VMware ThinApp 4.5 User guide

ThinApp User’s Guide

ThinApp 4.5

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-000219-00

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ThinApp User’s Guide

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

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Contents

AboutThisBook 9

1 InstallingThinApp 11

ThinAppRequirements 11

OperatingSystems,Applications,andSystemsThatThinAppSupports 11

ApplicationsThatThinAppCannotVirtualize 12

RecommendationsforInstallingThinApp 12

UsingaCleanComputer 12

UsingtheEarliestOperatingSystemRequiredForUsers 13

InstallThinApp 13

CheckingThinAppInstallationFiles 13

2 CapturingApplications 15

PhasesoftheCaptureProcess 15

PreparingtoCaptureApplications 15

CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizard 16

CreateaSystemImageBeforetheApplicationInstallation 16

RescantheSystemwiththeInstalledApplication 16

DefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtualEnvironment 17

SetEntryPoints 17

SetUserGroups 17

DefiningIsolationModesforthePhysicalFileSystem 18

Set

FileSystemIsolationModes 19

StoringApplicationChangesintheSandbox 20

CustomizetheSandboxLocation 20

SendAnonymousStatisticstoVMware 20

CustomizeThinAppProjectSettings 20

DefiningPackageSettings 21

CustomizePackageSettings 21

OpeningProjectandParameterFiles 22

BuildVirtualApplications 22

AdvancedPackageConfiguration 23

ModifyingSettingsinthePackage.iniFile 23

ModifyingSettingsinthe##Attributes.iniFile 23

GuidelinesforPackagingMicrosoftOffice

2007 24

RequirementsforPackagingMicrosoftOffice2007 24

CapturingMicrosoftOffice2007 24

ConfigureMicrosoftOffice2007 26

3 DeployingApplications 29

ThinAppDeploymentOptions 29

DeployingThinAppWithDeploymentTools 29

DeployingThinAppintheVMwareViewEnvironment 29

DeployingThinApponNetworkShares 30

DeployingThinAppUsingExecutableFiles 30

EstablishingFileTypeAssociationswiththethinreg.exeUtility 30

ApplicationSyncEffectonthethinreg.exeUtility 30

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Runthethinreg.exeUtility 31

Optionalthinreg.exeParameters 31

BuildinganMSIDatabase 33

CustomizingMSIFileswithPackage.iniParameters 33

ModifythePackage.iniFiletoCreateMSIFiles 33

ControllingApplicationAccesswithActiveDirectory 35

Package.iniEntriesforActiveDirectoryAccessControl 35

StartingandStoppingVirtualServices 36

UsingThinAppPackagesStreamedfromtheNetwork 36

HowThinAppApplicationStreamingWorks 36

Requirements

andRecommendationsforStreamingPackages 37

StreamThinAppPackagesfromtheNetwork 38

UsingCapturedApplicationswithOtherSystemComponents 38

PerformingPasteOperations 38

AccessingPrinters 38

AccessingDrivers 38

AccessingtheLocalDisk,theRemovableDisk,andNetworkShares 39

AccessingtheSystemRegistry 39

AccessingNetworkingandSockets 39

UsingSharedMemoryandNamedPipes 39

UsingCOM,DCOM,andOut‐of‐

ProcessCOMComponents 39

StartingServices 39

UsingFileTypeAssociations 39

SampleIsolationModeConfigurationDependingonDeploymentContext 40

ViewofIsolationModeEffectontheWindowsRegistry 40

4 UpdatingandLinkingApplications 43

ApplicationUpdatesThattheEndUserTriggers 43

ApplicationSyncUpdates 43

ApplicationLinkUpdates 46

ApplicationUpdatesThattheAdministratorTriggers 50

ForcinganApplicationSyncUpdateonClientMachines 51

UpdatingApplicationswithRuntimeChanges 51

AutomaticApplicationUpdates 52

DynamicUpdatesWithoutAdministratorRights 53

UpgradingRunningApplicationsonaNetworkShare 53

FileLocks 53

UpgradeaRunningApplication 53

SandboxConsiderationsfor

UpgradedApplications 54

UpdatingtheThinAppVersionofPackages 54

relinkExamples 54

5 ConfiguringPackageParameters 55

Package.iniFileStructure 56

ParametersthatApplytoPackage.inior##Attributes.iniFiles 56

ConfiguringtheThinAppRuntime 56

NetRelaunch 56

RuntimeEULA 57

VirtualComputerName 57

Wow64 58

QualityReportingEnabled 58

ConfiguringIsolation 58

DirectoryIsolationMode 58

RegistryIsolationMode 59

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ConfiguringFileandProtocolAssociations 60

FileTypes 60

Protocols 60

ConfiguringBuildOutput 60

ExcludePattern 60

Icon 61

OutDir 61

RetainAllIcons 62

ConfiguringPermissions 62

AccessDeniedMsg 62

AddPageExecutePermission 62

PermittedGroups 63

UACRequestedPrivilegesLevel 63

UACRequestedPrivilegesUIAccess 64

ConfiguringObjectsandDLLFiles 64

ExternalCOMObjects 64

ExternalDLLs 64

ForcedVirtualLoadPaths 65

IsolatedMemoryObjects 65

IsolatedSynchronizationObjects 66

NotificationDLLs 66

NotificationDLLSignature 67

ObjectTypes 67

SandboxCOMObjects 67

VirtualizeExternalOutOfProcessCOM 68

ConfiguringFileStorage 68

CachePath 68

UpgradePath 69

VirtualDrives 69

ConfiguringProcessesandServices 71

AllowExternalKernelModeServices 71

AllowExternalProcessModifications 71

AllowUnsupportedExternalChildProcesses 71

AutoShutdownServices 72

AutoStartServices 72

ChildProcessEnvironmentDefault 72

ChildProcessEnvironmentExceptions 73

ConfiguringSizes 73

BlockSize 73

CompressionType 73

MSICompressionType 74

OptimizeFor 75

ConfiguringLogging 75

DisableTracing 75

LogPath 76

ConfiguringVersions 76

CapturedUsingVersion 76

StripVersionInfo 76

Version.XXXX 77

ConfiguringLocales 77

AnsiCodePage 77

LocaleIdentifier 77

LocaleName 77

ConfiguringIndividualApplications 78

CommandLine 78

Disabled 78

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ReadOnlyData 79

ReserveExtraAddressSpace 79

Shortcut 79

Shortcuts 80

Source 80

WorkingDirectory 80

ConfiguringDependentApplicationswithApplicationLink 81

ApplicationLinkPathNameFormats 81

RequiredAppLinks 82

OptionalAppLinks 83

ConfiguringApplicationUpdateswithApplicationSync 83

AppSyncClearSandboxOnUpdate 83

AppSyncExpireMessage 84

AppSyncExpirePeriod 84

AppSyncURL 84

AppSyncUpdateFrequency 85

AppSyncUpdatedMessage 85

AppSyncWarningFrequency 85

AppSyncWarningMessage 85

AppSyncWarningPeriod 85

ConfiguringMSIFiles 86

MSIArpProductIcon 86

MSIDefaultInstallAllUsers 86

MSIFilename 87

MSIInstallDirectory 87

MSIManufacturer 87

MSIProductCode 88

MSIProductVersion 88

MSIRequireElevatedPrivileges 88

MSIUpgradeCode 89

MSIUseCabs 89

ConfiguringSandboxStorageandInventoryNames 90

InventoryName 90

RemoveSandboxOnExit 90

SandboxName 91

SandboxNetworkDrives 91

SandboxPath 91

SandboxRemovableDisk 92

6 LocatingtheThinAppSandbox 93

SearchOrderfortheSandbox 93

ControllingtheSandboxLocation 95

StoretheSandboxontheNetwork 95

StoretheSandboxonaPortableDevice 95

SandboxStructure 96

MakingChangestotheSandbox 96

ListingVirtualRegistryContentswithvregtool 96

7 CreatingThinAppSnapshotsandProjectsfromtheCommandLine 97

MethodsofUsingthesnapshot.exeUtility 97

CreatingSnapshotsofMachineStates 97

CreatingtheTemplatePackage.inifilefromTwoSnapshotFiles 98

CreatingtheThinAppProjectfromtheTemplatePackage.iniFile 98

DisplayingtheContentsofaSnapshotFile 99

Samplesnapshot.exeCommands 99

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Contents

CreateaProjectWithouttheSetupCaptureWizard 99

Customizingthesnapshot.iniFile 100

8 ThinAppFileSystemFormatsandMacros 101

VirtualFileSystemFormats 101

ThinAppFolderMacros 101

ListofThinAppMacros 102

Processing%SystemRoot%inaTerminalServicesEnvironment 103

9 CreatingThinAppScripts 105

CallbackFunctions 105

ImplementScriptsinaThinAppEnvironment 106

.batExample 106

TimeoutExample 106

ModifytheVirtualRegistry 107

.regExample 107

StoppingaServiceExample 107

CopyingaFileExample 107

AddaValuetotheSystemRegistry 108

APIFunctions 109

AddForcedVirtualLoadPath 109

ExitProcess 109

ExpandPath 110

ExecuteExternalProcess 110

ExecuteVirtualProcess 111

GetBuildOption 111

GetFileVersionValue 111

GetCommandLine 112

GetCurrentProcessName 112

GetOSVersion 113

GetEnvironmentVariable 114

RemoveSandboxOnExit 114

SetEnvironmentVariable 114

SetfileSystemIsolation 115

SetRegistryIsolation 115

WaitForProcess 115

10 MonitoringandTroubleshootingThinApp 117

ProvidingInformationtoTechnicalSupport 117

LogMonitorOperations 117

TroubleshootActivitywithLogMonitor 118

PerformAdvancedLogMonitorOperations 118

LogFormat 120

TroubleshootingSpecificApplications 124

TroubleshootRegistrySetupforMicrosoftOutlook 124

ViewingAttachmentsinMicrosoftOutlook 124

StartingExplorer.exeintheVirtualEnvironment 125

TroubleshootingJavaRuntimeEnvironmentVersionConflict 125

Glossary 127

Index 131

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TheThinAppUser’sGuideprovidesinformationabouthowtoinstallThinApp™,captureapplications,deploy

applications,andupgradeapplications.You canrefertothisguidetocustomizeparametersandperform

scripting.

Intended Audience

ThisbookisintendedforanyonewhoinstallsThinAppanddeployscapturedapplications.Typicalusersare

systemadministratorsresponsibleforthedistributionandmaintenanceofcorporatesoftwarepackages.

Document Feedback

VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhavecomments,sendyour

feedbacktodocfeedback@vmware.com.

Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.To accessthecurrentversion

ofthisbookandotherbooks,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Online and Telephone Support

Touseonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductandcontractinformation,and

Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthefastestresponseon

priority1issues.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.

Support Offerings

TofindouthowVMw aresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds,goto

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

VMware Professional Services

VMwareEducationServicescoursesofferextensivehands‐onlabs,casestudyexamples,andcoursematerials

designedtobeusedason‐the‐jobreferencetools.Coursesareavailableonsite,intheclassroom,andlive

online.Foronsitepilotprograms andimplementationbestpractices,VMwareConsultingServicesprovides

offeringsto helpyouassess,plan,

build,andmanageyourvirtualenvironment.To accessinformationabout

educationclasses,certificationprograms,andconsultingservices,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/services.

About This Book

ThinApp User’s Guide

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VMware, Inc. 11

YoucaninstallThinApptoisolateapplications,simplifyapplicationcustomization,deployapplicationsto

differentoperatingsystems,andeliminateapplicationconflict.

Thisinformationincludesthefollowingtopics:

 “ThinAppRequirements”onpage 11

 “RecommendationsforInstallingThinApp”onpage 12

 “InstallThinApp”onpage 13

 “CheckingThinAppInstallationFiles”onpage 13

ThinApp Requirements

ReviewtherequirementsforoperatingsystemsandcapturedapplicationsbeforeinstallingThinApp.

Operating Systems, Applications, and Systems That ThinApp Supports

ThinAppsupportsthefollowingoperatingsystems,applications,andsystems:

 32‐bitplatformsincludeWindowsNT,Windows2000,Windows XP,WindowsXPE,Windows2003

Server,WindowsVista,WindowsServer2008,Windows7

 64‐bitplatformsincludeWindowsXP64bit,Windows200364bit,WindowsVista64 bit,

Windows Server 2008 64bit,Windows Server 2008 R2 64bit,Windows 7 64 bit

 16‐bitapplicationsrunningon32‐bitWindowsoperatingsystems

 32‐bitapplicationsrunningon32‐bitand64‐bitWindowsoperatingsystems

 TerminalServerandCitrixXenapp

ThinAppsupportsJapaneseapplicationscapturedandrunonJapaneseoperatingsystems.

ThinAppdoesnotsupporttheseoperatingsystemsandapplications:

 16‐bitornon‐x86platformssuchasWindowsCE

 64‐bitapplicationsrunningon32‐bitor64‐bitWindowsoperatingsystems

 16‐bitapplicationsrunningon64‐bitWindowsoperatingsystems

Installing ThinApp

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Applications That ThinApp Cannot Virtualize

ThinAppcannotconvertsomeapplicationsintovirtualapplicationsandmightblockcertainapplicationfunctions.

Youmustusetraditionalinstallationtechnologiestodeploythefollowingtypesofapplications:

 Applicationsrequiringinstallationofkernel‐modedevicedrivers

ODBCdriversworkbecausetheyareusermodedrivers.

 Antivirusandpersonalfirewalls

 Scannerdriversandprinterdrivers

 SomeVPNclients

Device Drivers

ApplicationsthatrequiredevicedriversdonotworkwhenpackagedwithThinApp.Youmustinstallthose

devicedriversintheiroriginalformatonthehostcomputer.BecauseThinAppdoesnotsupportvirtualized

devicedrivers,youcannotuseThinApptovirtualizeantivirus,VPNclients,personalfirewalls,anddiskand

volumemounting‐related

utilities.

IfyoucaptureAdobeAcrobat,youcanmodifyandsavePDFfiles,butyoucannotusethePDFprinterdriver

thatallowsyoutosavedocumentstoPDFformat.

Shell Integration

SomeapplicationsthatprovideshellintegrationhavereducedfunctionswhentheyexistinaThinApp

package.Forexample,avirtualapplicationthatintegrateswithWindowsExplorercannotaddspecificentries

totheWindowsExplorercontextmenus.

DCOM Services that are Accessible on a Network

ThinAppisolatesCOMandDCOMservices.ApplicationsthatinstallDCOMservicesareaccessibleonthe

localcomputeronlybyothercapturedapplicationsrunninginthesameThinAppsandbox.ThinAppsupports

virtualDCOMandCOMonthesamecomputerbutdoesnotsupportnetworkDCOM.

Global Hook Dynamic Link Libraries

SomeapplicationsusetheSetWindowsHookExAPIfunctiontoaddaDLLfiletoallprocessesonthehost

computer.TheDLLinterceptsWindowsmessagestocapturekeyboardandmouseinputfromother

applications.ThinAppignoresrequestsfromapplicationsthatusetheSetWindowsHookExfunctiontotryto

installglobalhookDLLs.ThinApp

mightreducetheapplicationfunctions.

Recommendations for Installing ThinApp

WhenyouinstallThinApp,considertherecommendationsandbestpracticesforthesoftware.

Using a Clean Computer

VMwarerecommendsusingacleancomputertoinstallThinAppbecausetheenvironmentaffectsthe

applicationcaptureprocess.AcleancomputerisaphysicalorvirtualmachinewithonlyaWindowsoperating

system.Inacorporateenvironmentwhereyouhaveabasedesktopimage,thebasedesktopimageisyour

cleancomputer.

Thedesktopcomputermightalreadyhavesomecomponentsandlibrariesinstalled.

Applicationinstallersskipfilesthatalreadyexistonthecomputer.Iftheinstallerskipsfiles,theThinApp

packagedoesnotincludethemduringtheapplicationcaptureprocess.Theapplicationmightfailtorunon

othercomputerswherethefilesdo

notexist.Acleancomputerallowsthecaptureprocesstoscanthecomputer

filesystemandregistryquickly.

Ifyouinst al lThinAppandcaptureanapplicationonacompu te r thathasMicrosoft.NET2.0alreadyinstalled,

.NET2.0isnotincludedintheThinApppackage.Thecapturedapplicationrunsonlyon

computersthathave

.NET2.0alreadyinstalled.

VMware, Inc. 13

Chapter 1 Installing ThinApp

Using Virtual Machines for Clean Computers

Theeasiestwaytosetupacleancomputeristocreateavirtualmachine.YoucaninstallWindowsonthe

virtualmachineandtakeasnapshotoftheentirevirtualmachineinitscleanstate.Afteryoucapturean

application,youcanrestorethesnapshotandrevertittoa

cleanvirtualmachinestatethatisreadyforthenext

applicationcapture.

YoucanuseVMwareWorkstationorotherVMwareproductstocreatevirtualmachines.Forinformation

aboutVMwareproducts,seetheVMwareWebsite.

Using the Earliest Operating System Required For Users

InstallThinApponacleancomputerwiththeearliestversionoftheoperatingsystemyouplantosupport.

In mostcases,theearliestplatformisWindows 2000orWindows XP.MostpackagescapturedonWindowsXP

workonWindows2000.In somecases,WindowsXPincludessomeDLLsthatWindows2000lacks.ThinApp

excludesthese

DLLSfromthecapturedapplicationpackageiftheapplicationtypicallyinstallstheseDLLs.

AfteryoucreateaThinAppapplicationpackage,youcanoverwritefilesinthepackagewithupdatedversions

andrebuildtheapplicationwithoutthecaptureprocess.

Install ThinApp

UsetheThinAppexecutablefiletoinstallThinApp.

To install ThinApp software

1 DownloadThinApptoacleanphysicalorvirtualWindowsmachine.

2Double‐clicktheThinAppexecutablefile.

3InthePatentListsdialogbox,clickNext.

4Acceptthelicense,typetheserialnumber,andtypealicensedisplaynamethatappearswhenyouopen

applicationsthat

ThinAppcaptures.

5ClickInstall.

ThinAppisinstalled.

Checking ThinApp Installation Files

TheThinAppinstallationgeneratestheVMwareThinAppdirectoryinC:\Program Files\VMware. Youmight

checkthefilesinthisdirectorytoperformoperationssuchasstartingtheLogMonitorutilitytoviewrecent

activity.

ThefollowingkeyfilesintheVMwareThinAppdirectoryaffectThinAppoperations:

 AppSync.exe–Keepscapturedapplicationsuptodatewiththelatestavailableversion.

 logging.dll–Generates.tracefiles.

 dll_dump.exe–Listsallcapturedapplicationsthatarecurrentlyrunningonasystem.

 log_monitor.exe–Displaystheexecutionhistoryanderrorsofanapplication.

 relink.exe–UpdatesexistingpackagestothelatestThinAppversioninstalledonthesystem.

 sbmerge.exe–MergesruntimechangesrecordedintheapplicationsandboxwiththeThinAppproject

andupdatesthecapturedapplication.

 SetupCapture.exe–Capturesandconfiguresapplicationsthroughawizard.

 snapshot.exe–Comparesthepreinstallationenvironmentandpostinstallationenvironmentduringthe

applicationcaptureprocess.

ThinAppstartsthisutilityduringthesetupcaptureprocess.

ThinApp User’s Guide

14 VMware, Inc.

 snapshot.ini–StoresentriesforthevirtualregistryandvirtualfilesystemthatThinAppignoresduring

theprocessofcapturinganapplication.

Thesnapshot.exefilereferencesthesnapshot.inifile.Advancedusersmightmodifythe

snapshot.inifiletoensurethatThinAppdoesnotcapturecertainentrieswhencreatinganapplication

package.

 template.msi–BuildstheMSIfiles.

Youcancustomizethistemplatetoensurethatthe.msifilesgeneratedbyThinAppadheretocompany

deploymentproceduresandstandards.Forexample,youcanaddregistrysettingsthatyouwant

ThinApptoaddtoclientcomputersaspartoftheinstallation.

 thinreg.exe–Registerscapturedapplicationsonacomputer.

ThisregistrationincludessettingupshortcutsandtheStartmenuandsettingupfiletypeassociations

thatallowyoutoopenapplications.

 tlink.exe–Linkskeymodulesduringthebuildprocessofthecapturedapplication.

 vftool.exe–Compilesthevirtualfilesystemduringthebuildprocessofthecapturedapplication.

 vregtool.exe–Compilesthevirtualregistryduringthebuildprocessofthecapturedapplication.

VMware, Inc. 15

Youcancaptureapplicationstopackageanapplicationintoavirtualenvironment.

TheSetupCapturewizardisthemainmethodtocaptureapplicationsandsetinitialapplicationparameters.

Advanceduserswhomustcaptureapplicationsfromthecommandlinecanusethesnapshot.exeutility

insteadoftheSetupCapturewizard.

Thisinformationincludes

thefollowingtopics:

 “PhasesoftheCaptureProcess”onpage 15

 “PreparingtoCaptureApplications”onpage 15

 “CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizard”onpage 16

 “A d v a n c e d PackageConfiguration”onpage 23

 “GuidelinesforPackagingMicrosoftOffice2007”onpage 24

Phases of the Capture Process

Capturinganapplicationinvolvessystemscans,applicationconfiguration,packageconfiguration,and

generationofthevirtualapplicationfordistribution.

TheSetupCapturewizardsetsinitialparametersfortheapplication.Youcancustomizethefullsetof

parametersoutsideofthewizard.

Preparing to Capture Applications

Preparingforthecaptureprocessinvolvesunderstandingtheneedsanddependenciesoftheapplication.

Fortargetapplicationsthathavedependenciesonotherapplications,libraries,orframeworks,youcancapture

thedependenciesorusetheApplicationLinkutilitytolinkseparatevirtualapplicationsatruntime.For

informationabouttheApplicationLinkutility,

see“ApplicationLinkUpdates”onpage 46.

Fortargetapplicationsthatrequirelocaleformats,suchasaspecificdateformat,youcancapturetheminan

environmentwiththerequiredlocalesetting.ThinApprunsvirtualapplicationsaccordingtotheregionaland

languagesettingsonthecapturesystemratherthanthesettingson

thesystemthatrunstheapplication.

AlthoughyoucanmodifythedefaultlocalesettingbycommentingouttheLocaleIdentifierparameterin

thePackage.inifileandrebuildingtheapplication,youcanavoidcomplicationsinthecaptureenvironment.

ForinformationabouttheLocaleIdentifierparameter,see“LocaleIdentifier”onpage 77.

Capturing Applications

ThinApp User’s Guide

16 VMware, Inc.

Capturing Applications with the Setup Capture Wizard

Thecaptureprocesspackagesanapplicationandsetsinitialapplicationparameters.Ifyouuseavirtual

machine,considertakingasnapshotbeforeyourunthewizard.Asnapshotoftheoriginalcleanstateallows

youtoreverttothesnapshotwhenyouwanttocaptureanotherapplication.

ThisinformationusesMozilla

Firefoxasakeyexampleforapplicationcapture.Forinformationabout

MicrosoftOffice2007thatextendsbeyondthebasiccaptureprocess,see“GuidelinesforPackagingMicrosoft

Office2007”onpage 24.

Create a System Image Before the Application Installation

TheSetupCapturewizardstartsthecaptureprocessbyscanningthesystemtoassesstheenvironmentand

createabaselinesystemimage.

To create a system image before the application installation

1 Downloadtheapplicationstocapture.

Forexample,downloadFirefoxSetup2.0.0.3.exeandcopyittothecleancomputeryouareworking

with.

2Closeanyapplications,suchasvirusscans,that

mightchangethefilesystemduringthecaptureprocess.

3Fromthedesktop,selectStart>Programs>VMware>ThinAppSetupCapture.

4 (Optional)IntheReadytoPrescandialogbox,clickAdvancedScanLocationstoselectthedrivesand

registryhivestoscan.

Youmightwanttoscanaparticularlocation

otherthantheC:\driveifyouinstallapplicationstoa

differentdriv e.Inrarecases,youmightwanttoavoidscanningaregistryhiveifyouknowthatthe

applicationinstallerdoesnotmodifytheregistry.

5ClickPrescantoestablishabaselinesystemimageoftheharddriveandregistry

files.

Thescanningprocesstakesabout10secondsforWindowsXP.

Rescan the System with the Installed Application

YoucaninstalltheapplicationtovirtualizebeforetheSetupCapturewizardrescansthesystemandassess

changesfromtheinitialsystemimage.

To install the application and rescan the system

1WhentheInstallApplicationpageappears,minimizetheSetupCapturewizardandinstallthe

applicationstocapture.

Forexample,double‐clickFirefoxSetup2.0.0.3.exe to installFirefox.Iftheapplication

needsto

restartaftertheinstallation,restartthesystem.TheprocessrestartstheSetupCapturewizard.

2 (Optional)Makeanynecessaryconfigurationchangestocomplywithyourcompanypolicies,suchas

usingspecificsecuritysettingsoraparticularhomepage.

Ifyoudonotmakeconfigurationchangesatthistime,eachuser

mustmakechanges.

3 (Optional)Starttheapplicationandrespondtoanymessagesforinformationbeforeyoucontinuewith

theSetupCapturewizard.

Ifyoudonotrespondtoanymessagesatthistime,eachuserwhousestheapplicationmustdosoduring

theinitialstart.

VMware, Inc. 17

Chapter 2 Capturing Applications

4Closetheapplication.

5 MaximizetheSetupCapturewizard,clickPostscantoproceedwithanotherscanofthecomputer,and

clickOKtoconfirmthepostscanoperation.

ThinAppstoresthedifferencesbetweenthefirstbaselineimageandthisimageinavirtualfilesystemand

virtualregistry.

Defining Entry Points as Shortcuts into the Virtual Environment

Entrypointsaretheexecutablefilesthatactasshortcutsintothevirtualenvironmentandstartthevirtual

application.Theentrypointsyoucanchoosefromdependontheexecutablefilesthatyourcaptured

applicationcreatesduringinstallation.

Forexample,ifyouinstallMicrosoftOffice,youcanselectentrypointsfor

MicrosoftWord,MicrosoftExcel,

andotherapplicationsthatareinstalledduringaMicrosoftOfficeinstallation.IfyouinstallFirefox,youmight

selectMozilla Firefox.exeandMozilla Firefox (SafeMode).exeifusersrequiresafemodeaccess.

DuringthebuildprocessthatoccursattheendoftheSetupCapturewizard,ThinAppgeneratesone

executablefilefor

eachselectedentrypoint.IfyoudeploytheapplicationasanMSIfileorusethe

thinreg.exeutility,thedesktopandStartmenushortcutscreatedonuserdesktopspointtotheseentry

points.

Entry Points for Troubleshooting

ThinAppprovidesentrypointstotroubleshootyourenvironment.

Debugginganapplicationmightinvolvethefollowingentrypoints:

 cmd.exe–Startsacommandpromptinavirtualcontextthatallowsyoutoviewthevirtualfilesystem.

 regedit.exe–Startstheregistryeditorinavirtualcontextthatallowsyoutoviewthevirtualregistry.

 iexplore.exe–Startsiexplore.exeinavirtualcontextthatallowsyoutotestvirtualized

ActiveX controls.

Entrypointsstartnativeexecutablefilesinavirtualcontext.Entrypointsdonotcreatevirtualpackagesof

cmd.exe,regedit.exe,oriexplore.exe.

Ifyoucannotpredicttheneedfordebuggingortroubleshootingtheenvironment,you

canusetheDisabled

parameterinthePackage.inifileatalatertimetoactivatetheseentrypoints.

Set Entry Points

Youcandesignatetheexecutablefilesthatmakeupthelistofentrypoints.ThinAppinstallstheexecutable

filesduringthecaptureprocess.

To set entry points in the Setup Capture wizard

1OntheEntryPointspage,selectthecheckboxesforuser‐accessibleentrypoints.

Thewizarddisplaystheexecutablefilesthatweredirectlyaccessiblethroughthedesktopor

Startmenu

shortcuts.

2 (Optional)Todebugyourenvironment,selecttheShowentrypointsusedfordebuggingcheckboxto

displaytheiexplore.exe,regedit.exe,andcmd.exetroubleshootingoptions.

Set User Groups

ThinAppcanuseActiveDirectorygroupstoauthorizeaccesstothevirtualapplication.Youcanrestrictaccess

toanapplicationtoensurethatusersdonotpassittounauthorizedusers.

ActiveDirectoryDomainServicesdefinesecuritygroupsanddistributiongroups.ThinAppcanonlysupport

nestedsecuritygroups.

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18 VMware, Inc.

To set user groups in the Setup Capture wizard

1OntheGroupspage,limittheuseraccesstotheapplication.

a SelectOnlythefollowingActiveDirectorygroups.

bClickAddtospecifyActiveDirectoryobjectandlocationinformation.

2 (Optional)ChangethemessagethatappearsforusersthatThinAppcannotauthorize.

Defining Isolation Modes for the Physical File System

Isolationmodesdeterminethelevelofreadandwriteaccesstothenativefilesystemoutsideofthevirtual

environment.Youmightadjustisolationmodesettingsdependingontheapplicationandtherequirementsto

protectthephysicalsystemfromchanges.

Theselectionofisolationmodesinthecaptureprocessdeterminesthe

valueoftheDirectoryIsolationMode

parameterinthePackage.inifile.Thisparametercontrolsthedefaultisolationmodeforthefilescreatedby

thevirtualapplicationexceptwhenyouspecifyadifferentisolationmodeinthe##Attributes.inifilefor

anindividualdirectory.

Theselectionofadirectoryisolationmodedoesnotaffectthe

followingareas:

 ThinApptreatswriteoperationstonetworkdrivesaccordingtotheSandboxNetworkDrivesparameterin

thePackage.inifile.Thisparameterhasadefaultvaluethatdirectswriteopera tio nstothephysicaldrive.

ThinApptreatswriteoperationstoremovabledisksaccordingtotheSandboxRemovableDiskparameterin

thePackage.inifile.Thisparameterhasadefault

valuethatdirectswriteoperationstothephysicaldrive.

 IfyousavedocumentstothedesktoporMy Documentsfolder,ThinAppsavesthedocumentstothe

physicalsystem.ThinAppsetstheisolationmodeinthe##Attributes.inifilesin%Personal%and

%Desktop%toMergedevenwhenyouselectWriteCopyisolationmode.

Applying Merged Isolation Mode for Modifications Outside the Package

WithMergedisolationmode,applicationscanreadandmodifyelementsonthephysicalfilesystemoutsideof

thevirtualpacka ge.SomeapplicationsrelyonreadingDLLsandregistryinformationinthelocalsystemimage.

TheadvantageofusingMergedmodeisthatdocumentsthatuserssaveappearonthephysicalsystem

inthe

locationthatusersexpect,insteadofinthesandbox.Thedisadvantageisthatthismodemightclutterthe

systemimage.Anexampleofthecluttermightbefirst‐executionmarkersbysharewareapplicationswritten

torandomcomputerlocationsaspartofthelicensingprocess.

WhenyouselectMergedisolation,

ThinAppcompletesthefollowingoperations:

 SetstheDirectoryIsolationModeparameterinthePackage.inifiletoMerged.

 SetsupexceptionsthatapplyWriteCopyisolationtothefollowingdirectoriesandtheirsubdirectories:

 %AppData%

 %Common AppData%

 %Local AppData%

 %Program Files Common%

 %ProgramFilesDir%

Option Description

ObjectTypes Specifiesobjects.

Locations Specifiesalocationintheforest.

CheckNames Verifyobjectnames.

Advanced LocatesusernamesintheActiveDirectoryforest.

CommonQueries(underAdvanced)Searchesforgroupsaccordingtonames,descriptions,disabledaccounts,

passwords,anddayssincelastlogin.

VMware, Inc. 19

Chapter 2 Capturing Applications

 %SystemRoot%

 %SystemSystem%

ThinAppretainsMergedisolationmodeforthe%SystemSytem%\spoolsubdirectorybycreatingan

exceptiontothe%SystemSystem%parentdirectoryisolationmode.

 Betweentheprescanandpostscancaptureoperations,assignsFullisolationmodetoanydirectoriesthat

theapplicationcreatesduringtheinstallation.Thisprocessisunrelatedtotheisolationmodeofanynew

directoriesthattherunningvirtualapplicationcreates.

MergedisolationmodeintheSetupCapturewizardhasthesameeffect

asMergedisolationmodeinthe

Package.inifile,includingthedirectoryexceptionsthatspecifyWriteCopyisolationmode.TheSetup

Capturewizardandmanualcaptureprocesswiththesnapshot.exe utilityconfigurethedirectory

exceptionsforyouwiththe##Attributes.inifileswithinthedirectories.

Applying WriteCopy Isolation Mode To Prevent Modifications Outside of the Package

WithWriteCopyisolationmode,ThinAppcaninterceptwriteoperationsandredirectthemtothesandbox.

YoucanuseWriteCopyisolationmodeforlegacyoruntrustedapplications.Althoughthismodemightmake

itdifficulttofinduserdatafilesthatresideinthesandboxinsteadofthephysicalsystem,thismodeis

useful

forlockeddowndesktopswhereyouwanttopreventusersfromaffectingthelocalfilesystem.

WhenyouselectWriteCopyisolationinthe SetupCapturewizard,ThinApp completesthefollowingoperations:

 SetstheDirectoryIsolationModeparameterinthePackage.inifiletoWriteCopy.

 SetsupexceptionsthatapplyMergedisolationtothefollowingdirectories:

 %Personal%

 %Desktop%

 %SystemSystem%\spool

 Betweentheprescanandpostscancaptureoperations,assignsFullisolationmodetoanydirectoriesthat

theapplicationcreatesduringtheinstallation.Thisprocessisunrelatedtotheisolationmodeofanynew

directoriesthattherunningvirtualapplicationcreates.

WriteCopyisolationmodeintheSetupCapturewizardhasthesameeffect

asWriteCopyisolationmodeinthe

Package.inifile,includingthedirectoryexceptionsthatspecifyMergedisolationmode.TheSetupCapture

wizardandsnapshot.exeutilityconfigurethedirectoryexceptionsforyouwiththe##Attributes.inifiles

withinthedirectories.

Set File System Isolation Modes

Thecaptureprocesssetsthelevelofreadandwriteaccesstothephysicalfilesystemtodeterminewhich

directoriesarevisibleandwritablebythevirtualapplication.

For informationaboutFullisolationandregistryisolationthatareavailableonlyoutsideoftheSetupCapture

wizard,see“DirectoryIsolationMode”onpage 58and“RegistryIsolationMode”

onpage 59.

To set file system isolation modes in the Setup Capture wizard

OntheIsolationpage,selecttheisolationmodeforthephysicalfilesystem.

Option Description

Fullwriteaccesstonon‐sys temdirectories

(Mergedisolationmode)

Allowstheapplicationtoreadresourcesonandwritetothelocalmachine.

Restrictedwriteaccess(WriteCopy

isolationmode)

Allowstheapplicationtoreadresourcesonthelocalmachineandtorestrict

mostmodificationstothesandbox.

ThinAppcopiesfilesystemchanges

tothesandboxtoensurethat

ThinApponlymodifiescopiesoffilesinsteadoftheactualphysicalfiles.

ThinApp User’s Guide

20 VMware, Inc.

Storing Application Changes in the Sandbox

Thesandboxisthedirectorywhereallchangesthatthecapturedapplicationmakesarestored.Thesandbox

isruntimemodificationstorageandisnotacache.Thenexttimeyouopentheapplication,thosechangesare

incorporatedfromthesandbox.

Whenyoudeletethesandboxdirectory,theapplicationrevertstoits

capturedstate.Youmightdeletea

sandboxwhenanapplicationhasaproblemandyouwanttoreverttheapplicationbacktotheworking

originalstate.

Customize the Sandbox Location

Youcandeploythesandboxtoalocalusermachine,carryitonamobileUSBdevice,orstoreitinanetwork

location.

Ifyoudeploythesandboxtoalocalmachine,usetheuser’sprofileasthesandboxlocation.Thedefault

locationofthesandboxforFirefoxmightbe

%AppData%\Thinstall\Mozilla Firefox 3.0.Thetypical

%AppData%locationisC:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\Application Data.Theuser’sprofile

isthedefaultlocationbecauseofthewriteaccess.

Anetworklocationisusefulforbackingupthesandboxandforuserswhologintoanycomputerandretain

theirapplicationsettings.Usetheabsolutepathtothelocation,

suchas\\thinapp\sandbox\Firefox.You

canselectanetworklocationevenifanapplicationisinstalledonalocalmachine.

Aportabledevicelocationisusefultokeepthesandboxdataonthedevicewheretheapplicationresides.

To customize the sandbox location in the Setup Capture wizard

OntheSandboxpage,selecttheuser’sprofile,applicationdirectory,orcustomlocationfor

thesandbox.

Send Anonymous Statistics to VMware

ToimproveThinAppsupportforapplications,VMwareusesthecaptureprocesstoconfirmwhethertocollect

anonymousdataaboutdeployedThinApppackages.Thedataincludestheapplicationstarttime,total

runningtime,andnumberofrunsfortheapplication.

To send anonymous statistics to VMware

OntheUsageStatisticspage,clicktheYes‐Sendanonymoususagestatistics

toVMwareradiobuttonto

confirmthedatacollectionstatus.

Customize ThinApp Project Settings

Aprojectisthedatathatthecaptureprocesscreates.Youcannotrunordeploythecapturedapplicationuntil

youbuildapackagefromtheprojectfiles.

Settinguptheprojectinvolvesdeterminingtheinventorynameandtheprojectlocation.Theinventoryname

facilitatesinternaltrackingoftheapplicationanddetermines

thedefaultprojectdirectoryname.

To customize project settings in the Setup Capture wizard

1OntheProjectSettingspage,changetheinventoryname.

Usingthethinreg.exeutilityordeployingthecapturedapplicationasanMSIfilecausestheinventory

nametoappearintheAddorRemoveProgramsdialogboxforWindows.

2 Changethedirectorywhereyouwanttosave

theThinAppproject.

IfyoukeepthedefaultdirectoryandcaptureFirefox2.0.0.3,thepathmightappearasC:\Program

Files\VMware\VMware ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox (2.0.0.3).

VMware ThinApp 4.5 User guide

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