App-V 5 Scripting hints.

Scripting

https://www.alkanesolutions.co.uk/blog/2016/05/17/powershell-scripting-examples-app-v/

App-V Passthough Registry Keys

The registry keys which the Virtualised application can passthough to the physical registry are listed in this key

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Subsystem\VirtualRegistry\RemoteThroughPaths

History of application streaming

 

Excellent article with a brief history of application streaming and virtualization by Tim Mangan

https://www.tmurgent.com/TmBlog/?p=2134

Windows 10 AppX apps may not inter-operate with AppV 5 apps as expected

Scenario

App-V package of software that used image file formats, copied the files to %TEMP% before using the prevailing FTA to launch the assigned app.  For operational reasons the %TEMP% folder in the App-V package needed to be virtualised.  In this case, on Windows 10, the application for displaying images was the built in AppX app "Photos". 

Fault

In the above scenario "Photos" was unable to display the image in the virtualised %TEMP% folder. It is theorized that the AppX app Photos was unable to "see" inside the App-V bubble as conventional apps can.

Workaround

If the user changed the FTA for the file extension to MSPaint (a conventional windows app) then paint would correctly launch, see the image file in the virtual %TEMP% folder and display it.

App-V Office Add-in fails to load. Sorry, we couldn't find.........

In some situations App-V Microsoft Office Add-ins can fail to load and also cause a particular type of error message to be generated.  This effect has been seen with COM add-ins crashing Excel at launch and failing to load in Powerpoint.  If attempts are made to activate the add-in via the COM Add-in manager, then an error can appear similar to:

Microsoft Powerpoint
Sorry, we couldn't find C:\Users\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Powerpoint\.  Is it possible it was moved, renamed or deleted?


If this occurs, evaluate the sequencing method being used and how the normal installation behaves when the Add-in is first launched with Excel or Powerpoint.  With the Mekko Graphics add-in, a license dialog is initialized at first launch.  It is this which appears to result in this type of error.

For the Mekko Graphics sequence the correct approach was to launch Excel and Powerpoint during sequencing.  Then edit the sequence to apply the following modifications:

The following keys MUST be set to Merge
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Excel
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\PowerPoint\Addins
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\PowerPoint
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\PowerPoint\Addins
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\PowerPoint

The following files must be removed from the sequence
Package\Root\VFS\Common AppData\Knowledge Management\Mekko Graphics\mekko.lic
Package\Root\VFS\Common AppData\Knowledge Management\MekkoGraphics\MGConfig

The merge settings allow the add-in to co-exist with other add-in type packages that may exist in the connection group.  Deleting the license files allows "normal" operation of the add-in.  Repair / Reset works ;-)

App-V 5 App not launching / eventlog error

An App-V application fails to launch.  The following error appears in the App-V event log

Process 22004 failed to start due to Registry Staging subsystem failure. Package ID {187e5d55-af22-459e-bf2f-4ce9d9f7cbf5}. Version ID {cce01d5d-2ff0-4ae7-81bd-ce4ffa3d4936}. Error: 0x7D800D2A-0x3F1

Repair operations will not resolve this.

To fix this problem remove all the packages and connection groups associated with the application which is failing to launch.  Allow the deployment system to re-apply the App-V packages.

App-V 5 App not launching / repair error code 040000002C

If this key, associated with a users SID, is incorrectly formed then App-V apps may not launch for the user and app-v repair commands return an error code 040000002C

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client\Virtualization\LocalVFSSecuredUsers

S-1-5-21-1529150018-825634664-3829716540-1086429
REG_SZ
C:\users\default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\AppV\Client\VFS

This is incorrect they key should have the correct value of:
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\AppV\Client\VFS

Changing the data value and rebooting resolves the issue.

The cause of the key change to the incorrect key is unknown at the time of posting.

This fix was derived from the information in this post:

http://www.applepie.se/app-v-5-and-publishing-error-code-040000002c

App-V 5.x User Scripts not working

Attempting to use App-V user start process scripts on a stand alone Windows 7 computer with local user accounts results in an error of

The application failed to launch
This may be due to a network failure
Error code: 0x0DF01725-00000534

Annoyingly, on Windows 10 (Anniversary) there is no visible or logged error at all, the app just fails to launch, even though the log acknowledges (4004 event) that the script has been called.

The workaround is to use domain accounts not local accounts.

Thanks to Dan Gough for posting this
http://packageology.com/2014/03/user-scripts-broken-app-v-5-0-sp2-local-accounts

Enabling the Windows 10 Native App-V Client

The Windows 10 Native App-V Client is not enabled by default.

Attempting to start the Microsoft App-V Client services produces an error:

Windows could not start the Microsoft App-V client on Local Computer.  For more information, review the System Event Log.  If this is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code <error code here>.

You can enable the client by entering the powershell command

Enable-AppV

Group Policy can be used:
Open the device’s Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > App-V.
Run Enables App-V Client and then select Enabled on the screen that appears.
Restart the device.



There is also a reference to this problem here:

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/appv/2014/09/03/support-tip-the-app-v-client-service-fails-to-start-and-logs-event-id-7024/

App-V 5x version history

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack/appv-v5/about-app-v-51

App-V Version Reference

5.0 RTM              5.0.285.0
5.0 hotfix1           5.0.515.0
5.0 SP1                5.0.1104.0
5.0 SP2                5.0.3361.0
5.0 SP2 hotfix 2   5.0.3384.0 (Clients Only)
5.0 SP2 hotfix 4   5.0.3400.0
5.0 SP2 hotfix 5   5.0.3404.0 (Clients Only)
5.0 SP2 hotfix 6   ?
5.0 SP3                 5.0.10107.0 (sequencer does not upgrade previous versions. The previous version must be removed first.  Client version DOES upgrade.


5.1 client prereqs
.NET 4.5.1 required (KB2858728))
Powershell 3.0 (KB2506143) or higher
Windows 7 Update KB25333623 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2533623/microsoft-security-advisory-insecure-library-loading-could-allow-remot

5.1 sequencer prereqs
.NET 4.5.1 required (KB2858728))
Powershell 3.0 (KB2506143) or higher

5.1 HF08 sequencer prereqs
above plus KB25333623

update:
KB2533623 superceded by DB2758857
https://sccmentor.com/2013/07/30/kb2533623-superseded-by-kb2758857/

5.1                                    5.1.85.0
5.1                                    5.1.86.0
5.1 HF01                          5.1.99.0 (CO = Clients Only)
5.1 HF02                          5.1.101.0 (CO)
5.1 HF03                          5.1.104.0 (CO)
5.1 June 2016 SR             5.1.106.0 (CO)
5.1 HF05                          5.1.108.0 (CO)
5.1 Sept 2016 SR             5.1.115.0 (CO)
5.1 HF07                          5.1.116.0 (CO)
5.1 HF08  Mar2017 SR    5.1.118 - Offline Client and Sequencers will need a certificate installed.  Clients update, Sequencers full install.

Installing the HF08 sequencer (AppV5.1RTM_Sequencer_KB4014009.exe) can be a bit of a mission.
You must install the KB2533623 update first
If the sequencer is offline then you will need to install the Microsoft Root CA certificate.
How to export the MS Root CA certificate
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/555252
From experience you can just double click and install but make sure you choose Trusted Root Certification Authorities.
How to install a root certificate.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc750534.aspx


More detailed client release / version info here
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2940578

Tim's page is probably more up to date though
http://www.tmurgent.com/appv/en/resources/app-v-5-versions

Note that the Client UI application has its own version which does not correspond to the App-V Client version.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update version 1607 contains an App-V client which reports itself as 5.2 in the registry location
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client\Version

General Microsoft End of Support information (End of Life)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search

App-V 4.6 SP3 ended Mainstream support 14/07/2015
http://www.tmurgent.com/AppV/en/resources/app-v-4-versions

http://parlakyigit.net/ebooks/App_V_Versions.pdf

Enable Browser Controls

Enable Browser Controls is activated automatically by the sequencer if they are detected.  Watch out though. It is important to understand this concept described by Tim Mangan here

http://www.tmurgent.com/TMBlog/?p=2240

Briefly, Tim explains that if IE is launching with a connection group to supply visualized components then override settings on the registry keys need to be changed to merge.  Otherwise one of the app-v packages will work while the rest do not.

Teradata Tools and Utilites (TTU) 15.10

First crack looked fine until the SQL Assistant crashed on launch.  Much head scratching until the realization that the shortcut was pointing to startup.exe but the actual process was SQLA.EXE.  Launching SQLA.EXE in the bubble worked fine, so the shortcut was successfully changed from startup.exe to SQLA.EXE.  startup.exe must be some kind of launcher stub used for unknown reasons and incompatible with App-V 5.

ODBC DSNs may be required so watch out for those.

While troubleshooting, launching during sequencing or use of the PVAD caused this error during the save operation:

The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007139F

This was tracked down to the TTUProductList shortcut with an invalid path to its icon file.  Correct the icon path to point to a valid file resource and check that the file resources do not have a bad path to the original icon file.  The path seen in the sequencer window had an invalid  ..  (2dots)  in the tree which looked like it could cause trouble.

Inmagic DBTextWorks 13 needs PVAD

Inmagic DBTextWorks 13 needs to have the PVAD for a successful sequence.  Using the defaults and sequencing to the VFS results in an error.  During launch the application checks for the presence of critical files and throws an error if it does not find them.  A similar error with a normal path could be generated on a conventional install by renaming the dbtext32.cmx file.  The error from the application showing the strange path led to the idea that the PVAD might correct the problem.

https://lucidea.com/inmagic/dbtextworks/

PVAD

Captain! She's breaking up.  ENGAGE PVAD !

Launch the sequencer with the -EnablePVADControl parameter

http://www.tmurgent.com/TmBlog/?p=2264

Creating Volume Licensed App-V Office 2016 package using ODT

Although MS have withdrawn the option to create a Volume Licensed version of Office 2016 it is still possible to do by the power of the internet :)

Near the bottom of this article is a post by Robert Gijsen on Monday, April 10, 2017.  I have tested his instructions successfully.
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/367938d8-9210-4c8f-aa5e-c8de41c0a7ca/odt-2016-invalid-product-proplusvolume-specified?forum=Office2016setupdeploy

Robert has provided the older ODT version for download here:  THANK YOU !
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApkCUv0wQm8UgwFgwRzJXD4N3H-R

Getting this done was not easy.  I would advise keeping the paths as short and simple as possible. Also I did seem to get success by making sure that HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun had been deleted or renamed after a run attempt.

Here is my ODT setup.exe configuration file:

<Configuration>

  <Add OfficeClientEdition="32" Channel="Current">
    <Product ID="ProPlusVolume">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
    </Product>
    <Product ID="VisioProXVolume">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
    </Product>
    <Product ID="ProjectProXVolume">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
    </Product>
  </Add>

  <!-- Updates disabled while an update folder location is decided. -->
  <Updates Enabled="FALSE" Channel="Current" /> -->

  <!-- Install Mode Settings -->
  <Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />
  <Logging Level="Standard" Path="%windir%\custom\installlogs" />

  <!-- Packager Mode Settings - Sets the App-V Package GUID -->
  <Property Name="PACKAGEGUID" Value="PutYourGUIDHERE"/>
 
</Configuration>

Run
setup /download <FullPathToXMLConfigFile>

Create the folder where the App-V package will be output to.

Then
setup /packager <FullPathToXMLConfigFile> <App-VPackageOutputFolderPath>

if that fails then you can do the magic command posted here by Trausti Sigurbjörnsson
A failure results in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\LastScerarioResult = Failure

browse to C:\Users\<user>\Appdata\Local\Temp and Copy "Microsoft Office" folder to "C:\Temp" and then rename it to MSO

After That run following command:
C:\Temp\MSO\root\flattener\flattener.exe /Source:"C:\Temp\MSO" /Dest:"C:\Temp\Office 2016 AppV" /Version:"16.0.8067.2115" /ProductReleaseIDs:"ProPlusVolume,VisioProXVolume,ProjectProXVolume" /Cultures:"en-US,x-none" /Platform:"x86"

For the above command you can determine the version number by checking in the registry for the versions written during the OfficeClickToRun.exe phase.

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\ProductReleaseIDs\2601BB9E-AEBE-441E-A166-5652BF9B61C3\ProjectProXVolume.16\en-us\Version


Error Code Meanings
error 0-1010 (0)  - check your XML in the XML config file.

The App-V package requires the App-V Client setting EnablePackageScripts = 1.  This is because there are scripts coded into the AppVXManifest.xml file within the .appv package file.  MSI installers are being called to install integration components such as the KMS server licensing items.

Dynamic Configuration

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack/appv-v5/about-app-v-51-dynamic-configuration


COM Mode
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/gladiatormsft/2013/09/11/app-v-on-com-isolation-and-interaction/

Adding the RunVirtual key via the DeploymentConfig.xml

The RunVirtual key can be entered via the DeploymentConfig.xml file.

    <!-- Machine Scripts Section -->
    <MachineScripts>
      <PublishPackage>
        <Path>REG.EXE</Path>
        <Arguments>ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client\RunVirtual\WINPROJ.EXE /d 36867e23-413f-4f7c-a181-0cc075ad2d1e_ed75245c-bce8-48bc-89de-e63d55c320b6 /f</Arguments>
        <Wait RollbackOnError="false" />
      </PublishPackage>
      <UnpublishPackage>
        <Path>C:\Windows\System32\REG.EXE</Path>
        <Arguments>DELETE HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client\RunVirtual\WINPROJ.EXE /f</Arguments>
        <Wait RollbackOnError="false" />
      </UnpublishPackage>
    </MachineScripts>


Note that for this to work the EnablePackageScripts must be set to 1.

Set-AppvClientConfiguration -EnablePacakgeScripts 1



When publishing this globally, the <name>_DeploymentConfig.xml file is specified during the Add-AppvClientPackage action

Add-AppVClientPackage <PathToAppVFile> -DynamicDeploymentConfiguration <PathTo_DeploymentConfiguration,xml>


Not tested but if packages were user published on a citrix platform the UserConfig.xml can carry similar commands and the _UserConfig.xml specified during the publishing command.  In this case the user RunVirtual Key would be used? I guess.


Further Deployment Config info
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack/appv-v5/about-app-v-50-dynamic-configuration

Key Words
DeploymentConfig
Deployment Configuration
Deployment Config

Connection Group Related Articles

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/configmgrdogs/2013/12/22/understanding-configmgr-2012-app-v-virtual-environments/

http://www.alkanesolutions.co.uk/category/appv/appv-5-0/
Scroll Down to
Using RunVirtual to Present Excel Addins
Configuring RunVirtual Registry from the AppxManifest.xml - this doesn't seem consistent with a proper Lead/Master pacakge / Connection Group approach.

http://virtualvibes.co.uk/planning-for-app-v-virtual-environments-with-sccm-2012/

Package and Connection Group clash
http://virtualvibes.co.uk/connection-group-conflicts-in-app-v-5-0/

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/gladiatormsft/2013/08/07/app-v-still-more-on-those-office-add-ins/
Again this does not point to the correct Lead Package/Connection Group approach.

Best known reference on Connection Groups
https://blog.gridmetric.com/2015/09/12/add-flexibility-when-using-app-v-5-runvirtual-key/

SCCM vs Server
http://virtualvibes.co.uk/app-v-management-server-or-configuration-manager-2012-a-feature-comparison/

This is really an advanced techniques paper from Tim including ideas for using junction points
http://www.tmurgent.com/AppV/images/WhitePapers/Connection_Group_Fun_in_AppV5.pdf

Microsoft Connection Group reference pages
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack/appv-v5/managing-connection-groups


Keywords
Connection groups group

MS Office 2016 deployment notes and advice

This is probably the MOST important page.  What can you deploy\install with what regarding Project and Visio.  Pay attention at the back.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt712177%28v=office.16%29.aspx#How%20to%20determine%20whether%20you%27re%20using%20a%20Click-to-Run%20or%20MSI%20installation

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/gladiatormsft/2015/04/16/on-office-with-app-v-planning-for-a-virtual-office-deployment/

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/mdop/appv-v5/deploying-microsoft-office-2016-by-using-app-v

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/mdop/appv-v5/planning-for-using-app-v-with-office

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2015/09/22/office-2016-install-caveats.aspx

http://packageology.com/2016/08/office-365-app-v/

Supported scenarios for deploying Microsoft Office as an App-V package
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2772509/supported-scenarios-for-deploying-microsoft-office-as-an-app-v-package

Potential problems if you have Outlook 2016 or 2013 and an earlier version of Outlook installed on the same computer
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2782408/potential-problems-if-you-have-outlook-2016-or-2013-and-an-earlier-ver

Overview of Click-to-Run (C2R)
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/jj219427.aspx

Checking Click-to-Run (C2R) type install
http://windowsitpro.com/microsoft-office/determining-if-office-installation-click-run-or-not

How to create an Office 2016 App-V Package
https://msitproblog.com/2015/11/14/how-to-create-an-office-2016-appv-package/
Note the volume licensing restriction on this now.  Subscription type activation only, is available.
See my post here on how to achieve this.

Office Deployment Tool (ODT) Overview
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overview-of-the-Office-2016-Deployment-Tool-bb5b62d9-1168-47e9-9d54-15a958acfcca

ODT supported product IDs
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2842297/product-ids-that-are-supported-by-the-office-deployment-tool-for-click

ODT xml configuration file options
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Configuration-options-for-the-Office-2016-Deployment-Tool-d3879f0d-766c-469c-9440-0a9a2a905ca8?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US#bkmk_productelement

Channels Explained
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overview-of-update-channels-for-Office-365-ProPlus-9ccf0f13-28ff-4975-9bd2-7e4ea2fefef4?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Office 365 Updates
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office365-proplus-by-date

Find the App-V 5 PackageID VersionID

It is possible to find the PackageID and VersionID of an App-V 5 package by opening the MSI and reading the Properties Table:

PACKAGE_GUID = PackageID
ProductCode = VersionID

Keywords: GUID