I agree. Unfortunately in an effort to help, @Micheal_A posted something originally that isn't supported by the product. @curtistcreps the "app launch" command is not officially documented and is ...
See more...
I agree. Unfortunately in an effort to help, @Micheal_A posted something originally that isn't supported by the product. @curtistcreps the "app launch" command is not officially documented and is only intended to be used internally by the product. It plays a partial role of delivery with additional functionality which removes the icon so it can be replaced the program's icon. It does not expected to be called more than once. For your special use case, you will want to skip the next couple paragraphs and read about the official command-line solution that shipped with version 2203. Apps on Demand in App Volumes 4, version 2111 and later does not require use of the aforementioned command-line feature. Creating custom shortcuts are not required to enable desktop / start menu shortcuts that deliver apps on demand. The best way to ensure you first have the icons is to verify the shortcut icons appear while a package is set to "Classic" mode. Additionally ensure the app has been captured or updated using agent 4.5 or later. This is because the shortcuts are automatically detected by App Volumes while finalizing the package and the additional information is added to the .json (both outside and inside the package) with the shortcut, icon and exe information. Shortcuts that reside in the user's profile are not saved to a package during app capture as these are excluded in the capture policy and the location changes from user to user. When the package is updated with 4.5 or later and delivery is set to "On Demand" those same icons should automatically act as on-demand triggers to delver and launch the app. So in short... You should be able to package on 4.5 or later and set delivery to "On Demand". The regular shortcut icons added by app's installer (in areas outside the user's profile) should automatically be ready to deliver the app on demand. --- Now, on to what Michael was discussing. If you want to create your own Apps On Demand entry points on the system (not the ones in the package) then you can use App Volumes 4, version 2203 to execute a command in the guest via shortcut or File Type Association. This is a more advanced feature and it is not for the faint of heart. Here is the command: svservice app run When the following command runs, the App Volumes agent gets the application package delivered to the end user and the application or file is launched: <svservice.exe path> app run {application_guid} <exe_path> <arguments> application_guid - GUID of the application package that gets delivered. Application GUID is present in the App Volumes Manager admin UI, Applications page. exe_path - location of the application executable which must be run arguments - there can be multiple arguments and this parameter is optional. For example: for file type association, file path must be provided as an argument. This is detailed in the App Volumes 4, version 2203 Administration Guide. This is an advanced function and not required for Apps on Demand. As Michael indicates, DEM has tools to help manage shortcuts and FTAs. Here is an example showing the command being used in a registry entry for a File Type Association: As you can see the what would normally be just: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\WINWORD.EXE" "%1" has been wrapped with: svservice.exe app run {app_guid} where app_guid is listed on the application page. This would "lazy load" the app. If the app is already present it should just run. This is where @curtistcreps ran into issues using the undocumented launch command that should not be used. This same method for FTAs would also apply to a shortcut (or anywhere the exe is used). What is normally just the exe_path should be prefixed with the svservice.exe to lazy load and run the app. I know that is a lengthy explanation but there were multiple things going on it this thread. @Lieven -- a video is not a bad idea. Will propose one back to the team or see if there is one already created that I can share. Hope this helps.