User`s guide
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Application Registration
Application registration integrates the virtualized application packages with the desktop operating system.
The thinreg.exe tool in ThinApp handles application registration. ThinApp MSI packages use thinreg
to automatically perform application registration with the MSI installer, so registration always occurs for an
application that is installed with an MSI. In addition, thinreg can be run from a script or from the command
line. ThinReg.exe can be local to the operating system or on a remote share. One example is to place the
thinreg tool in the netlogon share and call it from a login script. Administrators can run thinreg against
an entire directory of ThinApp packages by using an asterisk (*) as a wildcard character.
Application registration is not mandatory; ThinApp packages will launch and execute without registration.
However, end users and administrators can benefit from the results of registration.
VMware ThinApp allows IT organizations to determine whether to use streaming or deployed execution
mode or to adopt a hybrid approach of managing one set of applications centrally while distributing others
in deployed mode. The same virtualized application packages can be used for either execution mode. The
application registration process performs the same function whether packages are local or remote. The
application registration entries are consistent regardless of the means used to perform the actual registration or
where the package resides.
The process of registering applications takes into account the access control mechanisms that allow
applications.
Role-Based Access to Applications
The registration process can enumerate which users have access to application packages, so the administrator
can register an entire directory of application packages. ThinApp registers only the applications to which a
user is entitled. An administrator can use a script that runs based on group membership, and the script will
register only packages that are valid for a certain group or certain individuals. Two common methods of
Script-Based Registration
The thinreg executable can be incorporated into an existing login script with standard methods such as .bat,
%logonserver%\netlogon\thinreg.exe /Q \\company.com\applications\*.exe
IT organizations can implement the application registration process locally on workstations instead of
thinreg.exe file to
perform the necessary functions on login. Placing thinreg.exe in the Windows directory simplifies the
execution of the script and requires nothing more than the executable to function.
MSI-Based Registration
Organizations can integrate the delivery of ThinApp packages to run in deployed mode whether they are
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