Registry Isolation Options Dialog Box

AdminStudio 2025 R2 | 30.0 | ThinApp Assistant

On the Registry Isolation Options dialog box, you can override the default isolation options for the selected registry key.

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Modify isolation options only if you have advanced knowledge of Microsoft operating system objects, ThinApp, and registry settings.

The Registry Isolation Options dialog box includes the following options:

Option	Visibility of System Elements	Modifications to Virtual Elements	Modifications to System Elements	New Elements	If System and Virtual Element at Same Location
Default	As defined internally by the ThinApp Assistant
Write Copy	Visible	Sandbox	Sandbox	Created in Sandbox	Sees Virtual Element
Merged	Visible	Sandbox	System	Created in System	Sees Virtual Element
Full	Not Visible	Sandbox	N/A (System elements cannot be modified)	Created in Sandbox	N/A (System elements cannot be read)

ThinApp Isolation Option Use Scenarios

The following table describes scenarios where you would use each isolation option:

Option	Use Scenario
Write Copy	You would use `Write Copy` isolation when: Application was not designed or tested for multi-user environments and expects it can modify files and keys without impacting other users. Application expects write permission to Global locations and was not designed for locked-down desktop environments found in corporate environments or Windows Vista. With `Write Copy` isolation, ThinApp makes copies of registry keys and files written by the application and performs all of the modifications in a user-specific sandbox. With this type of isolation, the ThinApp applications believe that they have global write permissions, while they really only modify the sandbox directory.
Merged	You would use `Merged` isolation when the ThinApp application needs write access to user-specific storage areas, like the Desktop and My Documents.
Full	You would use `Full` isolation when a ThinApp application needs to run on a machine where earlier or later versions of the same application are either installed or were not uninstalled correctly. For directories and registry keys that have `Full` isolation, the ThinApp application will not be aware of any host computer file that might exist, and it sees only virtual files and registry keys at fully isolated locations.