Add AppLink Reference Dialog Box

AdminStudio 2023 | 25.0 | ThinApp Assistant

Note:The AppLink Settings feature requires ThinApp 4.x If you are using Thinstall 3.x, any AppLink settings that you define will be ignored.

The AppLink (Application Link) feature enables you to configure relationships between ThinApp applications that work together. On the Add AppLink Reference dialog box, which is opened by clicking the Browse button on the AppLink Settings dialog box, you specify the name and location of a ThinApp application and indicate whether that application is Required or Optional.

In the ThinApp Reference box, enter the relative (runtime) path to the existing ThinApp application that you want to link to. For more information on how to specify a ThinApp Reference, see the following:

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Enter a Relative Path

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Path Name Format

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Which ThinApp File Should Be Specified in an AppLink Reference?

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Required vs. Optional

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Examples of AppLink References

Enter a Relative Path

On the Add AppLink Reference dialog box, if you click Browse and browse for a ThinApp application, the absolute path to that application is entered, such as C:\Program Files\AppName\filename.exe. In that case, the main ThinApp application needs that linked application to be found at the specified absolute path location at runtime, which is unlikely. Therefore, it is recommended that you enter a relative path name.

Path Name Format

AppLink supports both URL and UNC path names.

Which ThinApp File Should Be Specified in an AppLink Reference?

If a ThinApp application has only one shortcut, it consists of a single executable. Therefore, you would obviously specify that executable file when creating an AppLink Reference.

However, when a ThinApp application has more than one shortcut, the ThinApp file that you specify in an AppLink Reference depends upon what tool you used to build the ThinApp application:

File to Specify in an AppLink Reference
Tool Used to Build ThinApp Application	# of Shortcuts	ThinApp Application File to Specify
AdminStudio or ThinApp	Only one	Specify the executable file (.EXE).
AdminStudio	More than one	When built with AdminStudio, a ThinApp application that has more than one shortcut consists of two or more executable files and a Package.DAT file (as described in Components of an App-V Package). In this situation, specify the Package.DAT file.
ThinApp	More than one	When built with ThinApp, a ThinApp application that has more than one shortcut consists of multiple executable files, with one primary executable. In this situation, specify the primary executable file (.EXE).

Required vs. Optional

If you want this package to be required, select the Required option. If a required package is missing from the virtual package, it will fail to run. Note the following about required packages:

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If any specified package fails to import, an error message will be displayed and the parent executable file will exit.

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If a wildcard pattern is used to specify a package, no error message is displayed if no files match the wildcard pattern. Therefore, if a wildcard pattern is used to specify a package, the reference is always optional.

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To continue even if load errors occur, make the package references optional instead.

Examples of AppLink References

The following are examples of how packages can be added to the AppLink References list:

AppLink References Examples
Example	Description
Plugin.exe	This will import a single package located in the same directory as the parent executable.
plugins\Plugin.exe	This will import a single package located in the plugins subdirectory of the parent executable.
plugins\*.exe	This will import all executables located in the plugins directory. Important:If any executable fails to import because it is not a proper ThinApp package or because of a security issue, the parent executable will fail to load.
n:\plugins\*.exe	This will import all EXEs located at the absolute path n:\plugins.
%PLUGINS%\*.exe	This expands the environment variable, PLUGINS, and imports all executables found at this location.
plugin1.exe;plugin2.exe;plugins\*.exe	This loads two specified plugins and a list of executables found in the plugins subdirectory.