thinapp50 manual

8/11/2019 Thinapp50 Manual

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ThinApp Users GuideThinApp 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 thisdocument, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-000400-03
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3401 Hillview Ave.Palo Alto, CA 94304www.vmware.com

2 VMware, Inc.

ThinApp Users Guide

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:

[email protected]

Copyright 2010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright andintellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at

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Contents

About

This

Book 7

1 InstallingThinApp 9ThinAppRequirements 9

OperatingSystems,Applications,andSystemsThatThinAppSupports 9

ApplicationsThatThinAppCannotVirtualize 10

RecommendationsforInstallingThinApp 10

UsingaCleanComputer 10

UsingtheEarliestOperatingSystemRequiredforUsers 11

InstallThinAppSoftware 11

CheckingThinAppInstallationFiles 11

2 CapturingApplications 13PhasesoftheCaptureProcess 13

PreparingtoCaptureApplications 13

CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizard 14

CreateaSystemImageBeforetheApplicationInstallation 14

RescantheSystemwiththeInstalledApplication 14

DefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtualEnvironment 15

SetEntryPoints 15

ManagewithVMwareHorizonApplicationManager 15

SetUserGroups 16

DefiningIsolationModesforthePhysicalFileSystem 16

SetFileSystemIsolationModes 18

StoringApplicationChangesintheSandbox 18CustomizetheSandboxLocation 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 23CaptureInternetExplorer6onWindowsXPbyUsingtheSetupCaptureWizard 23

ExtractingandRegisteringThinDirect 24

CapturingMultipleApplicationInstallerswithThinAppConverter 24

ThinAppConverterProcess 24

SystemRequirementsforRunningThinAppConverter 25

PreparingtheConfigurationFileforThinAppConverter 25

PredefinedEnvironmentVariables 31

3 DeployingApplications 33ThinAppDeploymentOptions 33

DeployingThinAppwithDeploymentTools 33


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DeployingThinAppintheVMwareViewEnvironment 33

DeployingThinApponNetworkShares 34

DeployingThinAppUsingExecutableFiles 34

EstablishingFileTypeAssociationswiththethinreg.exeUtility 34

ApplicationSyncEffectonthethinreg.exeUtility 34

Runthethinreg.exeUtility 35

Optionalthinreg.exeParameters 35

Building

an

MSI

Database 37CustomizingMSIFileswithPackage.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 47ApplicationUpdatesThattheEndUserTriggers 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 59SearchOrderfortheSandbox 59

ControllingtheSandboxLocation 61

StoretheSandboxontheNetwork 61

StoretheSandboxonaPortableDevice 61

SandboxStructure 62

MakingChangestotheSandbox 62
http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


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Contents

ListingVirtualRegistryContentswithvregtool 62

6 CreatingThinAppSnapshotsandProjectsfromtheCommandLine 63MethodsofUsingthesnapshot.exeUtility 63

CreatingSnapshotsofMachineStates 63

CreatingtheTemplatePackage.inifilefromTwoSnapshotFiles 64

CreatingtheThinAppProjectfromtheTemplatePackage.iniFile 64

Displayingthe

Contents

of

aSnapshot

File 65

Samplesnapshot.exeCommands 65

CreateaProjectWithouttheSetupCaptureWizard 65

Customizingthesnapshot.iniFile 66

7 ThinAppFileSystemFormatsandMacros 67VirtualFileSystemFormats 67

ThinAppFolderMacros 67

ListofThinAppMacros 68

Processing%SystemRoot%inaTerminalServicesEnvironment 69

8 CreatingThinAppScripts 71CallbackFunctions 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 81WaitForProcess 81

9 MonitoringandTroubleshootingThinApp 83ProvidingInformationtoTechnicalSupport 83

LogMonitorOperations 83

TroubleshootActivitywithLogMonitor 84

PerformAdvancedLogMonitorOperations 84

LogFormat 86

TroubleshootingSpecificApplications 90

TroubleshootRegistrySetupforMicrosoftOutlook 90

ViewingAttachmentsinMicrosoftOutlook 90


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StartingExplorer.exeintheVirtualEnvironment 91

TroubleshootingJavaRuntimeEnvironmentVersionConflict 91

Glossary 93

Index 97


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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,[email protected].

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.

Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthefastestresponseonpriority1issues.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.

Support Offerings

TofindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds,goto

http://www.vmware.com/support/services.

About This Book
mailto:[email protected]://www.vmware.com/support/pubshttp://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/support/serviceshttp://www.vmware.com/support/serviceshttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubsmailto:[email protected]


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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.
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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


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Appl ications That ThinApp Cannot Virtual ize

ThinAppcannotconvertsomeapplicationsintovirtualapplicationsandmightblockcertainapplicationfunctions.

Youmustusetraditionalinstallationtechnologiestodeploysomeapplicationtypes.

Applicationsthatdonotnativelysupportthedeploymentoperatingsystem.

Ifanoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportthenativeinstallationofanapplication,thatoperatingsystemis

not

a

supported

ThinApp

deployment

platform

for

that

application. Applicationsrequiringinstallationofkernelmodedevicedrivers

ODBCdriversworkbecausetheyareusermodedrivers.

Antivirusandpersonalfirewalls

Scannerdriversandprinterdrivers

SomeVPNclients

Device Drivers

ApplicationsthatrequiredevicedriversdonotworkwhenpackagedwithThinApp.Youmustinstallthose

devicedriversintheiroriginalformatonthehostcomputer.BecauseThinAppdoesnotsupportvirtualized

devicedrivers,youcannotuseThinApptovirtualizeantivirus,VPNclients,personalfirewalls,anddiskandvolumemountingrelatedutilities.

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 L ink 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.


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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 DownloadThinApp

to

aclean

physical

or

virtual

Windows

machine.

2 DoubleclicktheThinAppexecutablefile.

3 InthePatentListsdialogbox,clickNext.

4 Acceptthelicense,typetheserialnumber,andtypealicensedisplaynamethatappearswhenyouopen

applicationsthatThinAppcaptures.

5 ClickInstall.

ThinAppisinstalled.

Checking ThinApp Installation Files

TheThinApp

installation

generates

the

VMware

ThinApp

directory

in

C:\Program Files\VMware.

You

might

checkthefilesinthisdirectorytoperformoperationssuchasstartingtheLogMonitorutilitytoviewrecent

activity.

ThefollowingkeyfilesintheVMwareThinAppdirectoryaffectThinAppoperations:

AppSync.exeKeepscapturedapplicationsuptodatewiththelatestavailableversion.

logging.dllGenerates.tracefiles.

Logging64.dllGenerates.tracefilesfor64bitapplications.

dll_dump.exeListsallcapturedapplicationsthatarecurrentlyrunningonasystem.

log_monitor.exeDisplaystheexecutionhistoryanderrorsofanapplication.


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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.


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2

Youcancaptureapplicationstopackageanapplicationintoavirtualenvironment.

TheSetupCapturewizardisthemainmethodtocaptureapplicationsandsetinitialapplicationparameters.

Advanceduserswhomustcaptureapplicationsfromthecommandlinecanusethesnapshot.exeutility

insteadoftheSetupCapturewizard.

Thissection

includes

the

following

topics:

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


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Chapter 2 Capturing Applications

5 Closetheapplication.

6 MaximizetheSetupCapturewizard,clickPostscantoproceedwithanotherscanofthecomputer,and

clickOKtoconfirmthepostscanoperation.

ThinAppstoresthedifferencesbetweenthefirstbaselineimageandthisimageinavirtualfilesystemand

virtualregistry.

Defining Entry Points as Shortcuts in to the Virtual EnvironmentEntrypointsaretheexecutablefilesthatactasshortcutsintothevirtualenvironmentandstartthevirtual

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 Appl ication Manager

YoucanuseVMwareHorizonApplicationManagertomanagethedeploymentandentitlementofThinApp

packages.SeeUsingVMwareHorizonApplicationManagertoManagetheDeploymentandEntitlementofThinApp

Packages,availablefromtheThinAppdownloadsite.

Set User Groups

ThinAppcanuseActiveDirectorygroupstoauthorizeaccesstothevirtualapplication.Youcanrestrictaccess

toanapplicationtoensurethatusersdonotpassittounauthorizedusers.


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ActiveDirectoryDomainServicesdefinesecuritygroupsanddistributiongroups.ThinAppcanonlysupport

nestedsecuritygroups.

Set user groups in the Setup Capture wizard

1 OntheGroupspage,limittheuseraccesstotheapplication.

a SelectOnlythefollowingActiveDirectorygroups.

b ClickAdd

to

specify

Active

Directory

object

and

location

information.

2 (Optional)ChangethemessagethatappearsforusersthatThinAppcannotauthorize.

Defining Isolation Modes for the Physical File System

Isolationmodesdeterminethelevelofreadandwriteaccesstothenativefilesystemoutsideofthevirtual

environment.Youmightadjustisolationmodesettingsdependingontheapplicationandtherequirementsto

protectthephysicalsystemfromchanges.

TheselectionofisolationmodesinthecaptureprocessdeterminesthevalueoftheDirectoryIsolationMode

parameterinthePackage.inifile.Thisparametercontrolsthedefaultisolationmodeforthefilescreatedby

thevirtualapplicationexceptwhenyouspecifyadifferentisolationmodeinthe##Attributes.inifilefor

anindividualdirectory.

Theselectionofadirectoryisolationmodedoesnotaffectthefollowingareas:

ThinApp

treats

write

operations

to

network

drives

according

to

the

SandboxNetworkDrives

parameter

inthePackage.inifile.Thisparameterhasadefaultvaluethatdirectswriteoperationstothephysical

drive.ThinApptreatswriteoperationstoremovabledisksaccordingtotheSandboxRemovableDisk

parameterinthePackage.inifile.Thisparameterhasadefaultvaluethatdirectswriteoperationstothe

physicaldrive.

IfyousavedocumentstothedesktoporMy Documentsfolder,ThinAppsavesthedocumentstothe

physicalsystem.ThinAppsetstheisolationmodeinthe##Attributes.inifilesin%Personal%and

%Desktop%toMergedevenwhenyouselectWriteCopyisolationmode.

Applying Merged Iso lat ion Mode for Modi fications 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.


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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 Iso lat ion Mode to Prevent Modi fi cations Outs ide 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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Storing Application Changes in the Sandbox

Thesandboxisthedirectorywhereallchangesthatthecapturedapplicationmakesarestored.Thesandbox

isruntimemodificationstorageandisnotacache.Thenexttimeyouopentheapplication,thosechangesare

incorporatedfromthesandbox.

Whenyoudeletethesandboxdirectory,theapplicationrevertstoitscapturedstate.Youmightdeletea

sandboxwhenanapplicationhasaproblemandyouwanttoreverttheapplicationbacktotheworking

originalstate.

Customize the Sandbox Location

Youcandeploythesandboxtoalocalusermachine,carryitonamobileUSBdevice,orstoreitinanetworklocation.

Ifyoudeploythesandboxtoalocalmachine,usetheusersprofileasthesandboxlocation.Thedefault

locationofthesandboxforFirefoxmightbe%AppData%\Thinstall\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.Thetypical

%AppData%locationisC:\Documents and Settings\\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,clicktheYes SendanonymoususagestatisticstoVMwareoptionbuttonto

confirmthedatacollectionstatus.

Customize ThinApp Project Settings

Aprojectisthedatathatthecaptureprocesscreates.Youcannotrunordeploythecapturedapplicationuntil

youbuildapackagefromtheprojectfiles.

Settinguptheprojectinvolvesdeterminingtheinventorynameandtheprojectlocation.Theinventoryname

facilitatesinternaltrackingoftheapplicationanddeterminesthedefaultprojectdirectoryname.

Option Description

Fullwriteaccesstononsystemdirectories(Mergedisolationmode)

Allowstheapplicationtoreadresourcesonandwritetothelocalmachine.

Restrictedwriteaccess(WriteCopyisolationmode)

Allowstheapplicationtoreadresourcesonthelocalmachineandtorestrictmostmodificationstothesandbox.

ThinAppcopiesfilesystemchangestothesandboxtoensurethatThinApponlymodifiescopiesoffilesinsteadoftheactualphysicalfiles.


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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

readonly

virtual

file

system

and

virtual

registry.

The

primary

data

container

file

is

a.exe

or

a.dat

file

that

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.


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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 vi rtual 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.


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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.

PermittedGroupsRestricts

use

of

an

application

package

to

aspecific

set

of

Active

Directory

users.

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 fil e

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\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\build.bat.


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Modifying Settings in the ##Attributes.ini File

The##Attributes.inifileexistsinthefoldermacrosoftheprojectfolderandappliesconfigurationsettings

atthedirectorylevel.ThePackage.inifileappliessettingsattheoverallapplicationlevel.Youcanusethe

DirectoryIsolationMode,CompressionType,andExcludePatternparametersinan##Attributes.ini

filetooverridethePackage.inisettingsatthedirectorylevel.

Forexample,youcansettheisolationmodeatthedirectoryorapplicationleveltodeterminewhichfilesand

registry

keys

are

visible

and

written

by

the

virtual

application

you

create.

The

detailed

setting

in

the

##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 fil e

1 Inthe##Attributes.inifile,uncomment,update,ordeletetheparameter.

2 Doubleclickthebuild.batfileinthecapturedapplicationfoldertorebuildtheapplicationpackage.

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.


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RunsetupcaptureonamachinerunningWindowsXPwithServicePack3,andwiththe.NETframework

installed.

Capture Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP

1 CreateasystemimageusingthePrescanprocessoftheSetupCapturewizard.

2 IntheInstallApplicationdialogbox,clickInternetExplorer.

3 SelectInclude

entry

point

for

a

fullyvirtualized

Internet

Explorer

6

in

the

virtual

packageand

click

OK.

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.


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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

machineson

which

the

conversion

is

to

occur.

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


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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]


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VirtualMachineHost=10.13.11.23

Thefollowingexampleshowsalocalmachinespecifiedaslocalhost.

[HostEnvironment]

VirtualMachineHost=localhost

HostLoginUserName

Theloginusernameforthehostmachine.

UsethesameloginusernameforconnectingtotheserverasyouuseforloggingintotheVMwarevSphere

Client.Youmusthavesufficientprivilegestoturnonandoffvirtualmachines,takevirtualmachinesnapshots,

andsoon.

YoucanuseUPNformatwhenyouspecifyausernameforvCenter.Forexample,[email protected].

HostLoginUserNameisignoredwhenloggingintoVMwareWorkstation.

HostLoginPasswordorHostLoginPasswordBase64

Theloginpasswordforthehostmachine.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyouspecifypasswords:

Youcanentercleartext.

Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordfortheHostLoginPasswordBase64parameter.Specifying

anencodedpassworddoesnotincreasesecurity.YouneedtoprotecttheactualINIfile.

Allpasswordsarehandledinthesameway.

HostLoginPasswordPrompt

Specifiesthattheuserbepromptedtoenterapassword.

IfyoudonotwanttostorethevSphereServerpasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.

Whensettotrue,apromptalwaysappears,evenifaHostLoginPasswordisspecifiedintheconfigurationfile.

Example

Thefollowingexampleshowsatypicalhostenvironmentspecification.Thevirtualmachinenameisspecified

astheESXserverhostname.Apasswordhasbeenspecified,howevertheuserwillstillbepromptedtoenter

aspassword,

as

specified

in

HostLoginPasswordPrompt.

[HostEnvironment]

VirtualMachineHost=MyEsx.vmware.com

HostLoginUserName=root

HostLoginPassword=secret

HostLoginPasswordPrompt=true

VirtualMachineN

TheVirtualMachineNsectionoftheconfigurationfilecontainsalistoftheWindowsbasedvirtualmachines

thatwillbeutilizedintheconversionprocess.

CreateaVirtualMachineXsectionforeachvirtualmachinethatyouwanttoinclude,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.


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3 Usethisstringasthevirtualmachineconfigurationfilepath.

ForWorkstation,specifytheentirefilepathonthehostonwhichtheVMXconfigurationfileresides.For

example,C:\MyVMs\Windows XP\WindowsXP.vmx.Donotplacethepathinquotationmarks,evenifthepath

containsaspace.

UserName

Avalidusernameforthevirtualmachineguestoperatingsystem.Theusermusthaveadministrator

privilegesfor

the

virtual

machine

guest

operating

system.

YoucanuseUPNformatwhenyouspecifyausername.Forexample,[email protected].

PasswordorPasswordBase64

Avalidpasswordforthevirtualmachineguestoperatingsystem.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyou

specifypasswords:


Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordforthePasswordBase64parameter.

Specifyinganencodedpassworddoesnotincreasesecuritystrength.YouneedtoprotecttheactualINI

file.

Allpasswordsarehandledinthesameway.

IfthePasswordsettingisnotused,thepasswordfortheguestisassumedtobeblank.MostWindowsvirtual

machinesdonotsupportautomationwithemptypasswords,soyoushouldspecifyaguestpassword.

PasswordPrompt


Ifyoudonotwanttostorethevirtualmachinepasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.

Whensettotrue,apromptalwaysappears,evenifapasswordisspecifiedintheconfigurationfile.

Examples

FollowingisanexampleforanESXserverbasedenvironment.Apasswordhasbeenspecifiedand,as

PasswordPromptis

set

to

false,

the

user

will

not

be

prompted

to

enter

apassword.

[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=secretPasswordPrompt=true

[VirtualMachine2]

VmxPath=C:\MyVMs\Windows 7\Windows 7.vmx

[email protected]

Password=

PasswordPrompt=true

NOTE Donotplacethepathinquotationmarks,evenifthepathcontainsaspace.


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Settings

TheSettingssectionoftheconfigurationfilecontainstheparametersfortheapplicationinstallationdirectory

andThinAppprojectoutputdirectory,intheformofUNC.Italsocontainsseveralparameterscontrollingthe

conversionprocessbehavior.

ThinAppConverteronlyrequiresreadonlypermissionsforthenetworksharethatcontainstheapplication

installers.Itrequiresread/writepermissionsforthenetworksharethatcontainstheThinAppprojects.

Ifinput

and

output

directories

are

on

the

same

file

server,

you

must

use

the

same

user

account

to

connect

them.

InputUncPath

SpecifythenetworkshareUNCpathfortheapplicationinstallers.Forexample:\\fileserver\sharename,

or\\fileserver\sharename\dirname.

InputMountUserName

Specifytheusernameusedforconnectingtothatnetworkshare.UPNformatcanbeusedwhenyouspecify

adomainuser,[email protected]

InputMountPasswordorInputMountPasswordBase64

Specifythepasswordforconnectingtothenetworkshare.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyouspecify

passwords:


Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordforthePasswordBase64 parameter.

InputMountPasswordPrompt


Ifyoudonotwanttostorethenetworksharepasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.


OutputUncPath

SpecifythenetworkshareUNCpathtothelocationofthegeneratedThinAppprojects.

Forexample:\\fileserver\sharename,or\\fileserver\sharename\dirname

OutputMountUserName

SpecifytheusernameusedforconnectingtotheOutputUncPath networkshare.UPNformatcanbeusedto

specifyadomainuser,forexample,[email protected].

OutputMountPasswordorOutputMountPasswordBase64

Specifythepasswordforconnectingtothenetworkshare.Youhavethefollowingoptionswhenyouspecify

passwords:


Youcanspecifyabase64encodedpasswordforthePasswordBase64parameter.

OutputMountPasswordPrompt


Ifyoudonotwanttostorethenetworksharepasswordintheconfigurationfile,specifythevalueastrue.


Example

Followingisanexampleofnetworksharespecifications.Theuserfortheapplicationinstallationdirectoryhas

onlyreadpermissions.Forboththeinputandoutputnetworkshares,apromptwilldisplay,requiringauser

toenterapassword.

[Settings]


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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 App lication 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

Specifythe

file

path

to

the

global

Package.ini

override

file.

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

Specifyacomma orsemicolonseparatedlistofapplicationdirectoriesthatThinAppwillskipwhensearching

forapplicationinstallers.

Thelistiscaseinsensitive.

YoucanspecifywildcardsforDOSstylefilenames.Forexample,Microsoft*. ?and*aresupported.


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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.


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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


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3

Deployingcapturedapplicationsinvolvesworkingwithdeploymenttools,thethinreg.exeutility,MSIfiles,

andActiveDirectory.

Thisinformationincludesthefollowingtopics:

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 wi th Deployment Tools

Mediumandlargeenterprisesoftenusemajordeploymenttools,suchasSymantec,BMC,andSMStools.

ThinAppworkswithallmajordeploymenttools.

Whenyouuseanyofthesetools,youcancreateMSIfilesforthecapturedapplicationsandfollowthesame

processyouusetodeploynativeMSIfiles.Seedeploymentinstructionsfromthetoolvendors.Forinformation

aboutMSIfiles,seeBuildinganMSIDatabaseonpage 37.

Deploying ThinApp in the VMware View EnvironmentYoucanuseVMwareViewtodistributeThinApppackages.

Theworkflowfordeployingpackagesmightinvolvethefollowingtasks:

Creatingexecutablefilesforthecapturedapplications.

Storingtheexecutablefilesonanetworkshare.

Deploying Applications 3


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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 FilesYoucanuseabasicdeploymentoptionwithexecutablefileswhendiskuseislimited.

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.

Appl ication Sync Ef fect on the th inreg.exe Ut il ity

TheApplicationSyncutilityaffectsthethinreg.exeutilityduringtheupdateprocess.

Ifyouadd,modify,orremoveexecutablefiles,thethinreg.exeutilityreregistersthefiletypeassociations,

shortcuts,andicons.

Ifyouinstallprotocols,MIMEtypes,controlpanelapplets,andtemplatesotherthanexecutablefiles,the

thinreg.exeutilityreregisterstheseelements.


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Chapter 3 Deploying Applications

Run the thinreg.exe Utility

Thisexampleofrunningthethinreg.exeutilityprovidessomesamplecommands.

Thepackagenameinthethinreg.execommandscanappearinthefollowingways:

C:\

Relativepathto.exefile

\\\\

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 [] [][][]

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.exe

utility

monitors

the

PermittedGroups

setting

in

the

Package.ini

file,

registering

and

un

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.


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Table 3-1. Optional thinreg.exe Parameters

Parameter Purpose Sample Usage

/a,/allusers Registersapackageforallusers.

Ifanunauthorizeduserattemptstoruntheapplication,amessageinformstheuserthatheorshecannotruntheapplication.

thinreg.exe /a

"\\\\Microsoft Office

2007 Word.exe"

/q,/quiet Preventsthedisplayofanerrormessageforanunrecognizedcommandlineparameter.

thinreg.exe /q

/u,/unregister,/uninstall

Unregistersapackage.

ThiscommandremovesthesoftwarefromtheAdd/RemoveProgramscontrolpanelapplet.

UnregisterMicrosoftWordforthecurrentuser.

thinreg.exe /u


2007 Word.exe"

UnregisterallMicrosoftOfficeapplicationsforthecurrentuserandremovetheAdd/RemoveProgramsentry.

thinreg.exe /u

"\\server\share\Microsoft Office *.exe"

Ifauserregistersthepackagewiththe/a

parameter,you

must

use

the

/a

parameter

when

unregisteringthepackage.

thinreg.exe /u /a *.exe

/r,/reregister Reregistersapackage.

Undertypicalcircumstances,thethinreg.exeutilitycandetectwhetherapackageisalreadyregisteredandskipsit.The/roptionforcesthethinreg.exeutilitytoreregisterthepackage.

thinreg.exe /r


2007 Word.exe"

Ifauserregistersthepackagewiththe/aparameter,youmustusethe/awhenreregisteringthepackage.

thinreg.exe /r /a *.exe

/k,/keepunauthorized,/keep

Preventstheremovalofregistrationinformationevenifyouarenolongerauthorizedtoaccessanapplication

package.Withoutthisoption,thethinreg.exeutilityremovestheregistrationinformationforthatpackageifitdetectsyouarenolongerauthorizedtoaccessthepackage.

ThinAppstoresauthorizationinformationinthePermittedGroupsparameterofthePackage.inifile.

thinreg.exe /k


2007 Word.exe"

/noarp PreventsthecreationofanentryintheAdd/RemoveProgramscontrolpanelapplet.

thinreg.exe /q /noarp


2007 Word.exe"

/norelaunch Startsthethinreg.exeutilityonMicrosoftVistawithoutelevatedprivileges.Standarduserscanstarttheutilitywithoutauseraccountcontrol(UAC)popupwindow.

Whenthethinreg.exeutilitydetectsaneedformoreprivileges,suchastheprivilegesrequiredforthe/allusersparameter, theutilityrestartsitselfasaprivilegedprocessandgeneratesaUACpopupwindow.The/norelaunchoptionblocksthisrestartprocessandcausestheregistrationtofail.

thinreg.exe /q /norelaunch


2007 Word.exe"


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Chapter 3 Deploying Applications

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.


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Modify the MSI parameters

1 InthePackage.inifile,typetheMSIfilename.

MSIFilename=.msi

Forexample,thefilenameforFirefoxmightbeMozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3.msi.

2 (Optional)UpdateotherMSIparameters.

3 Doubleclick

the

build.bat

file

in

the

captured

application

folder

to

rebuild

the

application

package.

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 fo r Each User or Each Machine

Regardlessoftheparametervaluesspecifiedatbuildtime,youcanoverrideMSIsettingsatdeploymenttime.

Forexample,ifyoucreatedthedatabasewithavalueof1fortheMSIDefaultInstallAllUsersparameter,

youcanstillforceindividualuserdeploymentsforFirefox3.0withthemsiexec /i Firefox30.msi

ALLUSERS=""command.

Ifyou

use

the

ALLUSERS=""

argument

for

the

msiexec

command,

ThinApp

extracts

the

captured

executable

filestothe%AppData%userdirectory.

Deploying 64 bit MSI

SetPackage.iniparameterMSIIs64Bittoinstall64bitMSItoProgramFilesinsteadofProgramFiles(x86)on

64bitsystem.

Example

MSIIs64Bit=1

Force MSI Deployments for Ind ividual Users or for A ll Users on a Machine

(Optional)Fromthecommandline,typethemsiexec /i .msi ALLUSERS=""commandto

forcedeployments

for

individual

users.

(Optional)Fromthecommandline,typethemsiexec /i .msi ALLUSERS=1commandto

forcedeploymentsforallusersonamachine.

Override the MSI Installation Directory

YoucanusethemsiexeccommandtooverridethedefaultMSIinstallationdirectory.

WhenThinAppperformsanindividualmachineMSIdeployment,thedefaultinstallationdirectoryisthe

localizedequivalentof%ProgramFilesDir%\ (VMware ThinApp).IfyouinstallaFirefox

packageforeachmachine,thepackageresidesin%ProgramFilesDir%\Mozilla Firefox (VMware ThinApp).

WhenThinAppper