular
order.SeeSearchOrderfortheSandboxonpage 61.
Ifyouuseacustomlocationforthesandbox,usetheSandboxDir
<sandbox_path>parametertospecifythelocation.
-Quiet Blockstheprintingofprogressmessages.
-Exclude <excluded_file>.ini Preventsthemergingofspecificfilesorregistryentriesfromthesandbox.
Youcanspecifya.inifiletodeterminethecontentforexclusion.Thisfile
containsseparatesectionstospecifyfiles,suchastheFileSystemIgnoreList
andtheRegistryIgnoreList.
Thesbmerge.exeutilityusesthesnapshot.inifileintheThinAppinstallation
folderbydefaulttoexcludecertaincontentfromthemergeprocess.Thisoption
enablesyoutospecifyanother.inifiletoensuretheadditionalexclusionof
content.
NOTEIfyouusetheApplicationSyncutilitytoperformapplicationupdates,disabletheautoupdate
capabilitiesoftheapplication.SeeUsingApplicationSyncinaManagedorUnmanagedEnvironmenton
page 49.
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Dynamic Updates Without Administrator Rights
Youcanupdateapplicationsdynamicallywithoutrequiringadministratorrights.For example,.NETbased
applicationsthatdownloadnewDLLfilesfromtheInternetaspartoftheirupdateprocessmustrunthe
ngen.exefiletogeneratenativeimageassembliesforstartupperformance.Intypicalcircumstances,the
ngen.exefilewritestoHKLMandC:\WINDOWS,bothofwhichareonlyaccessiblewithadministratoraccounts.
WithThinApp,thengen.exefilecaninstallnativeimageassembliesonguestuseraccountsbutstoreschanges
inauserspecificdirectory.
Youcanupdatethepackageonacentralcomputerandpushthechangestoclientmachinesortocentral
networksharesasanewcapturedexecutablefile.Useoneofthefollowingoptionsforapplyingupdates:
Duringthesetupcaptureprocess.
Insidethevirtualenvironment.
Applicationswithautoupdatecapabilitiescanundergoupdates.Iftheupdateisapatch.exefile,the
patchprogramcanruninthevirtualenvironmentandrunfromacmd.exefileentrypoint.Changesoccur
inthesandboxduringautomaticupdatesormanualupdatestoallowyoutoreverttotheoriginalversion
bydeletingthesandbox.
Ifyouapplypatchesinthevirtualenvironmentonacentralpackagingmachine,youcanusethe
sbmerge.exeutilitytomergesandboxchangesmadebytheupdatewiththeapplication.See
ApplicationUpdatesThattheAdministratorTriggersonpage 56.
Inthecapturedproject.
Ifyoumustupdateasmallsetoffilesorregistrykeys,replacethefilesinthecapturedproject.
This approachisusefulforsoftwaredeveloperswhointegrateThinAppbuildswiththeirworkflow.
Upgrading Running Applications on a Network Share
ThinAppallowsyoutoupgradeorrollbackanapplicationthatisrunningonanetworkshareformultiple
users.Theupgradeprocessoccurswhentheuserquitstheapplicationandstartsitasecondtime.InTerminal
Serverenvironments,youcanhavemultipleusersexecutingdifferentversionsatthesametimeduringthe
transitionperiod.
File Locks
Startinganapplicationlockstheexecutablefilepackage.Youcannotreplace,delete,ormovetheapplication.
Thisfilelockensuresthatanycomputeroruserwhoaccessesaspecificversionofanapplicationcontinuesto
havethatversionavailableaslongastheapplicationprocessesandsubprocessesarerunning.
Ifyoustoreanapplicationinacentrallocationformanyusers,thisfilelockpreventsadministratorsfrom
replacingapackagedexecutablefilewithanewversionuntilallusersexittheapplicationandreleasetheir
locks.
Upgrade a Running Application
Youcancopyanewversionofanapplicationintoanexistingdeploymentdirectorywithahigherfilename
extension,suchas.1or.2.ThisprocedureusesFirefoxasasampleapplication.
Youdonothavetoupdateshortcuts.
Upgrade a running application
1 Deploytheoriginalversionoftheapplication,suchasFirefox.exe.
2 Copytheapplicationtoacentralshareat\\<server>\<share>\Firefox.exe.
AsamplelocationisC:\Program Files\Firefox\Firefox.exe.
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3 CreateadesktoporStartmenushortcuttotheusersdesktopthatpointstoasharedexecutablefile
locationat\\<server>\<share>\Firefox.exe.
AssumetwousersstartFirefox.exeandlocktheapplication.
4 CopytheupdatedversionofFirefox.exetothecentralshareat\\<server>\<share>\Firefox.1.
Ifyouareanewuser,ThinAppstartstheapplicationwiththenewpackagedatainFirefox.1.Ifyouare
auserworkingwiththeoriginalversion,youcanseethenewversionafteryouexittheapplicationand
restarttheapplication.
5 IfyoumustdeployamorecurrentupdateofFirefox,placeitinthesamedirectorywithahighernumber
attheend.
6 CopyVersion2.0ofFirefox.exetocentralshareat\\<server>\<share>\Firefox.2
AfterFirefox.1isunlocked,youcandeleteit,butFirefox.exeshouldremaininplacebecausetheuser
shortcutscontinuetopointthere.ThinAppalwaysusesthefilenamethathasthehighestversionnumber.
If youmustrollbacktoanearlierversionandthemostrecentversionisstilllocked,copytheoldversionso
thatithasthehighestversionnumber.
Sandbox Considerations for Upgraded Applications
Whenyouupgradeanapplication,youcancontrolwhetheruserscontinuetousetheirprevioussettingsby
keepingthesandboxnameconsistentinthePackage.inifile.You canpreventusersfromusinganolder
sandboxwithanupgradedapplicationbypackagingtheupgradedapplicationwithanewnameforthe
sandbox.Startingtheupgradedapplicationthefirsttimecreatesthesandboxwiththenewname.
Updating the ThinApp Version of Packages
Youcanusetherelink.exeutilitytoupdateanexistingpackageortreeofpackagestothelatestversionof
ThinApp.AlthoughyoucaninstallthelatestversionofThinAppandrunthebuild.batutilitytorebuildeach
targetpackagewiththelatestThinAppversion,therelink.exeutilityisafastermethodtoupgradethe
ThinAppversionofexistingpackages.Youmightwanttoupdateyourpackagetobenefitfromthelatest
ThinAppfeaturesorsupportenhancements.
relink Examples
Therelink.exeutilityhasanoptional-Recursiveflagandcantargetasinglepackageormultiplepackages.
relink [-Recursive] <target> [<target> ...]
Forexample,youcanupdateanAdobeReaderpackagetothelatestinstalledThinAppversion.
relink AdobeReader.exe
Therelink.exeutilitycanuseawildcardpattern.
relink *.exe *.dat
Therelink.exeutilitycanusedirectorynamestoprocessallThinAppfilesinthatdirectory.
relink C:MyPackages
Ifyouspecifythe-Recursiveflag,therelink.exeutilityprocessesallThinAppfilesinthedirectoryandall
subdirectories.Thisflagisintendedforuseonlywithdirectorynames.
Ifthetargetnamecontainsspaces,youmustusedoublequotes.
relink "Microsoft Office Professional 2007.dat"
Enabling ThinApp Apllications for Horizon Application Manager
RelinkcanbeusedtoenableaThinAppapplicationforHorizonApplicationManagerbyusingthe-h flag.
FormoreinformationseetheKnowledgebaseartilce2021928.
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5
Thesandboxisthedirectorywhereallchangesthatthecapturedapplicationmakesarestored.Thenexttime
youstarttheapplication,thosechangesareincorporatedfromthesandbox.Whenyoudeletethesandbox
directory,theapplicationrevertstoitscapturedstate.
SearchOrderfortheSandboxonpage 61
ControllingtheSandboxLocationonpage 63
SandboxStructureonpage 64
SandboxCompatibilitybetweenThinApp4.xand5.xonpage 64
Search Order for the Sandbox
Duringstartupofthecapturedapplication,ThinAppsearchesforanexistingsandboxinspecificlocationsand
inaspecificorder.ThinAppusesthefirstsandboxitdetects.If ThinAppcannotfindanexistingsandbox,
ThinAppcreatesoneaccordingtocertainenvironmentvariableandparametersettings.Reviewthesearch
orderandsandboxcreationlogicbeforechangingtheplacementofthesandbox.
ThesearchorderusesMozillaFirefox3.0asanexamplewiththefollowingvariables:
<sandbox_name>isMozillaFirefox3.0
TheSandboxNameparameterinthePackage.inifiledeterminesthename.SeeSandboxName
parameterinThinAppPackage.iniParameterReferenceGuide.
<sandbox_path>isZ:\sandboxes
TheSandboxPathparameterinthePackage.inifiledeterminesthepath.SeeSandboxPathparameter
inThinAppPackage.iniParameterReferenceGuide.
<exe_directory>isC:\Program Files\Firefox
Theapplicationrunsfromthislocation.
<computer_name>isJOHNDOECOMPUTER
%AppData%isC:\Documents and Settings\JohnDoe\Application Data
ThinApprequeststheApplication Datafolderlocationfromtheoperatingsystem.Thelocation
dependsontheoperatingsystemorconfiguration.
Locating the ThinApp Sandbox 5
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ThinAppstartsthesandboxsearchbytryingtofindthefollowingenvironmentvariablesinthisorder:
%<sandbox_name>_SANDBOX_DIR%
Thisenvironmentvariablechangesthesandboxlocationforspecificapplicationsonthecomputer.
For example,iftheMozilla Firefox 3.0_SANDBOX_DIRenvironmentvariableexists,itsvalue
determinestheparentdirectorysandboxlocation.Ifthevalueisz:\FirefoxSandboxbeforeyourunthe
application,ThinAppstoresthesandboxinz:\FirefoxSandbox.JOHNDOE-COMPUTERifthedirectory
alreadyexists.Ifthedirectorydoesnotexist,ThinAppcreatesasandboxinz:\FirefoxSandbox.
%THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR%
Thisenvironmentvariablechangesthelocationofallsandboxesonacomputer.Forexample,ifthe
THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIRenvironmentvariableexists,itsvaluedeterminestheparentdirectorysandbox
location.Ifthevalueisz:\MySandboxesbeforeyouruntheapplication,ThinAppcreatesasandboxin
z:\MySandboxes.
IfThinAppdoesnotdetectthe%<sandbox_name>_SANDBOX_DIR%or%THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR%
environmentvariable,ThinAppchecksforthefollowingfilesystemdirectoriesandcreatesasandboxinthe
firstdirectoryitdetects:
<exe_directory>\<sandbox_name>.<computer_name>
Forexample,C:\Program Files\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.JOHNDOE-COMPUTER
<exe_directory>\<sandbox_name>
Forexample,C:\Program Files\Firefox\Mozilla Firefox 3.0
<exe_directory>\Thinstall\<sandbox_name>.<computer_name>
Forexample,C:\Program Files\Firefox\Thinstall\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.JOHNDOE-COMPUTER
<exe_directory>\Thinstall\<sandbox_name>
Forexample,C:\Program Files\Firefox\Thinstall\Mozilla Firefox 3.0
<sandbox_path>\<sandbox_name>.<computer_name>
Forexample,Z:\sandboxes\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.JOHNDOE-COMPUTER
<sandbox_path>\<sandbox_name>
Forexample,Z:\sandboxes\Mozilla Firefox 3.0
%AppData%\Thinstall\<sandbox_name>.<computer_name>
Forexample,C:\Documents and Settings\JohnDoe\Application Data\Thinstall\Mozilla
Firefox 3.0.JOHNDOE-COMPUTER
%AppData%\Thinstall\<sandbox_name>
Forexample,C:\Documents and Settings\JohnDoe\Application Data\Thinstall\Mozilla
Firefox 3.0
IfThinAppdoesnotdetectthe%<sandbox_name>_SANDBOX_DIR%or%THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR%
environmentvariable,anddoesnotdetectthespecifiedfilesystemdirectories,ThinAppcreatesasandbox
usingthefollowingguidelinesinthisorder:
IftheSANDBOXPATHPackage.iniparameterisset,thevaluedeterminesthesandboxlocation.
IfThinAppcompletesthesandboxsearchwithoutanyresults,ThinAppcreatesasandboxinthedefault
%AppData%\Thinstalldirectoryoftheuser.
NOTEOnlyonecomputeratatimecanuseasharedsandbox.Ifacomputerisalreadyusingasandbox,
ThinAppcreatesanewsandboxtoallowyoutocontinueworkinguntilthepreviouscopyofthesandbox
closes.
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Chapter 5 Locating the ThinApp Sandbox
Controlling the Sandbox Location
ThesetupcaptureprocessaddstheSandboxNameparametertothePackage.inifile.IfyoucaptureFirefox
andMozilla Firefox 3.0isthevalueofthisparameter,thedefaultlocationofthesandboxforthe
applicationis%AppData%\Thinstall\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.Thetypical%AppData%locationis
C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Application Data.%AppData%isoftenmappedtoashared
networkdrive.
Store the Sandbox on the Network
YoucanusetheSandboxPathparametertostorethesandboxonamappeddrive.Anetworklocationisuseful
forbackingupthesandboxandforuserswhologintoanymachineandkeeptheirapplicationsettings.For
moreinformationabouttheSandboxPathparameter,seeSandboxPathparameterinThinAppPackage.ini
ParameterReferenceGuide..
Store the sandbox on a mapped drive
1 OpenthePackage.inifile.
2 UndertheSandboxNameparameter,settheSandboxPathparametertothenetworklocation.
SandboxName=Mozilla Firefox 3.0
SandboxPath=Z:\Sandbox
Forexample,ifMozilla Firefox 3.0isthevalueoftheSandboxNameparameter,thecapturedFirefox
applicationcreatesthesandboxinZ:\Sandbox\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.
Store the Sandbox on a Portable Device
YoucanusetheSandboxPathparametertosetaportabledevicelocationforthesandbox.Youcanuseany
portabledevice,suchasaUSBdrive,thatappearsasadiskdriveintheMy Computersystemfolder.Aportable
devicelocationisusefultokeepthesandboxdataonthedevicewheretheapplicationresides.
FormoreinformationabouttheSandboxPathparameter,seeSandboxPathparameterinThinAppPackage.ini
ParameterReferenceGuide..
Store the sandbox in the same directory on a USB drive where the executable file resides
1 OpenthePackage.inifile.
2 UndertheSandboxNameparameter,settheSandboxPathparametertothisvalue.
SandboxName=Mozilla Firefox 3.0
SandboxPath=.
Forexample,ifMozilla Firefox 3.0isthevalueoftheSandboxNameparameter,thecapturedFirefox
applicationcreatestheMozilla Firefox 3.0sandboxinthesamedirectorythatFirefoxrunsfrom.
Store the Sandbox in a Thinstall Directory on a USB Drive at the Same Level as the
Executable File
ThesandboxinaThinstalldirectorylocatedonaUSBdrivemustbestoredatthesamelevelatwhichthe
executablefileisstored.
Store the sandbox in a Thinstall directory on a USB drive at the same level as the executable file
1 Ifthe%THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR%or%<sandbox_name>_SANDBOX_DIR% environmentvariablesareset,
unsetthevariables.
2 Ontheportabledevice,createaThinstalldirectoryinthesamedirectoryasyourcapturedapplication.
Thenexttimethepackagedapplicationstartsfromtheportabledevice,theapplicationcreatesasandbox
intheThinstalldirectory.
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3 Iftheapplicationandsandboxoriginallyranfromanotherlocation,suchasacomputerlocalharddrive,
andyouneedthesamesandboxonaportabledevice,copytheThinstalldirectoryfrom%AppData%to
thedirectorywheretheexecutablefileresidesonthedevice.
ThinAppnolongerusesthesandboxintheoriginallocation.
Sandbox Structure
ThinAppstoresthesandboxusingafilestructurealmostidenticaltothebuildprojectstructure.ThinAppuses
macronamesforshellfolderlocations,suchas%AppData%,insteadofhardcodedpaths.Thisstructureenables
thesandboxtomigratetodifferentcomputersdynamicallywhentheapplicationrunsfromnewlocations.
Thesandboxcontainsthefollowingregistryfiles:
Registry.rw.tvrContainsallregistrymodificationsthattheapplicationmakes.
Registry.rw.lckPreventsothercomputersfromsimultaneouslyusingaregistrylocatedonanetwork
share.
Registry.tvr.backupContainsabackupofthe.tvrfilethatThinAppuseswhentheoriginal.tvr
fileiscorrupted.
Inadditiontotheseregistryfiles,thesandboxcontainsdirectoriesthatinclude%AppData%,
%ProgramFilesDir%,and%SystemRoot%.Eachofthesefolderscontainsmodificationstorespectivefolders
inthecapturedapplication.
Making Changes to the Sandbox
ThinAppstoresfilesysteminformationinthevirtualregistry.ThevirtualregistryenablesThinAppto
optimizefilesystemaccessinthevirtualenvironment.For example,whenanapplicationtriestoopenafile,
ThinAppdoesnothavetoconsulttherealfilesystemfortherealsystemlocationandagainforthesandbox
location.Instead,ThinAppcancheckfortheexistenceofthefilebyconsultingonlythevirtualregistry.This
abilityincreasestheThinAppruntimeperformance.
VMwaredoesnotsupportmodifyingoraddingfilesdirectlytothesandbox.Ifyoucopyfilestothesandbox
directory,thefilesarenotvisibletotheapplication.Ifthefilealreadyexistsinthesandbox,youcanoverwrite
andupdatethefile.VMwarerecommendsthatyouperformallmodificationsfromtheapplicationitself.
Listing Virtual Registry Contents with vregtool
Becausethesandboxcontainsthemodificationstotheregistry,youmightneedthevregtoolutilitytoview
modifiedvirtualregistrychanges.YoumusthaveaccesstothevregtoolutilityinC:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp.
Asamplecommandtolistthecontentsofavirtualregistryfileisvregtool registry.rw.tvr printkeys.
Twonewoptionsareintroducedinvregtool.exe, PrintKeysandSysCompareasX86andX64.These
flagscanbeusedforviewingthemodifiedvirtualregistrychangesto32bitand64bitregistries.Ifnoneof
theseflagsareprovided,thecompleteregistryviewwillbedisplayed.
Sandbox Compatibility between ThinApp 4.x and 5.x
SandboxofApplicationsbuiltusingThinApp4.xareisnotcompatiblewithThinApp5.0Sandboxes.Ifthe
applicationruntimeisupgradedfromThinApp4.xtoThinApp5.0(byusingRelink,Rebuildingthepackageor
anyotherupgrademechanism),theoldsandboxneedstoberemovedbeforeusingtheupgradedapplication.
However,IftheuserrequirestopreservethesettingsmadetoexistingThinAppapplication,SBMerge.exetool
canbeutilizedtomergethesandboxtothepackageitself.ThispackagecanberebuiltusingThinApp5.0to
upgradetheApplicationRuntime.Forinformationaboutthesbmerge.exeutility,seeUpdatingApplications
withRuntimeChanges
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6
Thesnapshot.exeutilitycreatesasnapshotofacomputerfilesystemandregistryandcreatesaThinApp
projectfromtwopreviouslycapturedsnapshots.Youdonothavetostartthesnapshot.exeutilitydirectly
becausetheSetupCapturewizardstartsit.Onlyadvancedusersandsystemintegratorswhoarebuilding
ThinAppcapabilityintootherplatformsmightmakedirectuseofthisutility.
Creatingasnapshotofacomputerfilesystemandregistryinvolvesscanningandsavingacopyofthe
followingdata:
Fileinformationforalllocaldrives
Thisinformationincludesdirectories,filenames,fileattributes,filesizes,andfilemodificationdates.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEandHKEY_USERSregistrytrees
ThinAppdoesnotscanHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTandHKEY_CURRENT_USER registryentriesbecausethose
entriesaresubsetsofHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEandHKEY_USERSentries.
Thesnapshot.iniconfigurationfilespecifieswhatdirectoriesandsubkeystoexcludefromaThinApp
projectwhenyoucaptureanapplication.Youmightcustomizethisfileforcertainapplications.
MethodsofUsingthesnapshot.exeUtilityonpage 65
Samplesnapshot.exeCommandsonpage 67
CreateaProjectWithouttheSetupCaptureWizardonpage 67
Customizingthesnapshot.iniFileonpage 68
Methods of Using the snapshot.exe Utility
Youcanusethesnapshot.exeutilitytocreatesnapshotfilesofmachinestates,createthetemplatefileforthe
Package.inifile,createaThinAppproject,anddisplaythecontentsofasnapshotfile.
ForinformationaboutthefullproceduretocreateaThinAppprojectfromthecommandline,seeCreatea
ProjectWithouttheSetupCaptureWizardonpage 67.
Creating Snapshots of Machine States
Thesnapshot.exeutilitycreatesasnapshotfileofamachinestate.ThinAppcapturesthemachinestateand
savesittoasinglefiletocreateaproject.Thesnapshot.exeutilitysavesacopyofregistrydataandfilesystem
metadatathatincludespaths,filenames,sizes,attributes,andtimestamps.
Usage
snapshot.exe SnapshotFileName.snapshot [-Config ConfigFile.ini][BaseDir1][BaseDir2][BaseReg1]
Creating ThinApp Snapshots and
Projects from the Command Line 6
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Examples
Snapshot My.snapshot
Snapshot My.snapshot Config MyExclusions.ini
Snapshot My.snapshot C:\MyAppDirectory HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\MyApp
Options
Theoptionsspecifythedirectoriesorsubkeysinthesnapshot.
Creating the Template Package.ini file from Two Snapshot Files
Thesnapshot.exeutilitygeneratesatemplatePackage.inifile.Theutilityscansthetwosnapshotfilesfor
allapplicationsthatarecreatedandreferencedfromshortcutlinksortheStartmenu.Thetemplate
Package.inifilebecomesthebasisofthePackage.inifileinaThinAppproject.
Usage
snapshot.exe Snap1.snapshot -SuggestProject Snap2.snapshot OutputTemplate.ini
Examples
Snapshot Start.snapshot SuggestProject End.snapshot Template.ini
ThinApprequiresalloftheparameters.
Creating the ThinApp Project from the Template Package.ini File
Thesnapshot.exeutilitycreatestheThinAppprojectfilefromthetemplatePackage.inifile.
Usage
snapshot.exe Template.ini -GenerateProject OutDir [-Config ConfigFile.ini]
Examples
Snapshot Template.ini GenerateProject C:\MyProject
Snapshot Template.ini GenerateProject C:\MyProject Config MyExclusions.ini
-Config ConfigFile.iniisoptional.Theconfigurationfilespecifiesdirectoriesorregistrysubkeysfor
exclusionfromtheproject.Ifyoudonotspecifyaconfigurationfile,ThinAppusesthesnapshot.inifile.
Table 6-1. Snapshot Directories and Subkeys
Option Description
-Config ConfigFile.ini Specifiesdirectoriesorregistrysubkeystoexcludeduringsnapshotcreation.
If youdonotspecifyaconfigurationfile,ThinAppusesthesnapshot.inifile
fromtheThinAppinstallationdirectory.
BaseDir1 Specifiesoneormorebasedirectoriestoincludeinthescan.Ifyoudonotspecify
basedirectories,thesnapshot.exeutilityscansC:\andallsubdirectories.
IfyouscanamachinewhereWindowsorprogramfilesareinstalledondifferent
disks,includethesedrivesinthescan.
Ifyouknowthatyourapplicationinstallationcreatesormodifiesfilesinfixed
locations,specifythesedirectoriestoreducethetotaltimerequiredtoscana
machine.
BaseReg1 Speciesoneormorebaseregistrysubkeystoincludeinthescan.Ifyoudonot
specifyregistrysubkeys,thesnapshot.exeutilityscansthe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEandHKEY_USERSkeys.
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Chapter 6 Creating ThinApp Snapshots and Projects from the Command Line
Displaying the Contents of a Snapshot File
Thesnapshot.exeutilityliststhecontentsofthesnapshotfile.
Usage
snapshot.exe SnapshotFileName.snapshot -Print
Examples
Snapshot Start.snapshot Print
ThinApprequiresalloftheparameters.
Sample snapshot.exe Commands
Table 62describessamplecommandsforthesnapshot.exeutility.Theparametersarenotcasesensitive.
ThecommandsarewrappedintheCommandcolumnbecauseofspacerestraints.
Create a Project Without the Setup Capture Wizard
Youcanusethesnapshot.exeutilityfromthecommandlineinsteadofusingtheSetupCapturewizardthat
runsthesnapshot.exeutilityinthebackground.Thecommandlineutilityisusefultopackagealarge
numberofapplicationsorautomateThinAppprojectcreation.Thetypicallocationofthesnapshot.exe
utilityisC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\snapshot.exe.
Thesnapshotprocessmakesacopyoftheallregistryentriesonthesystemandfilesystemmetadata.
File systemmetadataincludespath,filename,attribute,size,andtimestampinformationbutexcludesactual
filedata.
Create a project with the snapshot.exe command-line utility
1 Saveaninitialsnapshotofthecurrentmachineconfigurationtodisk.
snapshot.exe C:\Start.snapshot
2 Installtheapplicationandmakeanynecessarymanualsystemchanges.
Table 6-2. snapshot.exe Sample Commands
Command Description
snapshot C:\Capture.snapshot Capturesacompletesnapshotoflocaldrivesand
registrytothefileC:\Capture.snapshot.
snapshot C:\Capture.snapshot C:\ E:\ CapturesacompletesnapshotoftheC:\andE:\drives.
ThinAppdoesnotcaptureregistryinformation.
snapshot C:\Capture.snapshot C:\data.snapshot
C:\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
CapturesacompletesnapshotoftheC:\driveandallof
theHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTregistrysubtree.
snapshot C:\Original.snapshot -Diff
C:\NewEnvironment.snapshot C:\MyProject
GeneratesaThinAppprojectdirectorybycomparing
twosnapshots.
snapshot Original.snapshot -DiffPrint
NewEnvironment.snapshot
Displaysdifferencesbetweentwocapturedsnapshots.
snapshot C:\data.snapshot C:\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Savesthestateofthecomputerfilesystemandregistry.
snapshot C:\start.snapshot -diffprint
C:\end.snapshot
Comparestworecordedstates.
snapshot C:\start.snapshot -print Printsthecontentsofasavedstate.
snapshot C:\start.snapshot -SuggestProject
C:\end.snapshot C:\project.ini
GeneratesaThinAppprojectbycomparingtwosaved
states.
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3 Savetodiskasnapshotofthenewmachineconfiguration.
snapshot.exe C:\End.snapshot
4 GenerateatemplatePackage.inifile.
snapshot.exe C:\Start.snapshot SuggestProject C:\End.snapshot C:\Template.ini
ThinAppusesthetemplatefiletogeneratethefinalPackage.inifile.Thetemplatefilecontainsalistof
alldetectedexecutablefileentrypointsandPackage.iniparameters.Ifyouwriteyourownscriptto
replacetheSetupCapturewizard,usethetemplatePackage.inifiletoselecttheentrypointstokeepor
customizePackage.iniparameterssuchasInventoryName.
5 GenerateaThinAppproject.
snapshot.exe C:\Template.ini GenerateProject C:\MyProjectDirectory
6 (Optional)DeletethetemporaryC:\Start.snapshot, C:\End.snapshot,andC:\Template.inifiles.
7 (Optional)Togeneratemultipleprojectswithdifferentconfigurations,reusetheoriginal
Start.snapshotfileandrepeattheprocedurefromStep 2.
Customizing the snapshot.ini File
Thesnapshot.iniconfigurationfilespecifieswhatregistrykeystoexcludefromaThinAppprojectwhen
youcaptureanapplication.
Forexample,ifyouuseInternetExplorer7,youmightneedThinApptocapturethefollowingregistrykeys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\Components
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\Connections
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware
Profiles\0001\Software\Microsoft\windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
Ifthesnapshot.inifileexcludesthe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\Connectionskeybydefault,youcanremovethiskeyfromthesnapshot.inifiletoensurethat
ThinAppcapturesthekeyinthecaptureprocess.
Ifyoudonotcustomizethesnapshot.inifile,thesnapshotprocessloadsthefilefromoneoftheselocations:
Application Data\Thinapp\snapshot.ini
ThislocationistheAppDatadirectoryoftheuser.
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMWare Thinapp\snapshot.ini
ThisisthelocationfromwhichThinApprunsthesnapshot.exeutility.
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7
ThinAppstoresthedifferencesbetweensnapshotsduringthesetupcaptureprocessinavirtualfilesystemand
virtualregistry.ThevirtualfilesystemusesfoldermacrostorepresentWindowsshellfolderlocations.
Thisinformationaboutthevirtualfilesystemincludesthefollowingtopics:
VirtualFileSystemFormatsonpage 69
ThinAppFolderMacrosonpage 69
Virtual File System Formats
ThinAppgeneratesthefollowingvirtualfilesystemformats:
Build
Thesetupcaptureprocessgeneratesthisformatfromfilesfounddirectlyonthephysicalfilesystem.
ThinAppusesfoldermacrostorepresentWindowsshellfolderlocations.
Embedded
Thebuild.batfiletriggersabuildprocessthatembedsareadonlyfilesysteminexecutablefiles.
The executablefilesprovideblockbasedstreamingtoclientcomputers.ThinAppcompressesthefile
system.
Sandbox
Runningthecapturedapplicationgeneratesthereadwritedirectorystructurethatholdsfiledatathatthe
applicationmodifies.FilemodificationsthatpromptThinApptoextractembeddedvirtualfilestothe
sandboxincludethefollowingoperations:
Changingthetimestamporattributesofafile
Openingafilewithwriteaccess
Truncatingafile
Renamingormovingafile
Theembeddedandsandboxfilesystemsusefoldermacrostoenablefilepathstodynamicallyexpandat
runtime.
ThinApp Folder Macros
ThinAppusesmacrostorepresentfilesystempathlocationsthatmightchangewhenvirtualizedapplications
runondifferentWindowsoperatingsystemsorcomputers.Theuseofmacrosenablessharedapplication
profileinformationtoinstantlymigratetodifferentoperatingsystems.
ThinApp File System Formats and
Macros 7
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70 VMware, Inc.
Forexample,youmightcaptureanapplicationonasystemthathasC:\WINNTastheWindowsdirectoryand
deploytheapplicationonasystemthathasC:\WindowsastheWindowsdirectory.ThinApptransparently
convertsC:\WINNTto%SystemRoot%duringthecaptureprocessforthatsystemandexpands%SystemRoot%
toC:\Windowsduringruntimeforthatsystem.
IfanapplicationregistersDLLstoC:\winnt\system32whilerunningonWindows 2000,theusercanquit
theapplicationandlogintoaWindowsXPmachine.OntheWindowsXPmachine,thefilesappeartoexistat
C:\windows\system32andallrelatedregistrykeyspointtoC:\windows\system32.
OnWindowsVista,ThinAppmovesWindowsSxSDLLsandpolicyinformationtomatchWindowsVista
insteadofusingWindowsXPfilepathstyles.Thisfeatureenablesmostapplicationstomigratetoupdatedor
olderoperatingsystems.
ThinAppprovidesSxSsupportforapplicationsrunningonWindows2000eventhoughtheunderlying
operatingsystemdoesnot.ThissupportenablesmostapplicationscapturedonWindowsXPtorunon
Windows2000withoutchanges.
List of ThinApp Macros
ThinAppusestheshfolder.dllfiletoobtainthelocationofshellfolders.Olderversionsofthe
shfolder.dllfiledonotsupportsomemacronames.
Macrosrequiringshfolder.dllversion5.0orlaterinclude%ProgramFilesDir%,%Common AppData%,
%Local AppData%,%My Pictures%,and%Profile%.
Macrosrequiringshfolder.dllversion6.0orlaterinclude%My Videos%,%Personal%,and%Profiles%.
Table 71liststheavailablefoldermacros.
Table 7-1. Folder Macros
Macro Name Typical Location
%AdminTools% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Start
Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools
%AppData% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Application Data
%CDBurn Area% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\CD Burning
%Common AdminTools% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative
Tools
%Common AppData% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
%Common Desktop% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop
%Common Documents% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents
%Common Favorites% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Favorites
%Common Programs% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs
%Common StartMenu% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu
%Common Startup% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%Common Templates% C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates
%Cookies% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Cookies
%Desktop% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Desktop
%Drive_c% C:\
%Drive_m% M:\
%Favorites% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Favorites
%Fonts% C:\Windows\Fonts
%History% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Local Settings\History
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Chapter 7 ThinApp File System Formats and Macros
Processing %SystemRoot% in a Terminal Services Environment
ATerminalServicesenvironmenthasasharedWindowsdirectory,suchasC:\Windows,andaprivate
Windowsdirectory,suchasC:\Documents and Settings\User\Windows.Inthisenvironment,ThinApp
usestheuserspecificdirectoryfor%SystemRoot%.
%Internet Cache% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files
%Local AppData% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Local Settings\Application Data
%My Pictures% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\My Documents\My Pictures
%My Videos% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\My Documents\My Videos
%NetHood% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\NetHood
%Personal% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\My Documents
%PrintHood% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\PrintHood
%Profile% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>
%Profiles% C:\Documents and Settings
%Program Files Common% C:\Program Files\Common Files
%ProgramFilesDir% C:\Program Files
%Programs% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Start Menu\Programs
%Recent% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\My Recent Documents
%Resources% C:\Windows\Resources
%Resources Localized% C:\Windows\Resources\<language_ID>
%SendTo% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\SendTo
%Startup% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
%SystemRoot% C:\Windows
%SystemSystem% C:\Windows\System32
%TEMP% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Local Settings\Temp
%Templates% C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Templates
Table 7-1. Folder Macros (Continued)
Macro Name Typical Location
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8
Scriptsmodifythebehaviorofvirtualapplicationsdynamically.Youcancreatecustomcodebeforestartingan
applicationpackagedwithThinApporafteranapplicationexits.Youcanusescriptstoauthenticateusersand
loadconfigurationfilesfromaphysicaltovirtualenvironment.
Callbackfunctionsruncodeduringspecificevents.Ifapplicationscreatechildprocesses,usecallback
functionstoruncodeonlyinthemainparentprocess.
APIfunctionsrunThinAppfunctionsandinteractwiththeThinAppruntime.APIfunctionscanauthenticate
usersandpreventthestartofapplicationsforunauthorizedusers.
AddingscriptstoyourapplicationinvolvescreatinganANSItextfilewiththe.vbsfileextensionintheroot
applicationprojectdirectory.TherootprojectdirectoryisthesamedirectorythatcontainsthePackage.ini
file.Duringthebuildprocess,ThinAppaddsthescriptfilestotheexecutablefileandrunseachofthescript
filesatruntime.
ThinAppusesVBScripttorunscriptfiles.ForinformationaboutVBScript,seetheMicrosoftVBScript
documentation.YoucanuseVBScripttoaccessCOMcontrolsregisteredonthehostsystemorwithinthe
virtualpackage.
CallbackFunctionsonpage 73
ImplementScriptsinaThinAppEnvironmentonpage 74
APIFunctionsonpage 77
Callback Functions
Callbackfunctionscanrunundercertainconditions.For example,callbackfunctionsrunscriptcodeonly
whenanapplicationstartsorquits.
Callbackfunctionnamesincludethefollowingnames:
OnFirstSandboxOwnerCalledonlywhenanapplicationfirstlocksthesandbox.Thiscallbackisnot
calledifasecondcopyofthesameapplicationusesthesamesandboxwhilethefirstcopyruns.Ifthefirst
applicationspawnsasubprocessandquits,thesecondsubprocesslocksthesandboxandpreventsthis
callbackfromrunninguntilallsubprocessesquitandtheapplicationrunsagain.
OnFirstParentStartCalledbeforerunningaThinAppexecutablefileregardlessofwhetherthe
sandboxissimultaneouslyownedbyanothercapturedexecutablefile.
OnFirstParentExitCalledwhenthefirstparentprocessexits.Ifaparentprocessrunsachildprocess
andquits,thiscallbackiscalledevenifthechildprocesscontinuestorun.
OnLastProcessExitCalledwhenthelastprocessowningthesandboxexits.If aparentprocessrunsa
childprocessandquits,thiscallbackiscalledwhenthelastchildprocessexits.
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ThefollowingcallbackexampleshowstheOnFirstSandboxOwnerandOnFirstParentExitfunctions.
------------------------example.vbs ---------------------------------
Function OnFirstSandboxOwner
msgbox "The sandbox owner is: " + GetCurrentProcessName
End Function
Function OnFirstParentExit
msgbox "Quiting application: " + GetCurrentProcessName
End Function
msgbox "This code will execute for all parent and child processes"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Implement Scripts in a ThinApp Environment
Youmightimplementascriptinthefollowingcircumstances:
Timingoutanapplicationonaspecificdate.
Runninga.batfilefromanetworkshareinsidethevirtualenvironment.
Modifyingthevirtualregistry.
Importingthe.regfileatruntime.
Stoppingavirtualservicewhenthemainapplicationquits.
Copyinganexternalsystemconfigurationfileintothevirtualenvironmentonstartup.
Implement a script
1 Savethescriptcontentsinaplaintextfilewiththe.vbsextensioninthesamedirectoryasyour
Package.inifile.
Youcanuseanyfilename.ThinAppaddsall.vbsfilestothepackageatbuildtime.
2 Rebuildtheapplication.
.bat Example
Thefollowingscriptrunsanexternal.batfilefromanetworkshareinsidethevirtualenvironment.The .bat
filemakesmodificationstothevirtualenvironmentbycopyingfiles,deletingfiles,orapplyingregistry
changesusingregedit /s regfile.reg.Runthisscriptonlyforthefirstparentprocess.Ifyourunthisscript
forotherprocesses,eachcopyofthecmd.exeutilityrunsthescriptandaninfiniterecursiondevelops.
Function OnFirstParentStart
Set Shell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Shell.Run "\\jcdesk2\test\test.bat"
End Function
Timeout Example
Thefollowingscriptpreventstheuseofanapplicationafteraspecifieddate.TheVBSdateusesthe
#mm/dd/yyyy#format,regardlessoflocale.
Thischeckoccursuponstartupoftheparentprocessandanychildprocesses.
if Date >= #03/20/2007# then
msgbox "This application has expired, please contact Administrator"
ExitProcess 0
end if
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Chapter 8 Creating ThinApp Scripts
Modify the Virtual Registry
ThefollowingscriptproceduremodifiesthevirtualregistryatruntimetoloadanexternalODBCdriverfrom
thesamedirectorywherethepackageexecutablefileislocated.
Modify the registry
1 Obtainthepathtothepackageexecutablefiles.
Origin = GetEnvironmentVariable("TS_ORIGIN")
2 Findthelastslashinthepathandobtainthecharactersthatprecedetheslash.
LastSlash = InStrRev(Origin, "\")
SourcePath = Left(Origin, LastSlash)
3 FormanewpathtotheODBC DLLfilelocatedoutsideofthepackage.
DriverPath=SourcePath + "tsodbc32.dll"
4 Modifythevirtualregistrytopointittothislocation.
Set WSHShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
WSHShell.RegWrite "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBCINST.INI\Transoft ODBC Driver\Driver,"
DriverPath
ThismodificationcausestheapplicationtoloadtheDLLfromanexternallocation.
.reg Example
Thefollowingscriptimportstheregistryvaluesfromanexternal.regfileintothevirtualregistryatruntime.
ExecuteVirtualProcess "regedit /s C:\tmp\somereg.reg"
End Function
Stopping a Service Example
Thefollowingscriptstopsavirtualornativeservicewhenthemainapplicationquits.
Function OnFirstParentExit
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "net stop ""iPod Service"""
End Function
Copying a File Example
Thefollowingscriptsectionsshowshowtocopyaconfigurationfilelocatedinthesamedirectoryasthe
capturedexecutablefileintothevirtualfilesystemeachtimetheapplicationstarts.Thisscriptisusefulforan
externalconfigurationfilethatiseasytoeditafterdeployment.Becausethecopyoperationoccurseachtime
youruntheapplication,anychangestotheexternalversionarereflectedinthevirtualversion.
Forexample,ifyourcapturedexecutablefileisrunningfrom\\server\share\myapp.exe,thisscript
searchesforaconfigurationfilelocatedat\\server\share\config.iniandcopiesittothevirtualfile
systemlocationatC:\Program Files\my application\config.ini.
ByputtingthiscodeintheOnFirstParentStartfunction,itisonlycalledonceeachtimethescriptruns.
Otherwiseitrunsforeverychildprocess.
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ThinAppsetsupTS_ORIGINtoindicatethefullpathtoacapturedexecutablefilepackage.Avirtual
applicationsetstheTS_ORIGINvariabletothephysicalpathoftheprimarydatacontainer.Ifyouhaveavirtual
applicationconsistingofthemain.exeandshortcut.exefiles,bothfilesresideinC:\VirtApp.Whenyou
runthemain.exefile,TS_ORIGIN varissettoC:\VirtApp\main.exe.Whenyouruntheshortcut.exefile,
theTS_ORIGINenvironmentvariableissettoC:\VirtApp\main.exe.Theenvironmentvariableisalwaysset
totheprimarydatacontainer,evenwhenyoucreateashortcut.WhenyourunVBScriptsthatareincludedin
thepackage,thevariableisalreadysetandavailabletothescripts.
YoucanseparatethefilenamefromTS_ORIGINbyfindingthelastbackslashandremovingallofthecharacters
followingit.
Thesourcefiletocopyintothevirtualenvironmentisthepackagepathplusconfig.ini.
SourceFile = SourcePath + "Config.ini"
ThelocationtocopytomightbeadifferentlocationondifferentcomputersiftheProgram Filesdirectoryis
mappedtoalocationotherthanC:\.ThefollowingcallletsThinAppexpandamacrotoobtainthecorrect
locationforthelocalcomputer.
DestFile = ExpandPath("%ProgramFilesDir%\MyApplication\Config.ini")
UsethefilesystemObjectparametertocheckthesourcefileexists.
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.filesystemObject")
If objFSO.FileExists(SourceFile) Then
Ifthesourcefileexists,copyitintothevirtualfilesystem.The%ProgramFilesDir%\MyApplicationvirtual
directoryisinthepackage.
objFSO.CopyFile SourceFile, DestFile, TRUE
End if
End Function
Add a Value to the System Registry
Thisscriptprocedureaddsavaluetothephysicalsystemregistry.
Add a value to the system registry
1 Createa.regfileandruntheregedit /scommandasanexternalprocessthataccessesthesystem
registryinsteadofthevirtualregistry.
2 Createthe.regfileinalocationthathastheIsolationModeparametersettoMergedsothatthevirtual
environmentcanaccessitwiththisscriptandthephysicalenvironmentcanaccessitwiththeregedit
/scommand.
RegFileName = ExpandPath("%Personal%\thin.reg")
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.filesystemObject")
Set RegFile = fso.CreateTextFile(RegFileName, true)
The%Personal%directoryisadirectorythathasMergedisolationmodebydefault.
3 Constructthe.regfile.
RegFile.WriteLine("Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00")
RegFile.WriteBlankLines(1)
RegFile.WriteLine("[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Thinapp\demo]")
RegFile.WriteLine(chr(34) & "InventoryName" & chr(34) & "=" & chr(34) &
GetBuildOption("InventoryName") & chr(34))
RegFile.Close
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4 Addtheinformationinthesystemregistry.
RegEditPid = ExecuteExternalProcess("regedit /s " & chr(34) & RegFileName & chr(34))
WaitForProcess RegEditPid, 0
Waituntiltheprocessiscomplete.
5 Cleantheenvironment.
fso.DeleteFile(RegFileName)
End Function
API Functions
YoucanuseAPIfunctionsthatinstructThinApptocompleteoperationssuchasloadDLLsasvirtualDLLs,
convertpathsfrommacroformattosystemformat,andruncommandsinsideofthevirtualenvironment.
AddForcedVirtualLoadPath
TheAddForcedVirtualLoadPath(Path)functioninstructsThinApptoloadallDLLsfromthespecifiedpath
asvirtualDLLseveniftheyarenotlocatedinthepackage.
UsethisfunctioniftheapplicationneedstoloadexternalDLLsthatdependonDLLslocatedinsidethe
package.
YoucanusetheForcedVirtualLoadPathsparameterinthePackage.inifiletoachievethesameresultas
thisAPIfunction.FormoreinformationaboutForcedVirtualLoadPathsseeThinAppPackage.iniParamer
ReferenceGudie.
Parameters
Path
[in]ThefilenameorpathforDLLstoloadasvirtual.
Examples
YoucanloadanyDLLlocatedinthesamedirectoryastheexecutablefileasavirtualDLL.
TS_ORIGINisthepathfromwhichtheexecutablefileisrunning.
YoucandeletethefilenamefromTS_ORIGINbyfindingthelastbackslashandremovingallofthecharacters
thatfollowit.
YoucaninstructThinApptoloadallDLLsinthesameorlowerdirectoryfromwherethesourceexecutable
fileresides.
AddForcedVirtualLoadPath(SourcePath)
ThisprocessenablesyoutodropadditionalfilesintheSourcePathtreeandhavethemresolveimport
operationsagainstvirtualDLLs.
ExitProcess
TheExitProcessExitCodefunctionquitsthecurrentprocessandsetsthespecifiederrorcode.
Parameters
ExitCode
[in]Theerrorcodetoset.Thisinformationmightbeavailabletoaparentprocess.Avalueof0indicatesno
error.
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78 VMware, Inc.
Examples
Youcanexittheprocessandindicatesuccess.
ExitProcess 0
Whentheprocessexits,thescriptingsystemreceivesitsOnLastProcessExistfunctioncallback.Anyloaded
DLLsrunterminationcodetocleanuptheenvironment.
ExpandPath
TheExpandPath(InputPath)functionconvertsapathfrommacroformattosystemformat.
Parameters
InputPath
[in]Apathinmacroformat.
Returns
Theexpandedmacropathinsystemformat.
Examples
Path=ExpandPath("%ProgramFilesDir%\Myapp.exe")
Path=C:\Program Files\myapp.exe
Allmacropathsmustescapethe%and#charactersbyreplacingthesecharacterswith#25and#23.
Path=ExpandPath("%ProgramFilesDir%\FilenameWithPercent#25.exe")
ThisexpandstoC:\Program Files\FileNameWithPercent%.exe.
ExecuteExternalProcess
TheExecuteExternalProcess(CommandLine)functionrunsacommandoutsideofthevirtual
environment.Youcanusethisfunctiontomakephysicalsystemchanges.
Parameters
CommandLine
[in]Representationoftheapplicationandcommandlineparameterstorunoutsideofthevirtual
environment.
Returns
IntegerprocessID.YoucanusetheprocessIDwiththeWaitForProcessfunction.Formoreinformation
aboutWaitForProcessseeThinAppPackage.iniParamerReferenceGudie.
Examples
ExecuteExternalProcess("C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c copy C:\systemfile.txt
C:\newsystemfile.txt")
Youcanrunacommandthatrequiresquotationmarksinthecommandline.
ExecuteExternalProcess("regsvr32 /s " & chr(34) & "C:\Program Files\my.ocx" & chr(34))
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ExecuteVirtualProcess
TheExecuteVirtualProcess(CommandLine)functionrunsacommandinsideofthevirtualenvironment.
Youcanusethisfunctiontomakechangestothevirtualenvironment.
Parameters
CommandLine
[in]Representationoftheapplicationandcommandlineparameterstorunoutsideofthevirtual
environment.
Returns
IntegerprocessID.YoucanusetheprocessIDwiththeWaitForProcessfunction.Formoreinformation
aboutWaitForProcessseeThinAppPackage.iniParamerReferenceGudie.
Examples
ExecuteVirtualProcess("C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c copy C:\systemfile.txt C:\virtualfile.txt")
Youcanrunacommandthatrequiresquotationmarksinthecommandline.
ExecuteVirtualProcess("regsvr32 /s " & chr(34) & "C:\Program Files\my.ocx" & chr(34))
GetBuildOption
TheGetBuildOption(OptionName)functionreturnsthevalueofasettingspecifiedinthe[BuildOptions]
sectionofthePackage.inifileusedforcapturingapplications.
Parameters
OptionName
[in]Nameofthesetting.
Returns
Thisfunctionreturnsastringvalue.Iftherequestedoptionnamedoesnotexist,thefunctionreturnsanempty
string().
Examples
Package.ini contains:
[BuildOptions]
CapturedUsingVersion=4.0.1-2866
ThefollowinglineappearsinaVBSfile:
Value = GetBuildOption("CapturedUsingVersion")
GetFileVersionValue
TheGetFileVersionValue(Filename, Value)functionreturnsversioninformationvaluefromfilessuch
asaspecificDLL,OCX,orexecutablefile.Youcanusethisfunctiontodeterminetheinternalversionnumber
ofaDLLorretrieveDLLinformationaboutthecopyrightowneroraproductname.
Parameters
Filename
[in]Thenameofthefilenamewhoseversioninformationisbeingretrieved.
Value
[in]Thenameofthevaluetoretrievefromtheversioninformationsectionofthespecifiedfile.
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80 VMware, Inc.
YoucanretrievethefollowingvaluesfrommostDLLs:
Comments
InternalName
ProductName
CompanyName
LegalCopyright
ProductVersion
FileDescription
LegalTrademarks
PrivateBuild
FileVersion
OriginalFilename
SpecialBuild
Returns
Thisfunctionreturnsastringvalue.Iftherequestedfilenamedoesnotexist,orthefunctioncannotlocatethe
specifiedvalueinthefile,thefunctionreturnsanemptystring().
Examples
FileVersion = GetFileVersionValue("C:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll," "FileVersion")
if FileVersion = "1.0.0.0" then
MsgBox "This is Version 1.0!"
End if
GetCommandLine
TheGetCommandLinefunctionaccessesthecommandlineparameterspassedtotherunningprogram.
Returns
Thisfunctionreturnsastringthatrepresentsthecommandlineargumentspassedtothecurrentrunning
program,includingtheoriginalexecutablefile.
Examples
MsgBox "The command line for this EXE was " + GetCommandLine
GetCurrentProcessName
TheGetCurrentProcessNamefunctionaccessesthefullvirtualpathnameofthecurrentprocess.
Returns
Thisfunctionreturnsastringthatrepresentsthefullexecutablepathnameinsideofthevirtualenvironment.
Inmostcircumstances,thispathisC:\Program Files\...,evenifthepackagesourcerunsfromanetwork
share.
Examples
MsgBox "Running EXE path is " + GetCurrentProcessName
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GetOSVersion
TheGetOSVersion()functionreturnsinformationaboutthecurrentversionofWindows.
Parameters
Thisfunctionhasnoparameters.
Returns
ThisfunctionreturnsastringintheMAJOR.MINOR.BUILD_NUMBER.PLATFORM_ID OS_STRINGformat.
MAJORisonethefollowingvalues:
MINORisoneofthefollowingvalues:
BUILD_NUMBERisthebuildnumberoftheoperatingsystem.
PLATFORM_IDassignsoneofthefollowingvalues:
Value = 1forWindowsMe,Windows98,orWindows95(Windows95basedOS)
Value = 2forWindowsServer2003,WindowsXP,Windows2000,orWindowsNT.(WindowsNT
based OS)
OS_STRINGrepresentsinformationabouttheoperatingsystemsuchasService Pack 2.
Examples
if GetOSVersion() = "5.1.0.2 Service Pack 2"
then MsgBox "You are running on Windows XP Service Pack 2!"
endif
WindowsVista 6
WindowsServer2008 6
WindowsServer2003 5
WindowsXP 5
Windows2000 5
WindowsNT4.0 4
WindowsVista 0
WindowsServer2008 0
WindowsServer2003 2
WindowsXP 1
Windows2000 0
WindowsNT4.0 0
WindowsNT3.51 51
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82 VMware, Inc.
GetEnvironmentVariable
TheGetEnvironmentVariable(Name)functionreturnstheenvironmentvariableassociatedwiththeName
variable.
Parameters
Name
[in]Thenameoftheenvironmentvariableforwhichthevalueisretrieved.
Returns
ThisfunctionreturnsthestringvalueassociatedwiththeNameenvironmentvariable.
Examples
MsgBbox "The package source EXE is " + GetEnvironmentVariable("TS_ORIGIN")
RemoveSandboxOnExit
TheRemoveSandboxOnExit(YesNo)functionsettogglesthatdeterminewhethertodeletethesandboxwhen
thelastchildprocessexits.
IfyousettheRemoveSandboxOnExitparameterto1inthePackage.inifile,thedefaultcleanupbehaviorfor
thepackagewithisYes.YoucanchangethecleanupbehaviortoNobycallingRemoveSandboxOnExitwith
thevalueof0.IfyoudonotmodifytheRemoveSandboxOnExit=1entryinthePackage.inifile,thedefault
cleanupbehaviorforthepackageisNo.YoucanchangethecleanupbehaviortoYesbycalling
RemoveSandboxOnExitwiththevalueof1.
Parameters
Yes No
[in]Doyouwanttocleanupwhenthelastprocessshutsdown?1=Yes,0=No
Examples
Thefollowingexampleturnsoncleanup.
Thefollowingexampleturnsoffcleanup.
SetEnvironmentVariable
TheSetEnvironmentVariable(Name, Value)functionsetthevalueofanenvironmentvariable.
Parameters
Name
[in]Thenameoftheenvironmentvariabletostorethevalue.
Value
[in]Thevaluetostore.
Examples
SetEnvironmentVariable "PATH", "C:\Windows\system32"
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SetfileSystemIsolation
TheSetfile systemIsolation(Directory, IsolationMode)functionsetstheisolationmodeofa
directory.
Parameters
Directory
[in]Fullpathofthedirectorywhoseisolationmodeistobeset.
IsolationMode
[in]Isolationmodetoset.
1=WriteCopy
2=Merged
3=Full
Examples
YoucansettheMergedisolationmodeforthetempdirectory.
Setfile systemIsolation GetEnvironmentVariable("TEMP"), 2
SetRegistryIsolation
TheSetRegistryIsolation(RegistryKey, IsolationMode)functionsetstheisolationmodeofaregistry
key.
Parameters
RegistryKey
[in]Theregistrykeyonwhichtosettheisolationmode.StartwithHKLMforHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,HKCUfor
HKEY_CURRENT_USER,andHKCRforHKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
IsolationMode
[in]Isolationmodetoset.
1=WriteCopy
2=Merged
3=Full
Examples
YoucansettheFullisolationmodeforHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Thinapp\Test.
SetRegistryIsolation "HKCU\Software\Thinapp\Test," 3
WaitForProcess
TheWaitForProcess(ProcessID, TimeOutInMilliSeconds)functionwaitsuntiltheprocessIDis
finishedrunning.
Parameters
ProcessID
[in]TheprocessIDtoend.TheprocessIDcancomefromExecuteExternalProcessor
ExecuteVirtualProcess.
TimeOutInMilliSeconds
[in]Themaximumamountoftimetowaitfortheprocesstofinishrunningbeforecontinuing.Avalueof0
specifiesINFINITE.
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84 VMware, Inc.
Returns
Thisfunctionreturnsaninteger.
0=Timeoutfails
1=Processexits
2=Processdoesnotexistorsecurityisdenied
Examples
id = ExecuteExternalProcess("C:WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe")
WaitForProcess(id, 0)
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9
YoucanuseLogMonitortogeneratetracefilesandtroubleshoottheThinAppenvironment.LogMonitoris
compatibleonlywithanapplicationcapturedusingthesameversionofThinApp.
ProvidingInformationtoTechnicalSupportonpage 85
LogMonitorOperationsonpage 85
TroubleshootingSpecificApplicationsonpage 92
Providing Information to Technical Support
VMwaretechnicalsupportrequiresthefollowinginformationfromyoutotroubleshootaThinApp
environment:
Stepbystepreproductionoftheprocedurethatyouperformedwhenyouencounteredtheproblem.
Informationonthehostconfiguration.SpecifytheWindowsoperatingsystem,theuseofTerminalServer
orCitrixXenapp,andanyprerequisiteprogramsthatyouinstalledonthenativemachine.
CopiesoftheLogMonitortracefiles.SeeLogMonitorOperationsonpage 85.
Exactcopyofthecapturefolderandallcontent.Donotincludethecompiledexecutablefilesfromthe
/binsubfolder.
Descriptionoftheexpectedandaccuratebehavioroftheapplication.
(Optional)Copiesoftheapplicationsthatyoucaptured.Includetheservercomponentsconfigurationfor
OracleServerorActiveDirectory.
(Optional)Nativeorphysicalfilesorregistrykeysettingsthatmightberelevanttotheproblem.
(Optional)Systemservicesorrequireddevicedrivers.
(Optional)Virtualmachinethatreproducesthedefect.VMwaresupportmightrequestthisifthesupport
contactisunabletoreproducetheproblem.
(Optional)OneormoreWebExsessionstofacilitatedebugginginyourenvironment.
Log Monitor Operations
LogMonitorcapturesdetailedchronologicalactivityforexecutablefilesthatthecapturedapplicationstarts.
LogMonitorinterceptsandlogsnames,addresses,parameters,andreturnvaluesforeachfunctioncallby
targetexecutablefilesorDLLs.LogMonitorcapturesthefollowingactivity:
Win32APIcallsfromapplicationsrunningintheThinAppvirtualoperatingsystem.
Potentialerrors,exceptions,andsecurityeventswithintheapplication.
AllDLLsloadedbytheapplicationandaddressranges.
Monitoring and Troubleshooting
ThinApp 9
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86 VMware, Inc.
Thegeneratedlogfilescanbelargeandover100MBdependingonhowlongtheapplicationrunswithLog
Monitorandhowbusyanapplicationis.TheonlyreasontorunLogMonitorforanapplicationistocapture
tracefiles.Tracefilesarecriticalfortroubleshootingproblemsbyanalyzingandcorrelatingmultipleentries
withinthetracefile.
Troubleshoot Activity with Log Monitor
YoucanuseLogMonitortoperformbasictroubleshooting.
Generate ThinApp logs
1 Shutdownthecapturedapplicationtoinvestigate.
2 Onthecomputerwhereyoucapturedtheapplication,selectStart>AllPrograms>VMware>ThinApp
LogMonitor.
TostartLogMonitoronadeploymentmachine,copythelog_monitor.exe,logging.dll,
logging64.dll, Capture.ini, LogFilter.ini andSetup Capture.exefilesfromC:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApptothedeploymentmachineanddoubleclickthelog_monitor.exe
file.
3 Startthecapturedapplication.
Astheapplicationstarts,anewentryappearsintheLogMonitorstacefilelist.LogMonitorshowsone
entryforeachnewtracefile.Eachfilecorrespondswithasingleprocess.
4 Endtheapplicationassoonasitencountersanerror.
5 Generatelogsforeachtracefileyouwanttoinvestigate.
a Selectthe.tracefileinthelist.
b ClickGeneratetexttracereport.
Childprocessesthattheparentprocessgeneratesresideinthesamelog.Multipleindependentprocesses
donotresideinthesamelog.
ThinAppgeneratesa.tracefile.LogMonitorconvertsthebinary.tracefileintoa.txtfile.
6 (Optional)Openthe.txtfilewithatexteditorandscantheinformation.Insomecircumstances,the.txt
fileistoolargetoopenwiththetexteditor.
7 Zipthe.txtfilesandsendthefilestoVMwaresupport.
Perform Advanced Log Monitor Operations
AdvancedoperationsinLogMonitorincludestoppingapplicationsordeletingtracefiles.Ifanapplicationis
busyorexperiencingslowperformancewithaspecificaction,youcanperformsuspendandresume
operationstocapturelogsforaspecificduration.Theresultinglogfileissmallerthanthetypicallogfileand
easiertoanalyze.Pleasealsokeepinmindevenwhenyouusethesuspendandresumeoperations,thecause
ofanerrormightoccuroutsideofyourdurationwindow.Suspendandresumeoperationsareglobaland
affectallapplications.
Formoreinformationaboutusingtheseoptions,contactVMwaresupport.
Perform advanced Log Monitor operations
1 Shutdownthecapturedapplicationtoinvestigate.
2 Onthecomputerwhereyoucapturedtheapplication,selectStart>AllPrograms>VMware>ThinApp
LogMonitor.
TostartLogMonitoronadeploymentmachine,copythelog_monitor.exe,logging.dll,
logging64.dll, Capture.ini, LogFilter.ini andSetup Capture.exefilesfromC:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware ThinApptothedeploymentmachineanddoubleclickthelog_monitor.exe
file.
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Chapter 9 Monitoring and Troubleshooting ThinApp
3 (Optional)Capturelogsforaspecificdurationtotroubleshootanexactissue.
a SelecttheSuspendcheckbox.
b Startthecapturedapplicationandletitruntothepointwheretheerroroccursortheperformance
problemstarts.
c InLogMonitor,deselecttheSuspendcheckboxtoresumetheloggingprocess.
Youcanchecktheapplicationbehaviortoisolatetheissue.
d SelecttheSuspendcheckboxagaintostoptheloggingprocess.
4 (Optional)SelectafileinthetracefilelisttodeleteandclickDeleteFile.
5 (Optional)ClickKillApptostoparunningprocess.
6 (Optional)ClicktheCompresscheckboxtodecreasethesizeofatracefile.
Thisoperationslowstheperformanceoftheapplication.
7 (Optional)Generateatracefilereport.
a Selectatracefileinthefilelist,typeatracefilenameorusethedefaultname,orclickBrowsetoselect
atracefileonyoursystem.
b (Optional)Typeorchangethenameoftheoutputreport.
c (Optional)CleartheFullreportcheckboxtogetareportcontainingonlyvirtualizedfunctioncalls.
d ClickGeneratetexttracereporttocreateareport.
YoucanviewthefilewithatexteditorthatsupportsUNIXstylelinebreaks.
Locating Errors
ThinApploggingprovidesalargeamountofinformation.Thefollowingtipsmighthelpadvancedusers
investigateerrors:
ReviewthePotential Errors Detectedsectionofthe.txttracefile.
Entriesmightnotindicateerrors.ThinApplistseachWin32APIcallwheretheWindowserrorcode
changed.
Reviewexceptionsthattheapplicationsgenerate.
Exceptionscanindicateerrors.ExceptiontypesincludeC++and.NET.Thetracefilerecordstheexception
typeandDLLthatgeneratestheexception.Iftheapplication,suchasa.NETorJavaapplication,creates
anexceptionfromselfgeneratingcode,thetracefileindicatesanunknownmodule.
Thefollowingexampleisa.traceentryforanexception.
*** Exception CXX_EXCEPTION(e06d7363) flags=1 num_args=4
caller_addr=unknown_module:0x000007F8162389CC
Ifyoufindanexception,scantheearlierpartofthetracefileforthesourceoftheexception.Ignorethe
floatingpointexceptionsthatVirtualBasic6applicationsgenerateduringtypicaluse.
Reviewchildprocesses.
LogMonitorproducesone.tracefileforeachprocess.Ifanapplicationstartsseveralchildprocesses,
determinewhichprocessiscausingtheproblem.Sometimes,suchasincircumstancesinvolving
outofprocessCOM,aparentapplicationusesCOMtostartachildprocess,runsafunctionremotely,and
continuestorunfunctions.Youcanusetherecordedtimestamptocorrelatelogentriesacrossmultiple
processes.
Whenyourunapplicationsfromanetworksharethatgeneratestwoprocesses,ignorethefirstprocess.
ThinAppaddressestheslowperformanceofSymantecantivirusapplicationsbyrestartingprocesses.
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88 VMware, Inc.
Searchfortheerrormessagedisplayedindialogboxes.
SomeapplicationscalltheMessageBoxWin32APIfunctiontodisplayunexpectederrorsatruntime.You
cansearchatracefileforMessageBoxorthecontentsofthestringdisplayedintheerroranddetermine
whattheapplicationwasrunningjustbeforethedialogboxappeared.
NarrowthefocusoncallsoriginatingfromaspecificDLLandthread.
ThelogformatspecifiestheDLLandthreadthatmakesacall.Youcanoftenignorethecallsfromsystem
DLLs.
Log Format
Atracefileincludesthefollowingsections:
Systemconfiguration
Thissectionincludesinformationabouttheoperatingsystem,drives,installedsoftware,environment
variables,processlist,services,anddrivers.
TheinformationstartswithaDump started onstringandendswithaDump ended onstring.
Header
ThissectionshowscontextualinformationfortheinstanceoftheprocessthatLogMonitortracks.Some
ofthedisplayedattributesshowloggingoptions,addressrangeswhentheoperatingsystemruntimeis
loaded,andmacromappingtoactualsystempaths.
ThinAppmarksthebeginningoftheheadersectionwithsequencenumber000001.Intypical
circumstances,ThinAppmarkstheendofthissectionwithamessageabouttheApplicationSyncutility.
Body
Thissectionincludestraceactivityastheapplicationstartsandperformsoperations.Eachlinerepresents
functioncallsthattargetexecutablefilesoroneoftheDLLsmake.
ThesectiontypicallystartswithaNew Modules detected in memoryentry,followedbythe
SYSTEM_LOADEDmoduleslist.ThesectionendswithaModules Loadedentry.
Summary
Thissectionincludesmodulesthatthecapturedapplicationloads,potentialerrors,andaprofileofthe
150slowestcalls,andaprofileofWin32APIs.
ThesectionstartswiththeModules Loadedmessage.
General API Log Message Format
ThefollowingmessageshowsaformatexampleforAPIcalls.
044803 00250128735714 0d40 0ccc mydll.dll:74b0f2fc->kernel32.dll:766533d3 GetProcAddress+
(HMODULE hModule=75e80000h, struct {LPCSTR lpProcName=*74C27BC8h->"ImmGetContext")
044808 00250128916396 0d40 0ccc mydll.dll:74b0f2fc<-kernel32.dll:766533d3 GetProcAddress+ -
>*=*7FE521F2h (HMODULE hModule=75e80000h, struct {LPCSTR lpProcName=*74C27BC8h->"ImmGetContext")
Thisexampleincludesthefollowingentries:
044803indicatesthelogentrynumber.Eachlogentryhasauniquenumber.
00250128735714indicatesatimestampwhenthelogentryiscaptured.
0d40indicatesthecurrentprocessID.
0cccindicatesthecurrentrunningthreadID.Iftheapplicationhasonethread,thisnumberdoesnot
change.Iftwoormorethreadsrecorddatatothelogfile,youmightusethethreadIDtofollow
threadspecificsequentialactionsbecauseThinApprecordslogentriesintheorderinwhichtheyoccur.
mydll.dllindicatestheDLLthatmakestheAPIcall.
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74b0f2fcindicatesthereturnaddressfortheAPIcallthatmydll.dllmakes.Intypicalcircumstances,the
returnaddressistheaddressinthecodewherethecalloriginates.
-> indicatestheprocessofenteringthecall.Forthecallentrylogelement,ThinAppdisplaystheinput
parameters.Theseparametersareinandin/outparameters.
<-indicatestheprocessofthecallreturningtotheoriginalcaller.Forcallexitlogentries,ThinApp
displaystheoutputparameters.Theseparametersareoutandin/outparameters.
kernel32.dllindicatestheDLLwheretheAPIcalllands.
766533d3indicatestheaddressoftheAPIinsidekernel32wherethecalllands.Ifyoudisassemble
kernel32.dllatthe766533d3address,youfindthecodefortheGetProcAddressfunction.
>*=*7FE521F2hindicatestheAPIreturnsanaddressat7FE521F2.
Application Startup Information
Thefollowingentriesshowbasicinformationabouttheapplication,suchasthemodulenameand
process ID (PID),andaboutLogMonitor,suchastheversionandoptions.
000012 00180923241442 0000 1334 Logging started for ThinApp C:\Notepad++(5.0)\bin\Notepad++.exe
Using archive = C:\Notepad++(5.0)\bin\Notepad++.exe
PID = 0xc78 [3192], 32-bit process
CommandLine = "Notepad++.exe"
000016 00180923650589 0000 1334 System Current Directory = C:\Notepad++(5.0)\bin
Virtual Current Directory =
000018 00180923671507 0000 1334 |start_env_var| =C:=C:\Notepad++(5.0)\bin
0000019 00180923672549 0000 1334 |start_env_var| =H:=H:\
000020 00180923673142 0000 1334 |start_env_var| ALLUSERSPROFILE=C:\ProgramData
...
...
...
List of DLLs Loaded into Memory During Runtime
TheModules loadedsectionislocatedneartheendofthelogfileanddescribestheDLLsthatareloadedinto
memoryatruntimeandtheDLLaddresses.TheinformationshowswhetherWindowsorThinApploadsthe
DLLs.
SYSTEM_LOADEDindicatesthatWindowsloadstheDLL.Thefilemustexistonthedisk.
NTSECTION_MAPindicatesthatThinApploadstheDLL.ThinAppmightloadthefilefromthevirtual
filesystem.
6f6000006f62afffindicatestheaddressrangeinvirtualmemorywheretheDLLresides.
--- Modules loaded ---
NTSECTION_MAP 00400000-005c0fff, C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
NTSECTION_MAP 01ea0000-01fa2fff, C:\Program Files\Notepad++\SciLexer.dll
SYSTEM_LOADED 6f600000-6f62afff, C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\ieproxy.dll
SYSTEM_LOADED 71ae0000-71b0dfff, C:\Windows\system32\SHDOCVW.dll
8255572220 total cycles (2955.56 ms): |sprof| thinapp_LoadLibrary2
765380728 cycles (274.01 ms) on log entry 21753
.
.
... 438 total calls
7847975891 total cycles (2809.64 ms): |sprof| ts_load_internal_module
.
.
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90 VMware, Inc.
... 94 total calls
4451728477 total cycles (1593.76 ms): |sprof| ts_lookup_imports
.
.
... 34 total calls
1099873523 total cycles (393.76 ms): |sprof| new_thread_start
Potential Errors
ThePotential Errors Detectedsectionmarkslogentriesthatmightpostproblemswiththreeasterisks
(***).Forinformationaboutinterpretingthissection,seeLocatingErrorsonpage 87.
----Potential Errors Detected ---
006425 00249708402579 00000d40 00001334 LoadLibraryExW 'C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader
8.0\Reader\Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls.DLL' flags=2 -> 0 (failed ***)
006427 00250258056144 00000d40 00001334 LoadLibraryExW 'C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader
8.0\Reader\Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls\Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls.DLL' flags=2
-> 0 (failed ***)
006428 00250258537959 00000d40 00001334 nview.dll :1005b94b<-kernel32.dll:7c80ae4b ***
LoadLibraryW
->HMODULE=7c800000h () *** GetLastError() returns 2 [0]: The system cannot find the file
specified.
019127 00250294059361 00000d40 00001334 MSVCR80.dll :781348cc<-msvcrt.dll :77c10396 ***
GetEnvironmentVariableA
->DWORD=0h (OUT LPSTR lpBuffer=*0h <bad ptr>) *** GetLastError() returns 203 [0]: The system
could not find the environment option that was entered.
019133 00250307158486 00000d40 00001334 MSVCR80.dll :78133003<-nview.dll :1000058c ***
GetProcAddress
->FARPROC=*0h () *** GetLastError() returns 127 [203]: The specified procedure could not be
found.
Troubleshooting Example for cmd.exe Utility
Inthetroubleshootingexample,ThinApppackagesthecmd.exeutilitywithloggingturnedon.Theexample
showshowyoucansimulateapplicationfailurebyrunninganinvalidcommand.Ifyourequestthecmd.exe
utilitytorunthefoobarcommand,theutilitygeneratesthefoobar is not recognized as an internal
or external commandmessage.YoucanscanthetracefileandcheckthePotential Errors Detected
sectiontofindtheAPIfunctionsthatmodifiedtheGetLastErrorcode.
TheexampleshowstheC:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.*,C:\WINDOWS\system32\foobar.*,and
C:\WINDOWS\foobarpathsasthelocationswherethecmd.exeutilitylooksforthefoobarcommand.
Thelogentriesshowthe%drive_C%\test\cmd_test\bin,%SystemSystem%\foobar,and
%SystemRoot%\foobarpathsasthelocationsinthevirtualfilesystemthatThinAppprobes.
----Potential Errors Detected ---
0001550 00185994582578 00000c78 00001334 *** FindFirstFileW C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.* ->
INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
[system probe C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.* -> ffffffffh][no virtual or system matches]
*** FindFirstFileW ->HANDLE=ffffffffh .. *** GetLastError() returns 2 [203]: The system cannot
find the file specified.
*** FindFirstFileW C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar -> INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
[FS missing in view 0][fs entry not found %drive_C%\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar]
[fs entry not found %drive_C%\test\cmd_test\bin]
*** FindFirstFileW C:\WINDOWS\system32\foobar.* -> INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
[system probe C:\WINDOWS\system32\foobar.* -> ffffffffh][no virtual or system matches]
*** FindFirstFileW C:\WINDOWS\system32\foobar -> INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
[FS missing in view 0][fs entry not found %SystemSystem%\foobar]
*** FindFirstFileW C:\WINDOWS\foobar.* -> INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
[system probe C:\WINDOWS\foobar.* -> ffffffffh][no virtual or system matches]
*** FindFirstFileW C:\WINDOWS\foobar -> INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
VMware, Inc. 91
[FS missing in view 0][fs entry not found %SystemRoot%\foobar]
Perform Advanced Examination for cmd.exe Log Entries
AmorethoroughexaminationofanentryfromthePotential Errorssectionofatracefilemightinvolve
searchingthefullbodyoftheLogMonitortracefileforthatspecificentryandreviewingthesystemcallsand
conditionsleadingtothepotentialerror.
Forexample,thefollowingentryforthecmd.exeutilityinthePotential Errorssectionmightrequirea
morethoroughexaminationthroughouttheLogMonitortracefile.
001550 00185994582578 00000c78 00001334 *** FindFirstFileW C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.*' ->
INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed
Perform an advanced examination of the cmd.exe entry
1 Todeterminewhythecmd.exeutilityprobesc:\test\cmd_test\bin,scanthelogforthislogentry
numberanddeterminewhatoccursbeforethiscall.
2 Todeterminethelocationswherethecmd.exeutilityobtainsthec:\test\cmd_test path,scanthelog
forGetCurrentDirectoryWandGetFullPathNameWentries.
000861 00184029262193 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01580->USERENV.dll :769c0396
GetCurrentDirectoryW (IN DWORD
nBufferLength=104h)
000862 00184037503381 00000c78 00001334 GetCurrentDirectoryW -> 0x14 (C:\test\cmd_test\bin)
000863 00184355766742 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01580<-USERENV.dll :769c0396
GetCurrentDirectoryW ->DWORD=14h
(OUT LPWSTR lpBuffer=*4AD34400h->L"C:\test\cmd_test\bin")
000864 00184362179933 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad05b74->ole32.dll :774e03f0 Getfile type
(IN HANDLE hFile=7h)
000865 00185208991133 00000c78 00001334 Getfile type 7 -> 0x2
000866 00185212957170 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad05b74<-ole32.dll :774e03f0 Getfile type
->DWORD=2h ()
.
.
001533 00185221099590 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01b0d<-kernel32.dll:7c80ac0f SetErrorMode
->UINT=0h ()
0001534 00185221215368 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01b13->kernel32.dll:7c80ac0f
SetErrorMode (IN UINT uMode=1h)
001535 00185221343489 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01b13<-kernel32.dll:7c80ac0f SetErrorMode
->UINT=0h ()
001536 00185727216844 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01b24->IMM32.DLL :7639039b
GetFullPathNameW (IN LPCWSTR
lpFileName=*1638C0h->L."," IN DWORD nBufferLength=208h)
001537 00185731151471 00000c78 00001334 GetFullPathNameW . -> 20 (buf=C:\test\cmd_test\bin,
001538 00185734164499 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01b24<-IMM32.DLL :7639039b
GetFullPathNameW ->DWORD=14h
(OUT LPWSTR lpBuffer=*163D60h->L"C:\test\cmd_test\bin," OUT *lpFilePart=*13D8D4h
->*163D82h->L"bin")
.
.
001549 00185993599811 00000c78 00001334 cmd.exe :4ad01b5f->USERENV.dll :769c03fa
FindFirstFileW (IN LPCWSTR
lpFileName=*1638C0h->L"C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.*")
001550 00185994582578 00000c78 00001334 FindFirstFileW C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.* ->
INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE *** failed [system probe C:\test\cmd_test\bin\foobar.*
-> ffffffffh][no virtual or system matches]
Thecmd.exeutilityobtainsthefirstlocationbycallingGetCurrentDirectoryWandthesecondlocation
bycallingGetFullPathNameWwith.asthepathspecifies.Thesecallsreturnthepathforthecurrent
workingdirectory.Thelogfileshowsthatthecmd.exeutilitycreatestheC:\test\cmd_test\bin>
prompt.TheutilityqueriesthePROMPTenvironmentvariablethatreturns$P$Gandusesthe
WriteConsoleWAPIfunctiontoprinttheprompttothescreenafterinternallyexpanding$P$Gto
C:\test\cmd_test\bin>.
ThinApp Users Guide
92 VMware, Inc.
Troubleshooting Specific Applications
TroubleshootingtipsareavailableforcapturingMicrosoftOutlook,Explorer.exe,andJavaRuntime
Environment.
Troubleshoot Registry Setup for Microsoft Outlook
MicrosoftOutlookstoresaccountsettingsinregistrykeysandfiles.WhenyoustartMicrosoftOutlookforthe
firsttime,itchecksthatthekeysexist.IfMicrosoftOutlookcannotfindthekeys,itpromptsyoutocreatean
account.
ThisprocessworksproperlyinthevirtualenvironmentwhenMicrosoftOutlookisnotinstalledonthe
physicalsystem.IftheuseralreadyhasMicrosoftOutlookinstalledonthephysicalsystem,thecaptured
versionfindstheregistrykeysinthesystemregistryandusesthosesettings.YoumustuseFullisolationmode
fortheregistrykeysandfileswhereMicrosoftOutlookstoresitssettings.
Set up Full isolation mode for Microsoft Outlook registry keys
1 AddthefollowingentriestotheHKEY_CURRENT_USER.txtfile:
isolation_full HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities
isolation_full HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles
2 Createa##Attributes.inifilewiththefollowingentries:
[Isolation]
DirectoryIsolationMode=Full
3 Placethe##Attributes.inifileineachofthefollowingsubdirectories.
%AppData%\Microsoft\AddIns
%AppData%\Microsoft\Office
%AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook
%Local AppData%\Microsoft\FORMS
%Local AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook
4 (Optional)Ifthesubdirectoriesdonotexist,createthedirectories.
Viewing Attachments in Microsoft Outlook
MicrosoftOutlookcreatesadefaultdirectorytostoreattachmentswhenyouopenanattachmentforviewing.
ThetypicallocationisC:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary
Internet Files\OLK<xxxx>.Thelastxxxxisreplacedbyarandomentry.
YoucanviewattachmentswhentheviewingapplicationrunsinthesamevirtualsandboxasMicrosoft
Outlook.ExternalapplicationsmightnotbeabletofindthefiletodisplaybecauseMicrosoftOutlookstores
thefileinthesandbox.YoumustusetheMergedisolationmodeforthedirectorythatstorestheattachments.
Set up Merged isolation mode to view Microsoft Outlook attachments
1 AddavaluetotheHKEY_CURRENT_USER.txtfilethatsetsthenameoftheattachmentdirectory:
isolation_full
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security
Value=OutlookSecureTempFolder
REG_SZ~%Profile%\Local Settings\OutlookTempxxxx#2300
Inthisexample,11.0inthekeynameisforMicrosoftOutlook2003.
2 Replacethelastfourxxxxcharacterswithrandomalphanumericentriestoincreasesecurity.
3 CreateadirectorythatisnamedintheOutlookSecureTempFolderregistrykeyinyourThinAppproject.
Forexample,createthe%Profile%\Local Settings\OutlookTempxxxxdirectory.
4 Inthe%Profile%\Local Settings\OutlookTempxxxxdirectory,createa##Attributes.inifilewith
thefollowingentries:
VMware, Inc. 93
[Isolation]
DirectoryIsolationMode=Merged
Starting Explorer.exe in the Virtual Environment
Runningoneinstanceoftheexplorer.exeutilityonaWindowsoperatingsystemmakesitdifficulttoadd
anentrypointtoWindowsExplorerandstartitinsidethevirtualenvironment.
YoucanusethefollowingmethodstoopenaWindowsExplorerwindowinsidethevirtualenvironment:
AddanentrypointtoiExplorerandstartitwiththe-Eparameter.
Forexample,addthefollowingentriestothePackage.inifile:
[iexplore.exe]
Shortcut=xxxx.exe
Source=%ProgramFilesDir%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
CommandLine=%ProgramFilesDir%\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe -E
Addthefollowingvirtualregistrykey:
isolation_full HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Value=DesktopProcess
REG_DWORD=#01#00#00#00
AddthefollowingentriestothePackage.inifile:
[explorer.exe]
Shortcut=xxxxxx.exe
Source=%SystemROOT%\explorer.exe
Usethismethodtobrowsethevirtualfilesystemwithafamiliarinterfaceandenableaccuratefiletype
associationswithoutsystemchanges,especiallywhenusingportableapplications.Youcanaccess
shellintegratedcomponentswithoutsystemchanges.
Troubleshooting Java Runtime Environment Version Conflict
AconflictmightoccurifoneversionofJavaisinstalledonthephysicalsystemandanotherversionisincluded
inacapturedexecutablefile.UpdatedversionsofJavainstallapluginDLLthatInternetExplorerloads.This
pluginDLLoverwritesvirtualregistrykeysandconflictswithavirtualizedcopyofolderJavaruntimes.
Prevent Internet Explorer from loading plug-in DLLs
AddthefollowingentrytothebeginningoftheHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.txtfile.
isolation_full HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser
Helper Objects
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94 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 95
A ApplicationLink
Autilitythatlinksdependentapplicationstoabaseapplicationatruntimeandstartsalltheapplications
togetherwhenyoustartthebaseapplication.Youcanusetheutilitytodeployandupdatecomponent
packagesseparatelyratherthancaptureallcomponentsinthesamepackage.
ApplicationSync
Autilitythatupdatesanapplicationbydetectinganewpackagedversiononaserverornetworkshare.
Youcanconfigureupdatesettings,suchasthecheckingofanupdateserveratcertainintervals.ThinApp
detectsthemostrecentapplicationexecutablefileanddownloadsthedifferences.
attributes.ini
Thefilethatappliesconfigurationsettingsatthedirectorylevelofthepackageratherthantheentire
package.The##Attributes.inisettingsoverridetheoverallPackage.inisettings.
B build
ToconvertaThinAppprojectintoapackage.YoucanbuildapackagewiththeSetupCapturewizardor
withthebuild.batutility.
C capture
Topackageanapplicationintoavirtualenvironmentandsetinitialapplicationparameters.ThinApp
providestheSetupCapturewizardorthesnapshot.exeutilitytocreateaportableapplicationpackage
thatisindependentoftheoperatingsystemitrunson.
cleanmachine
Thecomputerorvirtualmachine,installedwithonlythebasicWindowsoperatingsystem,onwhichyou
capturetheapplication.TheWindowsoperatingsystemversionmustbetheearliestversionofWindows
thatyouexpecttheapplicationtorunon.
E entrypoint
Anexecutablefilethatstartsthecapturedapplication.Anapplicationmighthavemultipleentrypoints.
Forexample,theFirefox.exefilemightserveasanentrypointforaMozillaFirefoxapplication.The
primarydatacontainerfilecanexistwithinanentrypointorasa.datfile.
I inventoryname
AnamethatThinAppusesforinternaltrackingoftheapplication.Theinventorynamesetsthedefault
projectdirectorynameandappearsintheAddorRemoveProgramsdialogboxforWindows.
isolationmode
Apackagesettingthatdeterminesthereadandwriteaccesstothephysicalenvironment.ThinApphas
WriteCopy,Merged,andFullisolationmodes.
Glossary
ThinApp Users Guide
96 VMware, Inc.
L logging.dll
Autilitythatgenerates.tracefiles.
LogMonitor
Autilitythatcaptureschronologicalactivityforexecutablefilesthatthecapturedapplicationstarts.The
log_monitor.exefileiscompatibleonlywithapplicationscapturedusingthesameversionofThinApp.
M MSI
AWindowsInstallercontainerthatisusefulforapplicationdeploymenttools.Youcandeliverthe
capturedapplicationasanMSIfileinsteadofanexecutablefile.
N native
Referstothephysicalenvironmentratherthanthevirtualenvironment.Seealsophysical.
networkstreaming
Theprocessofrunningapackagefromacentralserver.ThinAppdownloadsblocksoftheapplicationas
neededtoensurequickprocessinganddisplay.
P package
ThevirtualapplicationfilesthattheThinAppbuildprocessgenerates.Thepackageincludestheprimary
datacontainerfileandentrypointfilestoaccesstheapplication.
package.ini
Thefilethatappliesconfigurationsettingstothepackageandthatresidesinthecapturedapplication
folder.TheSetupCapturewizardsetstheinitialvaluesoftheconfigurationsettings.
physical
ReferstothecomputermemoryandfilesysteminwhichallstandardWindowsprocessesrun.Depending
onThinAppisolationmodesettings,processesinthevirtualenvironmentcanaccessthephysical
environment.Seealsonative,virtual.
postscan
Toestablishanimageorsnapshotofamachineafteryouinstalltheapplicationyouwanttocapture.The
captureprocessstoresinavirtualfilesystemandvirtualregistrythedifferencesbetweentheprescanand
postscanimages.Seealsoprescan,snapshot.
prescan
Toestablishabaselineimageorsnapshotofamachinebeforeyouinstalltheapplicationyouwantto
capture.Thecaptureprocessstoresinavirtualfilesystemandvirtualregistrythedifferencesbetweenthe
prescanandpostscanimages.Seealsopostscan,snapshot.
primarydatacontainer
Themainvirtualapplicationfile.Thefileisa.exefileora.datfilethatincludestheThinAppruntime
andthereadonlyvirtualfilesystemandvirtualregistry.Theprimarydatacontainermustresideinthe
same/bindirectorywithanysubordinateapplicationexecutablefilesbecauseentrypointsusethe
informationintheprimarydatacontainer.
project
Thedatathatthecaptureprocesscreatesbeforeyoubuildapackage.Thecaptureprocessusesthe
inventorynameasthedefaultprojectdirectoryname.Youcancustomizeparametersintheprojectfiles
beforeyoubuildanapplicationpackage.Youcannotdeployacapturedapplicationuntilyoubuilda
packagefromtheproject.
VMware, Inc. 97
Glossary
S sandbox
Thephysicalsystemfolderthatstoresruntimeuserchangestothevirtualapplication.Whenyoustartthe
application,ThinAppincorporateschangesfromthesandbox.Whenyoudeletethesandbox,ThinApp
revertstheapplicationtoitscapturedstate.Thedefaultlocationofthesandboxis
%APPDATA%\Thinstall\<application_name>.
sbmerge.exe
Autilitythatmakesincrementalupdatestoapplications,suchastheincorporationofapluginora
changeinabrowserhomepage.Thesbmerge.exeutilitymergesruntimechangesrecordedinthe
sandboxbackintoaThinAppproject.
snapshot
ArecordingofthestateoftheWindowsfilesystemandregistryduringtheapplicationcaptureprocess.
TheSetupCaptureprocessusesthesnapshot.exeutilitytotakeasnapshotbeforeandafterthe
applicationisinstalledandstoresthedifferencesinavirtualfilesystemandvirtualregistry.Seealso
postscan,prescan.
snapshot.exe
Autilitythatcreatesthesnapshotsofacomputerfilesystemandregistryandfacilitatestheprescanand
postscanoperationsduringthecaptureprocess.OnlyadvanceduserswhobuildThinAppfunctionality
intootherplatformsmightmakedirectuseofthisutility.Seealsopostscan,prescan,snapshot.
snapshot.ini
AconfigurationfilethatspecifiesthedirectoriesandsubkeystoexcludefromaThinAppprojectwhen
youcaptureanapplication.Youcancustomizethisfileforapplications.
T template.msi
AtemplateforMSIfilesthatyoucancustomizetoadheretocompanydeploymentproceduresand
standards.Forexample,youcanaddregistrysettingsforThinApptoaddtoclientcomputersaspartof
theinstallation.
thinreg.exe
Autilitythatestablishesfiletypeassociations,setsupStartmenuanddesktopshortcuts,andfacilitates
theopeningoffiles.Youmustrunthethinreg.exeutilitytoregisterexecutablefiles.MSIfilesautomate
thethinreg.exeregistrationprocess.
tlink.exe
Autilitythatlinkskeymodulesduringthebuildprocess.
V vftool.exe
Autilitythatcompilesthevirtualfilesystemduringthebuildprocess.
virtual
Referstothelogicalfileandmemorywithinwhichacapturedapplicationruns.Processesinaphysical
environmentcannotaccessthevirtualenvironment.Seealsophysical.
virtualapplication
Anapplicationthatyoucapturetomakeitportableandindependentoftheoperatingsystemitrunson.
virtualfilesystem
Thefilesystemasthecapturedapplicationseesit.
virtualregistry
Theregistryasthecapturedapplicationseesit.
vregtool.exe
Autilitythatcompilesthevirtualregistryduringthebuildprocess.
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98 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 99
Index
Symbols
##Attributes.ini
comparing to Package.ini 22
editing 22
A
Active Directory
authorizing group access 16
controlling access to applications 39
using Package.ini parameters 39
API parameters
AddForcedVirtualLoadPath 75
ExecuteExternalProcess 76
ExecuteVirtualProcess 77
ExitProcess 75
ExpandPath 76
GetBuildOption 77
GetCommandLine 78
GetCurrentProcessName 78
GetEnvironmentVariable 80
GetFileVersionValue 77
GetOSVersion 79
SetEnvironmentVariable 80
SetfileSystemIsolation 81
SetRegistryIsolation 81
WaitForProcess 81
Application Link
defining 47, 50
defining access with the PermittedGroups
parameter 53
effect on isolation modes 53
file and registry collisions 54
linking packages to base applications and using
Application Sync 54
sample workflow 51
setting up nested links 52
storing multiple versions of linked
applications 54
view of 51
Application Sync
clashing with automatic update capabilities 47
defining 47
editing parameters 48
effect on entry point executable files 49
effect on thinreg.exe 34
fixing incorrect updates 48
forcing updates with appsync.exe
commands 55
maintaining the primary data container
name 49
updating base applications with linked
packages 54
updating thinreg.exe registrations 49
applications
capturing 13
controlling access for Active Directory
groups 39
data statistics 18
difference between Application Sync and
Application Link 47
not supported by ThinApp 10
sandbox considerations during upgrade
processes 58
streaming requirements and
recommendations 42
updating 47
C
capturing applications
IE6 on Windows XP 22
phases of 13
requirements and dependencies 13
using ThinApp Converter 24
with the Setup Capture wizard 1421
with the snapshot.exe utility 65
cmd.exe, defining 15
compression
for executable files 20
for trace files 85
computers
defining a clean system 10
using virtual machines for clean systems 11
cut and paste operations, ThinApp limitations 43
D
data container, See primary data container
DCOM services, access for captured
applications 10
deploying
applications on network share 34
applications with deployment tools 33
executable files 34
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100 VMware, Inc.
MSI files 33
deployment tools, using MSI files 33
device drivers, incompatible with ThinApp 10
DLLs
loading into memory 87
recording by Log Monitor 83
drivers, support for 43
E
entry points
defining 15
for troubleshooting 15
in Setup Capture wizard 15
updating with Application Sync 49
G
global hook DLLs, reduced function with ThinApp 10
I
IE6 on Windows XP
capturing 22
requirements 22
iexplore.exe, defining 15
installing ThinApp 11
inventory name, purpose of 19
isolation modes
defining 16
Merged 16
sample configuration 45
using Application Link 53
WriteCopy 17
L
log format 86
Log Monitor
extra options 84
suspending and resuming logging 84
troubleshooting procedures 84
using 83
M
Merged isolation mode 16
Microsoft Vista, deploying MSI files 39
MSI files
automating the thinreg.exe utility 19
building the database 37
customizing parameters 37
deploying on Microsoft Vista 39
generating 19, 20
modifying the Package.ini 37
overriding the installation directory 38
N
nested links, using Application Link 52
network, streaming packages 41
O
operating systems
support for 9
using the lowest version for ThinApp
installation 11
P
Package.ini
Active Directory parameters 39
common parameters 21
editing Application Sync parameters 48
modifying MSI parameters 37
MSI parameters 37
packages
building 21
configuring 20, 21
defining 19
parameters
applying settings at folder level instead of
package level 22
for MSI files 37
for sbmerge.exe 56
for thinreg.exe 35
PermittedGroups, effect on Application Link 53
primary data container
defining 19
maintaining the name with Application Sync 49
size implications 19
project files 20
projects, opening during capture process 20
R
regedit.exe, defining 15
relink
defining 58
examples 58
S
sandbox
considerations for upgraded applications 58
defining 18
location 18, 61
search order 59
structure 62
sbmerge.exe
commands 56
defining 54
merging runtime changes 55
scripts
VMware, Inc. 101
Index
.bat example 72
.reg example 73
callback functions 71
file copy example 73
reasons for 72
service example 73
system registry example 74
timeout example 72
virtual registry example 73
services
automatic startup 40
starting and stopping in packages 40
Setup Capture wizard
authorizing user groups 16
browsing projects 21
building packages 21
compressing packages 19
entry points 15
installing applications 14
inventory name 19
package settings 20
postscan operation 14
prescan operation 14
project location 19
setting isolation modes 18
shell integration, reduced functions with ThinApp 10
snapshot.exe
creating snapshots from the command line 63
sample commands 65
sample procedure 65
snapshot.ini, defining 63, 66
support
for applications 9
for operating systems 9
T
technical support
required information for troubleshooting 83
ThinApp
applications that are not supported 10
browsing project files 20
deployment options 33
directory files 11
folder macros 67
in a VMware View environment 33
installing 11
recommendation for clean computers 10
requirements for installing and capturing
applications 9
streaming packages from the network 41
supported operating systems and
applications 9
updating applications 47
updating runtime in packages 58
using thinreg.exe 34
ThinApp Converter
capturing multiple applications 24
configuration file 25
detecting application installation processes 29
process overview 24
system requirements 25
ThinAppConverter.ini
configuring AppSettings 30
configuring HostEnvironment 25
configuring Settings 28
configuring VirtualMachineN 27
predefined environment variables 31
ThinDirect
extracting and registering 24
thinreg.exe
defining 34
parameters 35
running 35
starting with MSI files 19
updating registrations with Application Sync 49
with Application Sync 34
troubleshooting
Explorer.exe 91
J ava Runtime Environment 91
Microsoft Outlook 90
providing required information to support 83
with Log Monitor 84
U
upgrading applications, methods and
considerations 4758
V
virtual file system
format stages 67
representing path locations with macros 67
using 67
VMware View, using captured applications 33
vregtool, listing virtual registry contents 62
W
WriteCopy isolation mode 17
ThinApp Users Guide
102 VMware, Inc.

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