Parts of a virtual application

A virtual application created with ThinApp consists of the following components:

• Entry points
  The entry points are detected by analyzing the delta snapshot.
• Primary executable (selectable)
  The primary executable is one of the entry points. It contains the ThinApp virtualization layer.
• Secondary executables
  Secondary executables are also entry points. They can only run together with the primary executable .
• Data container
  With very large virtual applications, the primary executable only contains the icon files. The entry points reside in the data container, a *.dat file.
• Shortcut
  During the build process, a shortcut is configured for each entry point that creates a link in the start menu of the host computer at the application's runtime.
• Sandbox
  The sandbox contains user settings and user documents.

The sandbox

ThinApp saves all modifications occurring when the application runs in a so called sandbox. These may be user settings and user documents for instance. You can define the storage location of the sandbox.

The sandbox presents you with the following advantages:

• It saves changes to the virtual application (settings, generated documents) for each user. Each application has its own sandbox.
• It guards the host computer because it is isolated from the operating system.
• It enables applications to run on a terminal server even if they are not already able to.
• It enables applications to run on Microsoft Vista even if they are not already able to.
• The application can revert to a known status by clearing the sandbox.

Figure: Parts of a virtual application. Click to enlarge.