Overview of ThinApp Isolation Options
AdminStudio 2025 R2 | 30.0 | ThinApp Assistant
ThinApp uses virtual environments to control application compatibility and accessibility. The isolation option that is assigned to a folder or registry key specifies how the virtual environment will provide access to system resources requested by the application.
The default settings for isolation options are built into the ThinApp Assistant, and those defaults are adequate for most environments. However, in the ThinApp Assistant, you can override the default settings for selected folders or registry keys to exert control over application interactions with client operating system resources.
Modify isolation options only if you have advanced knowledge of Microsoft operating system objects, ThinApp, and registry settings. Select the Default isolation option unless you require specific custom handling.
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 folder selected on the Files & Folders page or a registry key selected on the Registry page.
Information about isolation options is presented in the following sections:
Available ThinApp Isolation Options
On the Isolation Options dialog box, you can choose one of the following isolation 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. |
ThinApp Assistant Default Isolation Options
If you do not set any isolation options on a folder or registry key in the ThinApp Assistant, the following default isolation options are applied:
| Isolation Option | Condition |
|---|---|
| Write Copy Isolation | All other directories and subkeys associated with the product are assigned Write Copy isolation. |
| Merged Isolation | User-specific storage areas like the Desktop and My Documents, are set to Merged Isolation so that application has direct Write access to these locations |
Network shares are not affected by isolation modes. Read and write operations to network shares occur unchanged by ThinApp. These default isolation options are built into the ThinApp Assistant.