5.1

ThinApp User’s Guide
58 VMware, Inc.
File and Registry Collisions in Linked Packages
If the base application and a dependent package linked to the base application contain file or registry entries
at the same location, a collision occurs. When this happens, the order of import operations determines which
package has priority. The last package imported has priority in such cases and the file or registry contents from
that package are visible to the running applications.
VBScript Collisions in Linked Packages
VBScript name collisions might prevent scripts in other imported packages from running. If you link packages
with Application Link and those packages have scripts with the same name, ThinApp places the VBScripts
from the linked packages into a single pool. For scripts with the same name, ThinApp runs the script from the
last imported package and disregards the other scripts.
For example, a base package might contain the a.vbs and b.vbs files and a dependent package might contain
the b.vbs and c.vbs files. Because a filename collision exists between the b.vbs files, the VBScript in the last
imported package specified in a RequiredAppLinks or OptionalAppLinks parameter overrides any
previously imported scripts with the same name. In this case, ThinApp condenses the pool of four .vbs files
into a single pool with the a.vbs file from the base package and b.vbs and c.vbs files from the dependent
package.
VBScript Function Order in Linked Packages
In a pool of VBScripts for packages linked with Application Link, functions in the main bodies of the scripts
run in alphabetical order of the script names. ThinApp callback functions in the scripts run in reverse
alphabetical order of the script names in the pool.
Storing Multiple Versions of a Linked Application in the Same Directory
If the directory holds a linked package, and you add an updated version of the linked package in the same
directory, the Application Link utility detects and uses the updated version.
Using Application Sync for a Base Application and Linked Packages
If you use Application Link to link packages to a base package, and you start the base package, Application
Sync can update only the base package. For example, if you build a Microsoft Office 2007 package with
Application Sync entries in the Package.ini file, build an Adobe Reader package with Application Sync
entries in the Package.ini file, use Application Link to link the two packages, and start Microsoft Office 2007,
Application Sync only updates Microsoft Office 2007. You can update both Microsoft Office 2007 and Adobe
Reader by starting each application separately.
If you do not update all the applications and link a base application to an expired plug-in, the base application
can still load and use the plug-in.
Application Updates That the Administrator Triggers
ThinApp provides the AppSync.exe and sbmerge.exe utilities for administrators.
The AppSync.exe utility forces an Application Sync update on a client machine.
The sbmerge.exe utility make incremental updates to applications. For example, an administrator might use
the utility to incorporate a plug-in for Firefox or to change the home page of a Web site to point to a different
default site.