User`s guide

VMware ThinApp Reviewer’s Guide
REVIEWER’S GUIDE / 64
Updating ThinApp Packages
Application updates can be necessary either to provide additional application functionality for end users or to
comply with administratively prescribed updates to software. When packaging applications, it is necessary to
decide if the responsibility to package the application rests with the user or the administrator. Users who self-
update virtualized applications will incorporate the application changes directly into the application’s sandbox,
which may increase the size of the footprint significantly. If a user self-updates an application, those settings
also may interfere with future updates provided by the administrator.
Packaging Updates and Modifications
There are three methods for creating the updated package:
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Choose the method most appropriate for the update you wish to deploy.
Recapture
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updates between the Setup Capture pre-scan and post-scan snapshots. The result of this process is a new
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Microsoft OneNote. To create the updated package, simply install Microsoft OneNote and apply the most recent
Service Pack, then build a new application package.
Sandbox Merge
This method consolidates updates from a sandbox into an existing project directory. To use the Sandbox Merge
method, first launch the virtualized application onto a clean workstation. Then run the update, which will place
the new files, registry, and configuration changes into the sandbox of that computer. Then use the sbmerge
utility provided with the ThinApp program files to merge the changes from the sandbox into the existing
project directory. Then rebuild the package to incorporate the changes.
Post-Capture
The post-capture method of incorporating updates involves manually placing folders in the appropriate
directories of the capture, manually editing the registry files to include changes, and editing the Package.ini
file to change configuration settings. Use this method when you definitively know the files or registry changes
that you want to make. This method does not require the use of the Setup Capture process, but you must
rebuild the package with the build.bat file to incorporate the changes.
Deploying Updates
After the application changes have been incorporated into an update package, there are three methods for
deployment of the update:
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