Q. How do I distribute VMware ThinApp applications?

A. Because there's no agent for ThinApp applications, there's no client side service to check for applications and pull them down. Instead, you typically place ThinApp applications on a network share, USB drive, or local hard drive.

You need to place shortcuts on user desktops and create file extension associations (so that if someone clicks a DOCX file, ThinApp Word is launched). To create the shortcuts and associations, use ThinReg.exe, which is placed on a file share or logon folder. The logon script calls ThinReg to register all the applications from the network share containing the ThinApps, based on the applications to which the user has access. This access is determined based on groups encoded in the application and the user's group memberships.

Another option is to generate MSI files and deploy to computers using normal MSI deployment techniques. This option copies the ThinApp to the local PC as well as registering shortcuts and file type associations.

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