5.1
Table Of Contents
- ThinApp User’s Guide
- Contents
- About This Book
- Installing ThinApp
- Capturing Applications
- Phases of the Capture Process
- Preparing to Capture Applications
- Capturing Applications with the Setup Capture Wizard
- Create a System Image Before the Application Installation
- Rescan the System with the Installed Application
- Defining Entry Points as Shortcuts into the Virtual Environment
- Set Entry Points
- Manage with VMware Horizon Application Manager
- Set User Groups
- Defining Isolation Modes for the Physical File System
- Set File System Isolation Modes
- Storing Application Changes in the Sandbox
- Customize the Sandbox Location
- Send Anonymous Statistics to VMware
- Customize ThinApp Project Settings
- Defining Package Settings
- Customize Package Settings
- Opening Project and Parameter Files
- Build Virtual Applications
- Advanced Package Configuration
- Capturing Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP
- Capturing Multiple Application Installers with ThinApp Converter
- ThinApp Package Management
- Deploying Applications
- ThinApp Deployment Options
- Establishing File Type Associations with the thinreg.exe Utility
- Building an MSI Database
- Controlling Application Access with Active Directory
- Starting and Stopping Virtual Services
- Using ThinApp Packages Streamed from the Network
- Using Captured Applications with Other System Components
- Performing Paste Operations
- Accessing Printers
- Accessing Drivers
- Accessing the Local Disk, the Removable Disk, and Network Shares
- Accessing the System Registry
- Accessing Networking and Sockets
- Using Shared Memory and Named Pipes
- Using COM, DCOM, and Out-of-Process COM Components
- Starting Services
- Using File Type Associations
- Sample Isolation Mode Configuration Depending on Deployment Context
- Updating and Linking Applications
- Application Updates That the End User Triggers
- Application Sync Updates
- Using Application Sync in a Managed or Unmanaged Environment
- Update Firefox 2.0.0.3 to Firefox 3 with Application Sync
- Fix an Incorrect Update with Application Sync
- Application Sync Effect on Entry Point Executable Files
- Updating thinreg.exe Registrations with Application Sync
- Maintaining the Primary Data Container Name with Application Sync
- Completing the Application Sync Process When Applications Create Child Processes
- Application Link Updates
- View of the Application using Application Link
- Link a Base Application to the Microsoft .NET Framework
- Set Up Nested Links with Application Link
- Affecting Isolation Modes with Application Link
- PermittedGroups Effect on Linked Packages
- Sandbox Changes for Standalone and Linked Packages
- Import Order for Linked Packages
- File and Registry Collisions in Linked Packages
- VBScript Collisions in Linked Packages
- VBScript Function Order in Linked Packages
- Storing Multiple Versions of a Linked Application in the Same Directory
- Using Application Sync for a Base Application and Linked Packages
- Application Sync Updates
- Application Updates That the Administrator Triggers
- Automatic Application Updates
- Upgrading Running Applications on a Network Share
- Application Synchronization Using Group Policy Object
- Sandbox Considerations for Upgraded Applications
- Updating the ThinApp Version of Packages
- Application Updates That the End User Triggers
- Locating the ThinApp Sandbox
- Creating ThinApp Snapshots and Projects from the Command Line
- ThinApp File System Formats and Macros
- Creating ThinApp Scripts
- Callback Functions
- Implement Scripts in a ThinApp Environment
- API Functions
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting ThinApp
- Glossary
- Index
VMware, Inc. 55
Chapter 4 Updating and Linking Applications
If you capture Microsoft Office and try to access a PDF attachment in the virtual Microsoft Outlook
environment, you can set up Microsoft Office to detect a linked Adobe Reader package on the network
when Adobe Reader is not available within the immediate virtual or physical environment.
Hot fixes and service packs – Link updates to an application and roll back to a previous version if users
experience significant issues with the new version. You can deploy minor patches to applications as a
single file and reduce the need for rollbacks.
The Application Link utility provides bandwidth savings. For example, if you have Microsoft Office 2007
Service Pack 1 and you want to update to Service Pack 2 without Application Link, you would transfer
1.5Gb of data per computer with the deployment of a new Office 2007 Service Pack 2 package. The
Application Link utility transfers just the updates and not the whole package to the computers.
View of the Application using Application Link
Figure 4-1 shows the running application with a merged view of the system, the base application, and all
linked components. Files, registry keys, services, COM objects, and environment variables from dependency
packages are visible to the base application.
Figure 4-1. View of the System, Base Application, and Linked Components Using Application Link
Link a Base Application to the Microsoft .NET Framework
Review this sample workflow to link a base application, MyApp.exe, to a separate package that contains the
Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework. Make sure that the base application capture process does not include the
Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework. For information about the process of capturing an application, see Chapter 2,
“Capturing Applications,” on page 15.
For information about required and optional Application Link parameters and formats in the Package.ini
file, refer ThinApp Package.ini Parameters Reference Guide.
Local Disk (C:)
Documents and Settings
Program Files
Common Files
ComPlus Applications
Local Disk (C:)
Program Files
Base Application
Local Disk (C:)
Documents and Settings
Program Files
Base Application
Common Files
ComPlus Applications
Component1
Local Disk (C:)
Program Files
Component1
Application Link
merged view of
System Files
+ Base Application
+ Component Package
Component Package
Base Application
System Files