Troubleshoot DirectFlex Applications

Applications configured to use DirectFlex can sometimes cause conflicts with other applications, which can cause the application to stop unexpectedly.

Problem

An application was configured to launch using DirectFlex, and the application stopped unexpectedly.

Cause

DirectFlex uses "hooks" to be notified of processes launching and exiting, and this technique sometimes conflicts with other software, especially security and anti-malware products.

Solution

1. To resolve conflicts with specific third-party applications, VMware Dynamic Environment Manager provides advanced policy settings. Check Knowledge Base article 2145286 for the policies you can use with specific vendors.
2. Or, you can exclude one or more executables so that they are not affected by the hooking mechanism.
   Exclude executables by creating a Blacklist.xml file (this file does not exist by default).
   1. Create a folder called DirectFlex within the \\Server\FlexConfigShare\General\FlexRepository folder.
   2. Create a new Blacklist.xml file with the following lines.

      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
      <userEnvironmentSettings>
      <setting type="blacklist" list="" />
      </userEnvironmentSettings>

   3. Add the executables you want to exclude in the field, list.
      For example, list="notepad.exe|calc.exe|regedit.exe".

      Note: To specify more than one executable, use |.
   4. Save the Blacklist.xml file with UTF8 encoding.

What to do next

Depending on the solution you chose, the conflicts are resolved, or the hooking mechanism is disabled for specific applications. If you chose to exclude the application hooking, configure the VMware Dynamic Environment Manager configuration file for the application to import and export at login and logout.