VMware ThinApp is an application virtualization tool that helps you build any types of portable application quite easily; though looks complicated (I think there is no need to discuss about the technical aspect of VMware ThinApp in this topic).
How to Build Portable Application Using VMware Thin App
Download (50MB) VMware Thin App (available for 60-day trial) and install it. Run it and click ‘Next’ button. Then click on ‘Prescan’ button (see screenshot).
Now, wait for a while. It will scan your current system state and create a snapshot of your system.
After finishing the Prescan process, it will ask you to install software that you want to make portable (see screenshot below). Minimize VMware Thin App to system tray and install any application that you want to make portable. In this tutorial, I have installed Firefox 9 (Nightly build).
After installation, open minimized VMware Thinapp, click on ‘Postscan’ button, and wait some time (see screenshot above). After finishing the process, click ‘Next, Next’ button.
Now, it will display a window as shown below. Choose the executable that you want to be the main container (Here it is Nightly.exe) and click ‘Next’ button.
Select ‘Everyone’ (to set permission to all users) and click ‘Next’ button.
Now select ‘Full write access to non-system directories’ (Merged Isolation Mode) and click “Next” button.
Then select ‘User profile’ and click ‘Next’ button.
Now enter your own inventory name or leave it as default. Then click ‘Next’ button.
In this window, you can choose ‘separate DAT file’ for portable app or choose only single exe files (I have selected separate DAT file), then click save button.
11 Finally, click on ‘Build’ button to create portable application for installed software.
- After finishing the process, you will get your own portable application, which will run on any computer. Copy your portable app (in this example both Nightly.dat and exe) on a pen drive and run the exe from any computer.
Hope you will enjoy this tutorial.
