Office 2010 – Click to run installer – “modification”
As a tech guy you get invited for beta’s on a regular basis, this happened to me for office 2010 a while ago. When i logged on to Microsoft connect i found out Microsoft does not give away full blown iso’s anymore but something they like to call “Click to run Installer”. *hmm interesting.
A couple of minutes after installing it was clear to me the click to run installer is a modified version of Microsoft app-v (softgrid registry keys, the famous Q drive etc), only the softgrid processes are hidden and sfttray does not seem available.
Well so far so good, but then i remembered the app-v 4.6 beta also went public. so this is where it got interesting: What if i take the OSD files from the “Click to run installer” and feed them to a normal app-v client. i guessed there would be some sort of mechanism preventing me to load the applications, this suspicion was increased by the first application i started because it was asking for a certificate 
but no worries.. From all the osd files i managed to start a certificate manager 
So here is a little howto:
- Get invited to the beta of office 2010 to get your hands on some OSD files
- Get the app-v 4.6 client (connect.microsoft.com)
- Extract the OSD files from the machine where you ran the “click to run installer” (C:\Users\Public\Documents\SoftGrid Client\OSD Cache)
- Import the OSD files on the app-v 4.6 client
- Load the application(s): for instance with “Sfttray.exe /loadall”
- Run the application via the GUID name: for instance “Sfttray.exe /launch {eef3cf80-26b2}”
I definitely see a future for this type of application delivery, where even home users use techniques that are common for enterprises these days: How great would it be if you could just stream a application and only pay when you are really using it ? – as a service!
App-v ADM
Wow, app-v is hot this week, not only did Ment van der Plas release his ACDC tool, but also Ruben Koene released his improved version of the SoftGrid 4.1 Client ADM by Rodney Medina. In his most creative mood Ruben called it the: App-V 4.5 Add-on ADM v1.0.
The App-V 4.5 Add-on ADM Template configures client setting for the App-V 4.5 for Windows Desktops Client. The ADM template centrally manages common client configurations by using an existing Group Policy infrastructure and includes settings for communication, client Settings, client Interface and permissions. The App-V 4.5 Add-on ADM Template is a template that fills the gap of the Microsoft App-V 4.5 ADM template. This template is supplementary to the Microsoft App-V 4.5 ADM Template.
New app-v Tool available
It is time to vistit www.loginconsultants.com again, Ment van der Plas created the App-V 4.5 Client Diagnostic and Configuration Tool 1.0 in short ACDC. (Not to mistake with the band or the image editor )
The App-V 4.5 Client Diagnostic and Configuration tool makes it possible for administrators or users to troubleshoot virtual applications and the environment they run in:
· Launch predefined and custom commands within the virtual environment of each application.
· See the impact of the App-V Client and the available virtual applications on your system by calculating package size, cache size, user delta file size, log file size etc.
· Diagnose problems with App-V applications by parsing the App-V Client log file (in real time) and search any message online.
· Configure settings that are not visible in the App-V Client GUI, such as "Predictive Streaming", "Allow Stream from File", "Max Package Age" and many more.
· Give an overview of application and package information by merging important WMI, registry and OSD information in one single window.
· ACDC can be run both as an Administrator and as a Limited User. Running as a limited user will limit the functionality of the tool due to the fact that it has less permission on the system.
Very nice job Ment!