Establishing File Type Associations with the thinreg.exe Utility

File type associations enable specified file extensions to open deployed applications.

If you create executable files instead of MSI files during the capture process, you must run the thinreg.exe utility to open files, such as a .doc document or an .html page. For example, if you click a URL in an email message, ThinApp must be set to open a browser. You do not have to manually run the thinreg.exe utility for MSI files because MSI files start the utility during the application installation.

With the thinreg.exe utility, you can see the control panel extensions for applications, such as QuickTime or the mail control panel applet for Microsoft Outlook 2007. When you right-click a file, such as a .doc file, the thinreg.exe utility enables you to see the same menu options for a .doc file in a native environment.

If an application runs SMTP or HTTP protocols, such as an email link on a Web page that needs to open Microsoft Outlook 2007, the thinreg.exe utility starts available virtual applications that can handle those protocols. If virtual applications are not available, the thinreg.exe utility starts native applications that can handle those protocols.

Use the nodesktoprefresh command in the thinreg.exe utility to prevent multiple desktop refresh actions occurring on the physical machine during file association operations.