Use the following hierarchy of resources when you are preparing to sequence an application:

• If a recipe exists, the recipe supersedes any other recommendation. A recipe is a document

that contains step-by-step instructions that describe how to package an application by

using SoftGrid Sequencer. The recipe is based on a set of step-by-step instructions that are

created when you perform a local installation of the application to prepare for sequencing

the application.

• The best practices that are described in this article.

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Definitions

There are two steps in which you can specify installation paths. This article uses the following

terms to describe the paths that you must enter:

• Installation directory

The "Installation directory" is the path that you enter in the application-specific dialog box

and in the application-generated dialog box. These dialog boxes ask you where you want to

install the application. The dialog boxes appear early in the Sequencer Installation Phase.

• Asset directory

The "Asset directory" is the path that you enter in the SoftGrid Sequencer-generated dialog

box that asks where you to install the application assets. This dialog box appears as the last

part of the Sequencer Installation Phase. Make sure that this directory is created in

advance.

• The client destination drive

The "client destination drive" is the operating system drive from which the SoftGrid

packaged application is run. This drive is also known as the SoftGrid mount point drive.

Each application will be mounted on the client computer as Q:\Asset directory. In this path,

"Q" is the typical drive letter. On the SoftGrid Sequencer computer, you must re-create the

client destination drive by using a partition that uses the same drive letter to sequence.

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Best practices

• Before you perform the sequencing operation, make sure that you know how to install

and how to run the program. Make sure that you read all installation instructions that are
 associated with the program. Also, you may want to learn how the program runs. And, you

may want to learn the components of the program that the user will need. To improve the

sequencing process of a program, document the installation and the post-configuration

procedures for the process. When you do this, you can prevent the need for unnecessary

troubleshooting during the sequencing process because no important steps will be skipped.

Items to document include the following:

o The application components that are required and the components that will be

installed
o The updates, such as adding new files to the package, that must be performed in

SoftGrid Sequencer after the installation

o The post-installation configuration steps that have to occur in SoftGrid Sequencer

o What users typically do with this application immediately after it starts

o The file types that are associated with this application

o Any workarounds for issues that may occur if the application does something that

SoftGrid currently does not support

• Always document the step-by-step sequencing process to create a "recipe" that uses the

standardized template. When you do this, you can give the recipe to someone inside your

organization or to an external user so that they can re-create the same package.

• Use the Comments field in SoftGrid Sequencer, the Abstract tag, to record the version of

SoftGrid Sequencer, to record the service pack of SoftGrid Sequencer, and to record the

operating system with the date. When you do this, you will have a record of this

information when you revisit the sequence later.

• Always sequence on a computer that has a clean operating system. Make sure that no

extraneous applications are installed. The operating system should mirror a typical client on

which the sequenced applications will run. A client computer is defined as the computer on

which the SoftGrid Client software will run. The client can be a Microsoft Windows desktop

client, or it can be a terminal server. After the sequencing system is set up, make an image

by using a disk image product such as Symantec Norton Ghost. After each sequencing

session, you have to rebuild your sequencing computer, or you have to reload an image on

to the computer. You may have to sequence the application for each target operating

system. For more information, see the "Can I sequence an application on one operating

system and then stream it to another operating system?" section.

• Configure the SoftGrid Sequencer computer with at least two primary partitions. Make sure

that the first partition, drive C, has the operating system installed and that it is formatted

as NTFS. The second partition, drive Q, is used to store the cloned base image. This drive

will be used as the destination path for the application installation.

• Sequence to the client destination drive, typically drive Q. Make sure that the Installation

directory is on drive Q and that the Asset directory is on drive Q. SoftGrid Sequencer

contains functionality to handle exceptions. For example, you can sequence to drive C for

applications that will only install to drive C. For more information about how to do this, see

the "What do I do if an application must install to drive C?" section.

• Sequence to a unique 8.3 directory name. This applies to the Asset directory and to the

Installation directory. For example, the following directory names are correct:
o Q:\MYAPP

o Q:\MYAPP.001

However, "Q:\My Application" is not a correct directory name. See the "Why should I

sequence an application to a root folder that has a unique name of eight characters or

less?" section for more information.

• Sequence to a folder in the root of the drive. Do not sequence to a subfolder. For example,

you cannot sequence to the following locations:

o Q:\

o Q:\Temp_Files\Folder name

If the suite has multiple parts, install each application in a subfolder of the Asset directory.

For example, if your Asset directory is "Q:\AppSuite," use the following subfolders:

o Q:\AppSuite\Oracle

o Q:\AppSuite\App

• Always use globally unique paths, SUITE tags, and package names across the set of

application sequencings. For example, do not install multiple Microsoft Office sequencings to

the same Asset directory name or to the same SUITE tag. Use a standardized naming

scheme for the Asset directory that can be incremented for new revisions. For example, use

either of the following directory names:

o Q:\OFFXP.v1

o Q:\OFFXP.001

See the "Why should I sequence an application to a root folder that has a unique name of

eight characters or less?" section for more information.

• Configure the application in the Install Phase. Then, test the application in the Install Phase.

After you complete the installation of an application, you may have to perform several
 manual tasks that are not part of the application installation process. These steps may

involve configuring a connection to a back-end database, copying updated files, or

performing other tasks. Perform these tasks in the Install Phase, and then run the

application to make sure that it works.

• Run the application until the program is in a static state in the Install Phase. You may have

to run the application many times. For example, run StarOffice or run Acrobat multiple

times to complete all registration requests and to complete all dialog box requests. These

applications perform different tasks when you start them the first time, when you start

them the second time, and in some cases, each time that you start them later. When you

start the application many times, you can make sure that only relevant application code will

be installed into Feature Block 1 during the Execution Phase.

• Use the Shortcut Wizard to start each executable file in a suite of applications. When you do

this, each application will have the required initial start data on the SoftGrid client.

• If an application requests a valid restart, click Stop Monitoring to enable SoftGrid

Sequencer to process the restart tasks. After the restart tasks are complete, click Stop

Monitoring, and then click Install Again to continue to install the application if you have

to. If the application installer prompts you to restart, click Yes. Many applications

unnecessarily request a restart.

• Sequence as much as you can in a single pass of the Install Phase. Do not click Stop

Monitoring after each installer unless the application has to be restarted. You do not have

to click Continue Monitoring to reenter the Install Phase unless a restart task is required.

• Click Stop Installation only if you have to. SoftGrid Sequencer monitors the application

installation by using a background process. It monitors the first process, the Setup.exe

process or the Install.exe process, and any child processes that the installation starts.

SoftGrid Sequencer also monitors certain services, such as Windows Installer, that may be

involved in the installation of the application. When the installation is complete, sometimes

SoftGrid Sequencer will not detect the application because the installation did not end all

the child processes. When this occurs, click Stop Installation to stop the monitoring

process.

• Disable the Install on First Use option. Some applications have this option for certain

components. Make sure that no components are sequenced with this option. You must click

either Run from My Computer to install this component, or you must click Not Available

not to install this component. Do not install application components that will not be used by

any of the targeted users.

• When you sequence on a Terminal Services computer, configure the operating system to

use Application Hosting mode instead of Remote Administration mode.

 • When you sequence large applications, use two hard drives. SoftGrid Sequencer uses %TMP

%, %TEMP%, and its own scratch directory for large temporary files. If you redirect these

directories to a directory on a separate hard disk drive, you can shorten the sequence time.

The %TMP% environment and the %TEMP% environment should be changed in the System

control panel for the specific user account that will be used for sequencing. To change the

SoftGrid Sequencer scratch directory, click Options on the Tools menu, click the Path tab,

and then change the directory that appears in Scratch Root. For example, on your primary

hard disk drive, you have a "C" partition and a "Q" partition. And, on your secondary drive,

you have an "E" partition. On the "E" partition, you can redirect the specified directories to

E:\SEQTMP.

• If you use Windows Vista to sequence your application, and the application will be streamed

to a SoftGrid client computer that has User Access Control (UAC) turned on, UAC should

turned on for the sequencing computer prior to the sequencing process.

• Exit the Windows Defender service and any other antivirus or malicious software (malware)

protection software to improve system performance during the sequencing process.

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Frequently asked questions

What do I do if an application must install to drive C?

To simplify the Sequencing process, we recommend that you use the same drive for the

Installation directory, for the Asset directory, and for the SoftGrid client mount. By default, SoftGrid

labels the drive "Drive Q." Because certain applications must be installed on drive C or because

some application must be run from drive C, SoftGrid Sequencer accommodates this requirement. In

this case, do not give the Asset directory the same name as the Installation directory. We do not

recommend that you sequence to drive C for the following reasons:

• Depending on how the sequencing is performed, the process may introduce small SoftGrid

overhead or a significant SoftGrid overhead.

• The specific drive letter, "C", must be present on the SoftGrid client.

To accommodate this situation, specify a directory on drive C for the Installation directory during

the sequencing process. Then, specify a directory on drive Q to use as the Asset directory. This

causes the whole application to be run on the SoftGrid Virtual File System. Do not modify the

FILENAME attribute to point to drive C. The executable file that is specified in this attribute must

point to drive Q.
What do I do if I have to sequence an MMC snap-in or an Internet Explorer plug-in?

Note Examples of Internet Explorer plug-ins include different versions of Java runtimes,

different versions of ActiveX components, different versions of Flash runtimes, and different

versions of Shockwave runtimes.

Even though you cannot sequence core operating system components such as Windows Internet

Explorer, you can create multiple virtual environments for each of these applications. Make sure

that you do not install these applications during the sequencing process. Instead, refer to the local

copy of the application. This causes the local application to be pulled into a virtual environment that

includes the desired version of the plug-in that was sequenced. The correct versions of the core

operating system components on the SoftGrid clients must match the versions on SoftGrid

Sequencer.

To create the sequence, follow these steps:

1. Create an empty folder on drive Q.

2. Point to this folder when SoftGrid Sequencer asks where the application was installed

during the installation phase.

3. Install the plug-in to this location on drive Q during the installation phase.

4. During the execution phase, test the application by using local shortcuts. Then, save the

sequence.

5. Modify the .osd file to point to the local core operating system executable file by using

appropriate parameters.

For example, if you are sequencing an Internet Explorer plug-in, use the following

parameters:

FILENAME="%CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES%\Internet Explorer\IExplore.exe"

If you are sequencing an MMC snap in, use the following parameters:

FILENAME="%CSIDL_SYSTEM%\MMC.EXE"

PARAMETERS="%SFT_MNT%\Asset directory name\path to an .msc file"

Why should I sequence an application to a root folder that has a unique name of

eight characters or less?

 You must use a globally unique name because each application is mounted on drive Q as

"Q:\Asset folder name." We recommend that you use eight characters or less to make sure that the

short path names of the files are correctly preserved on the client. Certain operating system

components require short names. For example, when Microsoft Office XP is installed on the SoftGrid

Sequencer computer, it is assigned the short path name of "Micros~1". When Microsoft Office 2000

is installed on the SoftGrid Sequencer computer, after the computer has been hosted to the original

state, it is assigned the short path name of "Micros~1".

If Microsoft Office XP is streamed to a fresh client, it is given the short path name of "Micros~1". If

Microsoft Office 2000 is then streamed to the same client, it is given the short path name of

"Micros~2". This causes the application to fail because non-parsed registry keys point to

"Micros~1".

If you hardcode two applications to Q:\Office, and then you try to stream the second version of

Office when the first version of Office is already streamed, the SoftGrid client will be unable to

correctly mount the second version of Office on the drive Q.

Can I sequence an application on one operating system and then stream it to

another operating system?

Yes, SoftGrid lets you sequence on one operating system and then stream it to another

operating system. However, the application may not work correctly if it detects the operating

system version when the application is installed. The application may select different components

depending on that detection. This may cause problems depending on the component compatibility

with other operating systems. Before you try to stream an application to another operating system,

determine whether additional sequencings are required for each operating system. You may have to

contact the application vendor.

What are the current limitations of the Save-As feature?

The current version of the SoftGrid Sequencer Save-As feature requires that the package root
directory, the asset directory, be changed as part of the process. This can cause applications that
have hard-coded paths or that have some forms of copy protection to fail after a Save-As operation.
To work around this problem, resequence the application without using the Save-As feature.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are
independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the
performance or reliability of these products.