VMware ThinApp 5.0 User guide

ThinApp User’s Guide

ThinApp 5.0

This document supports the version of each product listed and

supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced

by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this

document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-000400-03

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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 7

1 InstallingThinApp 9

ThinAppRequirements 9

OperatingSystems,Applications,andSystemsThatThinAppSupports 9

ApplicationsThatThinAppCannotVirtualize 10

RecommendationsforInstallingThinApp 10

UsingaCleanComputer 10

UsingtheEarliestOperatingSystemRequiredforUsers 11

InstallThinAppSoftware 11

CheckingThinAppInstallationFiles 11

2 CapturingApplications 13

PhasesoftheCaptureProcess 13

PreparingtoCaptureApplications 13

CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizard 14

CreateaSystemImageBeforetheApplicationInstallation 14

RescantheSystemwiththeInstalledApplication 14

DefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtualEnvironment 15

SetEntryPoints 15

ManagewithVMwareHorizonApplicationManager 15

SetUserGroups 16

DefiningIsolationModes

forthePhysicalFileSystem 16

SetFileSystemIsolationModes 18

StoringApplicationChangesintheSandbox 18

CustomizetheSandboxLocation 18

SendAnonymousStatisticstoVMware 18

CustomizeThinAppProjectSettings 19

DefiningPackageSettings 19

CustomizePackageSettings 20

OpeningProjectandParameterFiles 20

BuildVirtualApplications 21

AdvancedPackageConfiguration 21

ModifyingSettingsinthePackage.iniFile 21

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

File 22

CapturingInternetExplorer6onWindowsXP 22

RequirementsforCapturingInternetExplorer6onWindowsXP 23

CaptureInternetExplorer6onWindowsXPbyUsingtheSetupCaptureWizard 23

ExtractingandRegisteringThinDirect 24

CapturingMultipleApplicationInstallerswithThinAppConverter 24

ThinAppConverterProcess 24

SystemRequirementsforRunningThinAppConverter 25

PreparingtheConfigurationFile

forThinAppConverter 25

PredefinedEnvironmentVariables 31

3 DeployingApplications 33

ThinAppDeploymentOptions 33

DeployingThinAppwithDeploymentTools 33

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DeployingThinAppintheVMwareViewEnvironment 33

DeployingThinApponNetworkShares 34

DeployingThinAppUsingExecutableFiles 34

EstablishingFileTypeAssociationswiththethinreg.exeUtility 34

ApplicationSyncEffectonthethinreg.exeUtility 34

Runthethinreg.exeUtility 35

Optionalthinreg.exeParameters 35

BuildinganMSIDatabase 37

CustomizingMSIFileswithPackage.iniParameters 37

ModifythePackage.iniFiletoCreate

MSIFiles 37

ControllingApplicationAccesswithActiveDirectory 39

Package.iniEntriesforActiveDirectoryAccessControl 39

StartingandStoppingVirtualServices 40

AutomaticStartupforVirtualServices 40

UsingThinAppPackagesStreamedfromtheNetwork 41

HowThinAppApplicationStreamingWorks 41

RequirementsandRecommendationsforStreamingPackages 42

StreamThinAppPackagesfromtheNetwork 43

UsingCapturedApplicationswithOtherSystem

Components 43

PerformingPasteOperations 43

AccessingPrinters 43

AccessingDrivers 43

AccessingtheLocalDisk,theRemovableDisk,andNetworkShares 43

AccessingtheSystemRegistry 44

AccessingNetworkingandSockets 44

UsingSharedMemoryandNamedPipes 44

UsingCOM,DCOM,andOut‐of‐ProcessCOMComponents 44

StartingServices 44

UsingFileTypeAssociations 44

SampleIsolationModeConfigurationDependingonDeploymentContext 45

Viewof

IsolationModeEffectontheWindowsRegistry 45

4 UpdatingandLinkingApplications 47

ApplicationUpdatesThattheEndUserTriggers 47

ApplicationSyncUpdates 47

ApplicationLinkUpdates 50

ApplicationUpdatesThattheAdministratorTriggers 54

ForcinganApplicationSyncUpdateonClientMachines 55

UpdatingApplicationswithRuntimeChanges 55

AutomaticApplicationUpdates 56

DynamicUpdatesWithoutAdministratorRights 57

UpgradingRunningApplicationsonaNetworkShare 57

FileLocks 57

UpgradeaRunningApplication 57

SandboxConsiderationsfor

UpgradedApplications 58

UpdatingtheThinAppVersionofPackages 58

relinkExamples 58

5 LocatingtheThinAppSandbox 59

SearchOrderfortheSandbox 59

ControllingtheSandboxLocation 61

StoretheSandboxontheNetwork 61

StoretheSandboxonaPortableDevice 61

SandboxStructure 62

MakingChangestotheSandbox 62

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Contents

ListingVirtualRegistryContentswithvregtool 62

6 CreatingThinAppSnapshotsandProjectsfromtheCommandLine 63

MethodsofUsingthesnapshot.exeUtility 63

CreatingSnapshotsofMachineStates 63

CreatingtheTemplatePackage.inifilefromTwoSnapshotFiles 64

CreatingtheThinAppProjectfromtheTemplatePackage.iniFile 64

DisplayingtheContentsofaSnapshotFile 65

Samplesnapshot.exeCommands 65

CreateaProjectWithouttheSetupCaptureWizard 65

Customizingthesnapshot.iniFile 66

7 ThinAppFileSystemFormatsandMacros 67

VirtualFileSystemFormats 67

ThinAppFolderMacros 67

ListofThinAppMacros 68

Processing%SystemRoot%inaTerminalServicesEnvironment 69

8 CreatingThinAppScripts 71

CallbackFunctions 71

ImplementScriptsinaThinAppEnvironment 72

.batExample 72

TimeoutExample 72

ModifytheVirtualRegistry 73

.regExample 73

StoppingaServiceExample 73

CopyingaFileExample 73

AddaValuetotheSystemRegistry 74

APIFunctions 75

AddForcedVirtualLoadPath 75

ExitProcess 75

ExpandPath 76

ExecuteExternalProcess 76

ExecuteVirtualProcess 77

GetBuildOption 77

GetFileVersionValue 77

GetCommandLine 78

GetCurrentProcessName 78

GetOSVersion 79

GetEnvironmentVariable 80

RemoveSandboxOnExit 80

SetEnvironmentVariable 80

SetfileSystemIsolation 81

SetRegistryIsolation 81

WaitForProcess 81

9 MonitoringandTroubleshootingThinApp 83

ProvidingInformationtoTechnicalSupport 83

LogMonitorOperations 83

TroubleshootActivitywithLogMonitor 84

PerformAdvancedLogMonitorOperations 84

LogFormat 86

TroubleshootingSpecificApplications 90

TroubleshootRegistrySetupforMicrosoftOutlook 90

ViewingAttachmentsinMicrosoftOutlook 90

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StartingExplorer.exeintheVirtualEnvironment 91

TroubleshootingJavaRuntimeEnvironmentVersionConflict 91

Glossary 93

Index 97

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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.

VMware ThinApp Documentation

ThecompletedocumentationsetforVMwareThinAppconsistsofthefollowingdocuments.

 ThinAppUser’sGuide.Conceptualandproceduralinformationtohelpyoucompleteatask.

 ThinApp5.0ReleaseNotes.Late‐breakingnewsanddescriptionsofknownissuesandworkarounds.

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.

About This Book

ThinApp User’s Guide

8 VMware, Inc.

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.

Legal Notice

ThinAppusestheregularexpressionlibraryoriginallywrittenbyHenrySpencer.

WrittenbyHenrySpencer.Notderivedfromlicensedsoftware.

Permissionisgrantedtoanyonetousethissoftwareforanypurposeonanycomputersystem,andto

redistributeitinanyway,

subjecttothefollowingrestrictions:

1Theauthorisnotresponsiblefortheconsequencesofuseofthissoftware,nomatterhowawful,evenif

theyarisefromdefectsinit.

2Theoriginofthissoftwaremustnotbemisrepresented,eitherbyexplicitclaimorbyomission.

3Alteredversionsmustbeplainlymarked

assuch,andmustnotbemisrepresented(byexplicitclaimor

omission)asbeingtheoriginalsoftware.

4Thisnoticemustnotberemovedoraltered.

VMware, Inc. 9

Youcanuse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 9

 “RecommendationsforInstallingThinApp”onpage 10

 “InstallThinAppSoftware”onpage 11

 “CheckingThinAppInstallationFiles”onpage 11

ThinApp Requirements

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

Operating Systems, Applications, and Systems That ThinApp Supports

ThinAppsupportsvariousoperatingsystems,applications,andsystems.

 32‐bitplatformsincludeWindows8,Windows2000,Windows XP,WindowsXPE,Windows2003Server,

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

 64‐bitplatformsincludeWindows8,Windows864bit,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

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

 TerminalServerandCitrixXenapp

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

CertainoperatingsystemsandapplicationsarenotsupportedbyThinApp.

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

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

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

Installing ThinApp

ThinApp User’s Guide

10 VMware, Inc.

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someapplicationtypes.

 Applicationsthatdonotnativelysupportthedeploymentoperatingsystem.

Ifanoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportthenativeinstallationofanapplication,thatoperatingsystemis

notasupportedThinAppdeploymentplatformforthatapplication.

 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enables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installed.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.

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Chapter 1 Installing ThinApp

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enables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.

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 Software

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

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.

 Logging64.dll–Generates.tracefilesfor64bitapplications.

 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.

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12 VMware, Inc.

 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.

 Snapshot64.exe

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

 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.

 ThinDirect.Admx–IsaWindowsgrouppolicyfile,ThinDirectusesitto identifythechangesinWindows

registrywhenagrouppolicysettingischanged.

 ThinDirect.Adm–ThinDirect.admallowsyoutochangeThinDirect.txtfilesthathavealreadybeen

deployedtousermachines.

 ThinDirect.msi–InstallsandregisterstheThinDirectplug‐inandthelauncherforthevirtualbrowser.

 ThinDirect.Adml–ThinAppusesthisfiletospecifythelanguagesettingsforMicrosoftWindowsor

MicrosoftOffice.

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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sectionincludes

thefollowingtopics:

 “PhasesoftheCaptureProcess”onpage 13

 “PreparingtoCaptureApplications”onpage 13

 “CapturingApplicationswiththeSetupCaptureWizard”onpage 14

 “A d v a n c e d PackageConfiguration”onpage 21

 “CapturingInternetExploreronWindowsXP”onpage 22

 “CapturingMultipleApplicationInstallerswithThinAppConverter”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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.

Capturing Applications

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14 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enables

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.

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.

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.

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)IfyouarecapturingInternetExplorer,intheInstallApplicationpage,clickInternetExplorer,

tocompleteadditionalstepsbeforeinstallingthebrowser.

IfyouarecapturingInternetExplorer6onWindowsXP,see“Capturing

InternetExploreronWindows

XP”onpage 22.

Formoreinformationaboutentrypoints,see“DefiningEntryPointsasShortcutsintotheVirtual

Environment”onpage 15.

3 (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.

4 (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.

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Chapter 2 Capturing Applications

5Closetheapplication.

6 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enablesyoutoviewthevirtualfilesystem.

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

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

cmd.exeandregedit.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.

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regedit.exe, andcmd.exetroubleshootingoptions.

Manage with VMware Horizon Application Manager

YoucanuseVMwareHorizonApplicationManagertomanagethedeploymentandentitlementofThinApp

packages.SeeUsingVMwareHorizonApplicationManagertoManagetheDeploymentandEntitlementofThinApp

Packages,availablefromtheThinAppdownloadsite.

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.

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16 VMware, Inc.

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

nestedsecuritygroups.

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operations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package.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%

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.

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Chapter 2 Capturing Applications

 %Common AppData%

 %Local AppData%

 %Program Files Common%

 %ProgramFilesDir%

 %SystemRoot%

 %SystemSystem%

ThinAppretainsMergedisolationmodeforthe%SystemSystem%\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anumberof

operations.

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

 SetsupexceptionsthatapplyMergedisolationtothese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”and“RegistryIsolationMode”inThinApp

Package.iniParameters

ReferenceGuide.

Set file system isolation modes in the Setup Capture wizard

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

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18 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keep

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.

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.

Send anonymous statistics to VMware

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

toVMwareoption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.

Option Description

Fullwriteaccesstononsystem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.

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Chapter 2 Capturing Applications

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).

Defining Package Settings

ApackageistheexecutablefileorMSIfilewithexecutablefilesthatyouusetorunordeployacaptured

application.Youbuildapackagefromtheprojectfiles.

Settingupthepackageduringthecaptureprocessinvolvesspecifyinginformationaboutthemainvirtual

applicationfilethatservesasthe

primarydatacontainer,MSIgeneration,andcompression.

Defining the Primary Data Container

TheprimarydatacontaineristhemainvirtualapplicationfilethatincludestheThinAppruntimeandthe

read‐onlyvirtualfilesystemandvirtualregistry.Theprimarydatacontainerfileisa.exeora.datfilethat

residesinthesame/bindirectorywithanysubordinateapplicationexecutablefiles.Entry

pointsreference

theinformationintheprimarydatacontainer.

Toidentifytheprimarydatacontainerafteryoucaptureanapplication,checktheReadOnlyDataparameter

inthePackage.inifile.

Generating MSI Packages in the Capture Process

YoucancaptureanapplicationanddeployitasanMSIWindowsinstallationpackage.TheMSIinstallation

placestheapplicationintheC:\Program Filesdirectory.

AtypicalFirefoxapplicationdoesnotrequireanMSIinstallation.Otherapplications,suchasMicrosoftOffice,

thatintegratewithapplicationdeliverytools,workwellasanMSI

package.MSIgenerationrequiresyouto

installtheMSIonthetargetdevicebeforeyoucanusetheapplicationpackage.

MSIpackagesautomatetheprocessofregisteringfile‐typeassociations,registeringdesktopandStartmenu

shortcuts,anddisplayingcontrolpanelextensions.IfyouplantodeployThinAppexecutablefilesdirectlyon

eachcomputer,youcanaccomplishthesameregistrationbyusingthethinreg.exeutility.

Compressing Packages in the Capture Process

Compressingapackageinthecaptureprocessdecreasesthesizeofanexecutablepackagebutdoesnotaffect

MSIpackages.

Compressioncanreducetheon‐diskstoragerequirementby50percentbutslowstheapplicationperformance

whenThinAppuncompressesinitialblocksthatstarttheapplication.VMwaredoesnotrecommend

compressionfor

testbuildsbecausecompressionincreasesthebuildtime.

Customize Package Settings

Thecaptureprocessincludesinitialsettingsfortheprimarydatacontainer,MSIpackages,andexecutable

packagecompression.

Customize package settings in the Setup Capture wizard

1OnthePackageSettingspage,selecttheprimarydatacontainerfromthelistthatisbasedonyour

executablefileentrypoints.

 Ifthesizeoftheprimarycontainerissmallerthan200MB,ThinAppcreatesa.exefileastheprimary

container.ForasmallapplicationsuchasFirefox,any.exefilecanserveasthemaindatacontainer.

ThinApp User’s Guide

20 VMware, Inc.

 Ifthesizeoftheprimarycontainerislargerthan200MB,ThinAppcreatesaseparate.datfileasthe

primarycontainerbecauseWindowsXPandWindows2000cannotshowshortcuticonsforlarge

.exefiles.Generatingseparatesmall.exefilestogetherwiththe.datfilefixestheproblem.

 Ifthesizeoftheprimarycontainerisbetween200MBand1.5GB,ThinAppcreatesthedefault.dat

fileunlessyouselecta.exefiletooverridethedefault.datfile.

2 (Optional)Ifyouselecta.exefiletooverridethedefault.datfilewhenthesizeoftheprimarycontainer

is

between200MBand1.5GB,ignorethegeneratedwarning.

Selectinga.exefileenablesallapplicationstoworkproperlybutmightpreventtheproperdisplayof

icons.

3 (Optional)Ifyoucannotselectaprimarydatacontainer,typeaprimarydatacontainernametogenerate

a.datfile.

Ifyouplantousethe

ApplicationSyncutilitytoupdateacapturedapplication,ThinAppusestheprimary

datacontainernameduringtheprocess.Youmustusethesamenameacrossmultipleversionsofthe

application.Youmightnotbeabletoselectthesameprimarydatacontainernamefromthelist.

For example,MicrosoftOffice2003and

MicrosoftOffice2007donothavecommonentrypointnames.

4 (Optional)SelecttheGenerateMSIpackagecheckboxandchangetheMSIfilename.

5 (Optional)TocreateasmallerexecutablepackageforlocationssuchasaUSBdevice,selecttheCompress

virtualpackagecheckbox.

6ClickSave.

Opening Project and Parameter Files

Thecaptureprocessprovidesanopportunitytoreviewtheprojectfilestoupdatesettingsbeforebuildingthe

executablepackageorMSIpackage.

Forexample,ifyoucaptureFirefox2.0.0.3,youmightbrowsetheC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware

ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3directorytoupdateasetting,suchasanActiveDirectory

specification,inthePackage.inifilethatcontains

theparameterssetduringthecaptureprocess.For

informationaboutupdatingsettings,see“AdvancedPackageConfiguration”onpage 21.

Theprojectincludesfolders,suchas%AppData%,thatrepresentfilesystempathsthatmightchangelocations

whenrunningondifferentoperatingsystemsorcomputers.Mostfoldershave##Attributes.inifilesthat

specifythe

isolationmodeatthefolderlevel.

Build Virtual Applications

Youcanadjustprojectfilesandbuildtheapplicationfordeployment.

Build virtual applications in the Setup Capture wizard

1 (Optional)OntheReadytoBuildpage,scanorchangetheprojectfiles.

2 (Optional)Topreventabuildfromtakingplace,selecttheSkipthebuildprocesscheckbox.

Youcanbuildthepackageatalatertimewiththebuild.bat

fileinthevirtualapplicationfolder.For

example,aFirefox2.0.0.3pathtothebuild.batfilemightbeC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware

ThinApp\Captures\Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3\build.bat.

3ClickBuildtobuildanexecutablepackageorMSIpackagecontainingthefilesyouinstalledduringthe

captureprocess.

Option Description

EditPackage.ini Modifyapplicationparametersfortheentirepackage.

Openprojectfolder BrowseThinAppprojectfilesinWindowsExplorer.

VMware ThinApp 5.0 User guide

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