Overview of Citrix Isolation Options

AdminStudio 2025 | 29.0 | Citrix Assistant

The Citrix XenApp uses isolation environments to control application compatibility and accessibility. The isolation option that is assigned to a file, folder or registry key specifies how the isolation environment will provide access to system resources requested by the application.

The default settings for isolation environments are set on the Citrix XenApp, and those defaults are adequate for most environments. However, in the Citrix Assistant, you can override the default settings for selected files, folders, or registry keys to exert control over application interactions with client operating system resources.

You set isolation options on the Isolation Options dialog box, which is opened by selecting Isolation Options on the context menu when you have a file or folder selected on the Profile Files page or a registry key selected on the Profile Registry page.

On the Isolation Options dialog box, you can choose one of the following isolation options:

Isolation Options

Option	Description
Default	Select this option if you want the default isolation option for this file/folder/registry key as defined on the Citrix XenApp to be applied to this selection. This is the default selection for all files, folders, and registry keys. Caution:You should select this option unless you require specific custom handling.
Ignore	Choose the Ignore option to direct the isolation environment to always use the copy of this selected file/folder/registry key that is on the system, not the one inside the isolation environment. Choosing this option gives the isolation environment direct access to the same location on the system that a non-isolated version of this application would have. By assigning the Ignore isolation option, you are creating a “hole” in the isolation environment to allow an application to write to the underlying system. For example, you would select Ignore in the following situations: • If an application creates a directory for per-user data that is stored in a non-standard location. • If the workstation has extra drive volumes and an installer writes to those drives while installing into a target. • If your file share volume is on your packaging workstation. • When the Citrix profile needs to share data with an application outside the isolation environment, such as when users print to a network printer.
Isolate	Choose the Isolate option to direct the isolation environment to first try to find the copy of this file/folder/registry key that is inside the isolation environment. If the item is not found there, then the isolation environment will use the copy of this file/folder/registry key that is on the system. Selecting Isolate ensures that the isolation environment is not given direct write access to the specified system resource.
Strictly Isolate	Choose the Strictly Isolate option to direct the isolation environment to always use the copy of this file/folder/registry key that is in the isolation environment, not on the system. This is useful when running two versions of an application on the same machine.
Redirect	Choose the Redirect option to redirect a request by the isolation environment for a file/folder/registry key to a specified location on the system (without first searching the user profile root and installation root locations). When selecting this option, you also need to select the location that the isolation environment should redirect to: • Source—Lists the name of the selected item (filename, folder name, registry key). • Destination—[Files and folders only] Click the Browse [...] button and select the file or folder on the system that you want to redirect to. • Destination Root—[Registry keys only] Select the registry root of the registry key on the system that you want to redirect to. • Destination Key—[Registry keys only] Select the registry key on the system that you want to redirect to.