Applications

The applications list allows a library of applications to be configured which can be quickly added to Application Group and Personalization Groups for personalization.

Applications can be specified by version and operating system allowing different instances of the same application to be personalized independently, even when the executable has the same name.

In this section:

Add a New Application from Application Data Collection (Automatic)

  1. In the User Personalization navigation tree, select Personalization Settings > Application Personalization > Applications.

  2. In the Personalization ribbon, click Add Application > From Application Data Collection.

    The Add Application - Data Collection dialog displays. The dialog lists applications that have been collected by Application Data Collection.

  3. Select one of the following radio buttons to target specific application versions:
    • Use Major Application Version - Applications are grouped by their major version number. For example, 5.0 and 5.1 are grouped together, but 6.0 is separate.
    • Use All Application Versions - Applications are grouped, regardless of their version number. For example, 5.0, 5.1 and 6.0 are grouped together.
  4. Select an application from the list.

  5. Click View automatic configuration details.

    A read-only copy of the configuration displays.

    From the snapshot taken at each application close, the following statistics are calculated and displayed alongside each registry key or folder path for all users that have run the application:

    • Occurrences - The total number of times that the registry path or folder path has been accessed by the application.
    • Average Size - The average size of the data in the registry key or folder from each application close. For example, a size of 100 bytes at the first application close and a size of 200 bytes at the second application close displays as an average size of 150 bytes.
    • Peak Size - The largest recorded size of the data in the registry key or folder from each application close. For example, a size of 100 bytes at the first application close and a size of 200 bytes at the second application close displays as a peak size of 200 bytes.

    The cumulative sizes of the Average Size and Peak Size displays at the bottom of the dialog. This information shows the potential profile size per user if the application is personalized.

  6. Click Done to close the automatic configuration view.

    The automatic configuration closes.

  7. Click OK.

    The Enter Details dialog displays.

  8. In the Name field, enter a name to uniquely identify the application within the Environment Manager console. Applications must not have the same name as existing applications or Application Groups.

    Applications must be added to a new or existing Application Group:

    • New Application Group - Specify the Application Group name in the Create New Application Group field. Application Groups must not have the same name as existing applications or Application Groups.
    • Existing Application Group - Select an existing Application Group in the Add to Existing Application Group field.
  9. Click OK.

The application is created and is visible within the Applications work area.

The registry and folder paths from the Application Data Collection automatic configuration are added as inclusions for the application. The global registry, folder and file path inclusions are added as exclusions for the application to ensure that unexpected data is not captured for the application.

Add a New Application from Application Data Collection (Manual)

  1. In the User Personalization navigation tree, select Personalization Settings > Application Personalization > Applications.

  2. In the Personalization ribbon, click Add Application > From Application Data Collection.

    The Add Application - Data Collection dialog displays. The dialog lists applications that have been collected by Application Data Collection.

  3. Select one of the following radio buttons to target specific application versions:
    • Use Major Application Version - Applications are grouped by their major version number. For example, 5.0 and 5.1 are together, but 6.0 is separate.
    • Use All Application Versions - Applications are grouped, regardless of their version number. For example, 5.0, 5.1 and 6.0 are grouped together.
  4. Tick No, I want to configure this application manually (advanced).

  5. Click Configure.

    The dialog lists all registry keys and folder paths which have been collected by Application Data Collection for the selected application.

    From the snapshot taken at each application close, the following statistics are calculated and displayed alongside each registry key or folder path for all users that have run the application:

    • Occurrences - The total number of times that the registry path or folder path has been accessed by the application.
    • Average Size - The average size of the data in the registry key or folder from each application close. For example, a size of 100 bytes at the first application close and a size of 200 bytes at the second application close displays as an average size of 150 bytes.
    • Peak Size - The largest recorded size of the data in the registry key or folder from each application close. For example, a size of 100 bytes at the first application close and a size of 200 bytes at the second application close displays as a peak size of 200 bytes.
  6. If required, tick Hide paths which are rarely personalized to filter out paths which are not recommended for inclusion.

  7. Tick the registry and folder paths to be added as inclusions for the Application Group.

    As paths are selected and deselected, the Application Profile Size updates with the cumulative sizes of the Average Size and Peak Size for the selected paths. This information shows the potential profile size per user if the application is personalized.

  8. Click OK.

    The Enter Details dialog displays.

  9. In the Name field, enter a name to uniquely identify the application within the Environment Manager console. Applications must not have the same name as existing applications or Application Groups.

    Applications must be added to a new or existing Application Group:

    • New Application Group - Specify the Application Group name in the Create New Application Group field. Application Groups must not have the same name as existing applications or Application Groups.
    • Existing Application Group - Select an existing Application Group in the Add to Existing Application Group field.

    The application is created and is visible within the Applications work area.

  10. Click OK.

The registry and folder paths from the Application Data Collection manual configuration are added as inclusions for the application. The global registry, folder and file path inclusions are added as exclusions for the application to ensure that unexpected data is not captured for the application.

Add a New Application by Name

  1. In the User Personalization navigation tree, select Personalization Settings > Application Personalization > Application Group.
  2. Select an application group.

  3. From the Personalization ribbon, click Add Application > Select Application.

    The Select Applications displays.

  4. Click New > By Name.

    The Add an Application dialog displays.

  5. In the Application field, enter an application executable name or click the ellipsis (...) to select an application from the file system.
  6. Optionally, in the Folder field, enter a folder path or click the ellipsis to select a folder from the file system. The application is managed only if it is located in the specified folder. If the field is left blank, all applications matching the entered criteria are managed, regardless of location.
  7. In the Name field, enter a name to uniquely identify the application within the Environment Manager console. Applications must not have the same name as existing applications or Application Groups.
  8. Optionally, in the Operating System and Application Version fields, specify regular expressions to target a specific operating system or application version. Alternatively, use the .* default regular expression to include all operating systems and application versions.

  9. Click OK.

    The application is created and is listed in the Select Applications dialog.

  10. Select the new application in the list and click OK.

The application is added to the Application Group.

Edit Application Properties

Once an application has been added to the Applications list, its details can be amended as required.

  1. In the User Personalization navigation tree, select Personalization Settings > Application Personalization > Application.;
  2. The available applications are listed in the work area.

  3. Select the application you want to edit.

    Details of the application are displayed at the bottom of the work area.

    Application Properties

  4. Update the required properties:
    • Name - The name given to the application which appears in the application list. This can be changed as required but must not duplicate an existing application name.
    • Folder - The folder path specified for the application. Only matching applications in this folder are managed. The path can be amended or deleted.
    • Executable - The name of the executable file for the application. This can be entered directly or browsed for using the ellipsis. Unlike the application name, the executable name can be a duplicate of an existing executable. This enables different versions and operating systems to be catered for.
    • Operating System - Make the application specific to an operating system using regular expressions or by entering a specific OS. The default regular expression (.*) matches all operating systems

    • Application Version - Manage a specific version of the application by entering a specific version number or by using a regular expression. The default regular expression (.*) matches all version numbers.

    5. The combination of Application executable name, Operating System and Application Version must be unique.

    Adding a regular expression such as 11.* matches anywhere in the version string, for example, in 11.1.2.3 and 4.5.11.2.

    To match only the start of the string, prefix the regular expression with a caret (^). For example, ^11.* matches 11.1.2.3 but does not match 4.5.11.2.

    The Application tab also includes creation and modification dates and details of the user who performed the actions.

    The regular expressions used in Environment Manager conform to Microsoft CAtIRegExp Class framework.

  5. Click away from the fields, such as within the work area, to automatically update the edited details in the Application - User list.

Delete an Application from the Applications List

To delete an application, select it from the applications list, right-click and select Delete.

Environment Manager checks where the application is referenced in the configuration and displays any dependencies the application has, such as belonging to an application or personalization group. Use this information to amend your personalization configuration if required.

Deleting an application removes every instance of that application; it will be removed from all application and Personalization groups

Related Topics

Application Groups

Inclusions and Exclusions

Personalization Applications