VMware THINAPP User manual

P R O D U C T D A T A S H E E T / 1
D A T A S H E E T
AT A G L ANCE
Designed to eliminate application conflicts and
streamline management, VMware ThinApp™
simplifies application virtualization and reduces
the cost and complexity of application delivery.
As a key component of VMware View™, ThinApp
adds application compatibility to virtual desktop
environments and helps to reduce the management
burden of desktop applications and images.
K E Y B E N E F I T S
•SimplifyWindows7migrations
•Eliminateapplicationconicts
•Minimizecostlyrecodingandregressiontesting
•Streamlineapplicationmanagement
•ReduceITsupportandhelpdeskcosts
•Strengthenendpointsecurity
•Increaseworkforcemobility
•Getintegratedapplicationassignment
VMware ThinApp
ApplicationVirtualizationMadeSimple
What Is ThinApp?
ThinApp is an agentless application virtualization solution that
decouples applications from their underlying operating systems
to eliminate application conflict and streamline application
delivery and management.
How Does ThinApp Work?
ThinApp virtualizes applications by encapsulating application
files and registry into a single ThinApp package that can be
deployed, managed and updated independently from the
underlying operating system (OS). The virtualized applications
do not make any changes to the underlying OS and continue to
behave the same across dierent configurations for compatibility,
consistent end-user experiences, and ease of management.
How Is ThinApp Used?
•Simplify Windows 7 migration—Migrate legacy applications
such as Internet Explorer 6 to 32- and 64-bit Windows 7
systems with ease by using ThinApp to eliminate costly
recoding, regression testing and support costs.
•Eliminate application conflicts—Isolate desktop applications
from each other and from the underlying OS to avoid conflicts.
•Consolidate application streaming servers—Enable multiple
applications and “sandboxed” user-specific configuration data
and settings to safely reside on the same server.
•Reduce desktop storage costs—Leverage ThinApp as a
component of VMware View to reduce desktop storage costs
and streamline updates to endpoints.
•Augment security policies—Deploy ThinApp packages on
“locked-down” PCs and allow end users to run their favorite
applications without compromising security.
•Increase mobility for end users—Deploy, maintain and update
virtualized applications on USB sticks for ultimate portability.
VMware ThinApp simplifies application delivery by encapsulating applications in
portable packages that can be deployed to many end point devices while isolating
applications from each other and the underlying operating system.

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto CA 94304 USA Tel [phone] Fax [phone] www.vmware.com
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VMware ThinApp
Fast, Flexible Application Delivery
•Application link—Configure relationships between virtualized
applications, plug-ins, service packs, and even runtime
environments such as Java and .NET.
•Application sync—Automatically apply updates over the Web
to applications on unmanaged PCs and devices.
•Support for USB drives and thin clients—Deploy, maintain
and update applications on USB storage drives and thin
client terminals.
•Microsoft Windows 7 support—Deploy legacy applications on
32- and 64-bit Windows 7 systems and streamline application
migration by avoiding costly, time-consuming recoding and
regression testing.
Seamless Integration with Existing infrastructure
•Zero-footprint architecture—Plug ThinApp directly into
existing IT tools without the need to add dedicated hardware
or backend databases.
•Integration with management tools—ThinApp creates standard
.MSI and EXE packages that can be delivered through existing
tools from Microsoft, BMC, HP, CA, Novell, Symantec, LANDesk
and others.
•Support for Active Directory authentication—Add and
remove ThinApp users from Active Directory groups, and
prevent unauthorized users from executing ThinApp packages.
•Integrated application assignment in VMware View Manager 4.5—
ThinApp packages can be assigned to individual desktops or
pools of desktops in View Manager to allow for streamlined
application deployment.
Find Out More
For information or to purchase VMware products, call
1-877-4VMWARE (outside of North America dial [phone]),
visit www.vmware.com/products, or search online for an authorized
reseller. For detailed product specifications and systems requirements,
please refer to the VMware ThinApp product documentation.
Key Features
What’s New in ThinApp 4.6
•Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 support—ThinApp now oers
complete support for virtualizing Microsoft Internet Explorer 6
(IE 6) that makes it easy to virtualize and deploy IE 6
application packages to 32- and 64-bit Windows 7 desktops.
•ThinDirect—This new feature gives end users the flexibility to
seamlessly run IE 6 on Windows 7 desktops alongside newer
browsers such as IE 8, and allows administrator to configure
Web pages with IE 6 dependencies to ensure that URLs always
open in the right browser.
•Relink—Upgrade existing ThinApp packages to the new
ThinApp 4.6 format quickly and easily without the need for
associated project files.
•ThinApp Converter—ThinApp works with VMware vSphere™,
VMware ESX® and VMware Workstation images to convert
silently installed applications into ThinApp packages through
a command-line interface that allows for automation of
application conversion and management.
Agentless Application Virtualization
•Agentless architecture—Designed for fast deployment and
ease of management, ThinApp requires no agent code on
target devices.
•Complete application isolation—Package entire applications
and their settings into a single executable that runs independently
on any endpoint, allowing multiple versions or multiple
applications to run on the same device without any conflict.
•Built-in security—Application packages run only in user mode,
so end users have the freedom and flexibility to run their preferred
applications on locked-down PCs without compromising security.
Fast, Flexible Application Packaging
•Package once, deploy to many—Package an application once
and deploy it to desktops (physical or virtual) running Windows
XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
•Three-step setup capture—Use a three-step process for pre-
and post-install system states to simplify application packaging
and support applications that require a reboot during the
installation process.