TMEdit The Ultimate App-V Package Editor
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Menu: Extensions: Software Clients
App-V categorizes aspects of an applications installation into a set of "Extensions", each of which require special processing either during app deployment or during the virtual app runtime.
Software Clients are an externally exposed extension that affects the external OS during App-V Publishing. This allows for replacement of certain OS supplied components to be handled by this vendor version. The OS defines five replaceable components, not all of which are relevant these days:
Browser: Replace Internet Explorer/Edge as the default browser.
Email: Replace the inbox mail program. You know, the one nobody uses because Outlook is installed and it has a software client definition for this.
Instant Messaging: Formerly, "Messenger" was part of the native OS. It no longer is so you get nothing or an app you supply.
Media Player: Music and videos.
Java Virtual Machine: Microsoft's JVM was dropped years ago.
While the App-V package captures the registry based items for Sw Clients laid down by the installer, it collects the essence of the Sw Client the attributes of the virtual Software Clients extension. Most importantly, this essence (intentionally) looses knowledge as to whether the entry was laid down for all users or just the current user. Instead, App-V will deploy this SW Client extension on the bases of the type of publishing performed (to a named user or device, aka "global" publishing).
As these entries point to exe files to be run in your package, when invoked by something outside of the virtual environment, that executable will run inside the virtual environment for your package and may need visibility to any files referenced on the command line. This should be OK for starting by native apps but could be an issue for starting by another virtual app, in which case a Connection Group may be needed.
You can to the following for an SSW Client:
- View the definition.
- Disable the Handler by unchecking the Enabled field.
- Modify most fields.