How To ThinApp Microsoft Office 2007

The steps for Virtualizing the Microsoft Office 2007 suite are much the same as most other packages.  Before we begin, as with any ThinApp build, we will need the following:

• A virtual machine running Windows XP with no additional software installed
  

  Note: I like to keep a virtual machine in my inventory for ThinApp provisioning that has a snapshot taken just after the OS was installed. This allows me to reuse the same VM each time I build a new ThinApp package (I just revert to the fresh OS build snapshot.)

• A licensed copy of the software to be installed.  Many Microsoft products will require a valid Volume License Key (VLK) but you should check with your software’s manufacture for the specifics of their licensing agreement
  

  Note: The number of licensed copies will depend on the number of machines you intend to run the software on. Just like any other non-virtualized application, Thinapp packages do not negate the need for a licensed copy of the software. You must be licensed for the number of copies used in the enterprise.

1. Power on the XP virtual machine on which you will install the Office 2007 suite.  This VM must be running a pristine copy of Windows XP with no other software installed.
   
   Note: If you have not already done so, you might consider taking a snapshot of the VM before the installation of Office so that the VM can be reused later for other ThinApp builds.
   
   
2. Run ThinApp's Setup Capture on the pristine copy of Windows XP
   
   
   Note: In our example, we have created a share for the ThinApp Setup Capture executables.  ThinApp should not be installed on the pristine copy of Windows XP.   It should be run from a network share as in the image above.
   
   
3. Click Next on the Setup Capture screen
   
   
   
   
4. Click Next on the Prescan instructions screen
   
   
   
   
5. ThinApp will perform a prescan to create a “baseline” of your VM before Office is installed.  This scan should take less than a minute.  It will later use this baseline for comparison (changes to the file system and registry) to create the virtualized package.
   
   
   
   
6. Once the prescan has completed, you’ll be presented with a screen instructing you to install your software
   
   
   
   
7. Minimize the ThinApp screen and begin your Office 2007 installation. 
   
   
   
   

   Some applications like Office will allow you to run certain components of the application from a CD.  Unfortunately, this feature is not supported by ThinApp.  Therefore, you should ensure all components of Office are installed to disk using a custom installation. If there are any patches or updates to the application, those should also be installed at this time. The installation of the application and/or patches might require a reboot.  Don’t worry if you’re forced to reboot the system, ThinApp will automatically continue where it left off. If there are any post installation customizations that need to be done, do so at this time.  Remember that any changes made will carry forward with the virtualized application.  In the case of Microsoft Word, if you need to run it after the install (to make customizations etc.,) the first time it's run, you will be prompted to provide your name and initials.  Since we want each of our users to enter their name and initials respectively (not use ours), you should not enter anything into this field and hit cancel so that it will prompt our users for this information the first time they run it (as a virtualized application.)

   
   
8. Once the installation has completed, return to Setup Capture and click Next
   
   
   
   
9. Setup Capture will then being the process of a postscan.  During the postscan, the baseline is compared to the current state of the machine.  Any changes made to the state of the virtual machine thus far will be captured as part of the build.
   
   
   
   
10. On the entry points windows, leave the primary data container as the default “Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007.dat”.  If you use thinreg to register your Thinapps on Windows, whatever has been provided for the Inventory name will show up in the Windows Add/Remove Program control panel.  Set the inventory name to reflect the contents of the virtualized application. 
    
    
    
    
11. Look though the list of entry points deselecting any application you do not wish to include within the ThinApp package set.  Click Next once complete.
    
    
    
    
12. Chose your desired sandbox location and click Next
    
    
    Note: I like to leave the sandbox with the User’s profile and control this with profile redirection
    
    
13. Chose the “Merged isolation mode” and click Next
    
    
    
    
14. In the Project Location field, provide a location to store the ThinApp build.  Once you’re satisfied, click Next
    
    
    Note: You can move/change the location of these files later if needed.  ThinApp only needs to know where to initially store the project for its first build.  Later builds or changes to the published location can be done from another location.
    
    
15. ThinApp will then begin copying the project to the build location set in the previous step 
    
    
    
    
16. Once the files have been copied, you will be presented with the build project screen.  Select the ‘Browse Project’ option.  Before we build the package, we need to perform some clean-up and make some modifications to it before we continue on. 
    
    
    

General Postcapture Modifications

Before we return to Setup Capture and build our package, as with any ThinApp package, there are a handful of modifications that should be considered prior to build.  These modifications are not specific to Microsoft Office but generally considered to be good practice with any ThinApp build:

1. Delete the following directories (some may not exist) from the build project folder:
   • %COOKIES%
   • %DRIVE_C%
   • %HISTORY%
   • %INTERNET CACHE%
   • %PROFILE%
   • %COMMON APPDATA%\VMware
     
2. If you do not want any customization made to your Office build (i.e. you inadvertently provided your user initial or made some other customization that you want excluded from the package) delete the contents of the %APPDATA% directory leaving only the ##Attributes.ini file.
   
   
3. If you want to make the package portal (run from a USB flash drive) you can do so by including the following option in your package.ini file (located in the root of the build directory):
   • SandboxRemovableDisk=1
     
4. If you need additional application linking included with the build, from the build directory:
   • Create a new folder for the application that will be linked to as part of the build. 
     Example: Plugins
   • Place the executables to be included in the new folder created in the previous step
     
   • Use the ‘RequiredAppLinks’ and/or ‘OptionalAppLinks’ options in the package.ini to specify the location of the additional executables to be included within the package.  Multiple files/locations can be listed using a ‘;’ as the delimiter.  You can also use a URL and/or UNC path.
     Examples:
     

     RequiredAppLinks=Plugins\first.exe; Plugins\second.exe OptionalAppLinks=Plugins\*.exe RequiredAppLinks=Directory1\*.exe; Directory2\*.exe OptionalAppLinks=http://www.tcpdump.com/Plugins/file.exe

5. If you would like the package to perform application syncing, modify the following options in the package.ini file:
   • AppSyncURL=https://www.tcpdump.com/ThinAppPackages/MyPackage.exe
   • AppSyncUpdateFrequency=1d
   • AppSyncExpirePeriod=30d
   • AppSyncWarningPeriod=5d
   • AppSyncWarningFrequency=1d
   • AppSyncWarningMessage=This application will become unavailable for use in remaining_days10368826ay(s) if it cannot contact its update server. Please check your network connection to ensure uninterrupted service
   • AppSyncExpireMessage=This application has been unable to contact its update server for xpire_days0ay(s).  To continue using this package, please ensure your network connection is available and try again.
   • AppSyncUpdatedMessage=
   • AppSyncClearSandboxOnUpdate=0

Office Specific Modifications

These modifications are specific to the Office 2007 suite

1. To fix ‘Handwritting’ compatibility issue between Office 2003 and Office 2007, change the isolation settings in the ##Attributes.ini file to WriteCopy in the following locations:
   %ProgramFilesDir%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\INK
   %ProgramFilesDir%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office11
   %ProgramFilesDir%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office11\1033
   %ProgramFilesDir%\Microsoft Office
   %ProgramFilesDir%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office11\1033
   
   
   
   
2. The isolation mode on a couple of registry entries should be modified as well in order for some standard functions to work properly. To do so, edit the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.txt file and search for these keys and modify the from isolationmode_full to isolationmode_writecopy
   
   • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\379E92CC2CB71D119A12000A9CE1A22A
   • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\1650EACF3C291D11A92C0006794C4E25
3. To fix application sync and compressing specific to “ODSERV.EXE", modify (or create) the ##ATTRIBUTES.INI file in the %Program Files Common%\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE12\ folder of your Office 2007 package and set the compression settings to none
   
   

Outlook Specific Modifications

1. To fix printing issues within Outlook, delete the following values if they exist from the HKEY_CURRENT_USER.txt file:
   
   

   isolation_writecopy HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Devices Value=Microsoft Office Document Image Writer REG_SZ~winspool,Ne00:#2300 isolation_writecopy HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PrinterPorts Value=Microsoft Office Document Image Writer REG_SZ~winspool,Ne00:,15,45#2300 isolation_writecopy HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Value=Device REG_SZ~Microsoft Office Document Image Writer,winspool,Ne00:#2300

   
   
2. To fix isolation mode compatibility issues between systems with Outlook preinstalled
   • Modify the isolation settings in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER.TXT file
     
     

     isolation_full HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities isolation_full HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles

     
     
   • Create/Modify the ##Attributes.INI file with DirectoryIsolationMode set to FULL in the following folders
     
     

     %AppData%\Microsoft\AddIns %AppData%\Microsoft\Office %AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook %Local AppData%\Microsoft\FORMS %Local AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook

     
     
   • Modify the HKEY_CURRENT_USER.TXT to fix Outlook secure temp folders:

     Look for "isolation_full HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security".  If it does not exist, create it and add the following entries below:
     Value=OutlookSecureTempFolder
     REG_SZ~%Profile%\Local Settings\OutlookTemp#2300

Completing the Project Build

We are now ready to complete our project build.

1. Return to Setup Capture and choose the "Build Now" option.  If you accidentally closed Setup Capture or are returning to the build after making some updates to the packages build parameters, you can alternatively run the build.bat located in the project location folder from step #14 of our original instructions.  Selecting the "Build Now" option or running the build.bat perform the same tasks.
   
   
   
   
2. If the build completes without error, you'll find the executables (and MSIs' if you chose the "Generate MSI" option) located in the "bin" folder of your project.
   
   
   
   
3. Test the applications by running each of them from the "bin" folder.
4. If your satisfied with the build, copy the executables in the "bin" folder to a network share your users have read access and use Thinreg to register Office with your users computer.

Congratulations, you have virtualized Microsoft Office 2007!  If you having troubles deploying Office, see our Thinapp Deployment KB for a how-to on deploying and registering virtualized applications using thinreg via a logon script.  We hope you enjoyed another VMware KB!

Add this page to your favorite website

Comments

Add New Search

smitty ness  - visitor |28/06/2011 14:41:20 Last time i come here too, this is bogus and misleading, if you really want to know how this works properly, keep Googling.. this is not the place where good information lives. Reply | Quote

Write comment
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Website:
Title:
UBBCode:	-color-aquablackbluefuchsiagraygreenlimemaroonnavyolivepurpleredsilvertealwhiteyellow -size-tinysmallmediumlargehuge
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."