Sequencing DWG TrueView 2015 with App-V 5.0 SP2

TrueView2015

There are several recipes out there for DWG TrueView 2014 and older, but I couldn’t find one for 2015. So here’s one for your sequencing pleasure. I’ll start off by saying that the recipe is very similar to the other ones out there, but I modified a few things to make the process simpler.

Sequencing System:

Server 2008 R2

App-V 5.0 SP2 with HotFix 4


Prerequisites-

Microsoft .NET 4.5

The following Visual C++  redistributables (if not using App-V 5.0 SP2):

  • 2008 x64 with SP1
  • 2010 x64 with SP1
  • 2012 x64 update 4

If you are using SP2, you do not need to worry about having C++ in your base build.

A sample DWG file – I grabbed one from here


Exclusions:

Remove the local appdata exclusion

If you do not remove this, the application will not launch when deployed.


Installation:

PVAD: Default location of C:\Program Files\Autodesk

Install using all default selections

Launch the DWG TrueView software.

This is where I differ from the other recipes and I’ll explain why.

Launching TrueView while sequencing will create the FTAs in the virtual environment. There will be no FTAs in editing mode if you do not launch it before finishing the sequence. Another reason is that you will need to open one of the sample DWG files I mentioned above. Doing so will drop two DLLs into AppData that will allow the application to open CAD files when published to a user (that’s the purpose of this application, right?). If those DLLs aren’t put into the package, you will be presented with this lovely message:

TrueView Missing DLL

Normally you could copy the DLLs to AppData from the originating location, but you won’t find them anywhere. Or you could always copy in the DLLs from another machine and manually create the FTAs, but why go through those extra steps?

Anyways, after you launch DWG and open the sample file, close DWG and finish the sequence.

Go straight to editing unless you need to optimize the package or restrict OS deployment.


Editing:

There will be some extra shortcuts that show up due to us launching the application. I removed all shortcuts except for DWG TrueView 2015.  None of the others show up in the start menu or desktop.

Go to the package files tab and browse to: ‘VFS\AppData\Autodesk\DWG TrueView 2015 – English\R13\enu\recent\select file’

Delete the file that shows up in this folder (This is a shortcut to the sample file you opened).

Go to the registry tab and browse to: ‘CurrentUserSID\Software\Autodesk\DWG TrueView\R13\dwgviewr-E001:409\Recent File List’

Delete the ‘Recent File List’ registry key (This will clear the recent files in the application).

Save your package and deploy.

 

Possible errors you may receive:

  • A DLL error when opening a DWG file. Be sure to launch a sample file while sequencing as mentioned above
  • Launching the published application and receiving: Unhandled e0434352h exception at fe0xxxx. Make sure you have .NET 4.5.X on your target machine.

Bonus:

Direct download links for DWG TrueView 2015

64-bit

32-bit

App-V 5.0 SP2 Hotfix package 4!

Finally! The hotfix package we all have been waiting for.

For starters, grab the hotfix package here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2956985

The fixes are as follows:

  • Enhancements to publishing and refresh performance have been made in all App-V deployment scenarios (RDS, Traditional Desktop, and VDI).
  • Publishing and start performance have been implemented in non-persistent VDI or RDS deployments together with a user environment management (UEM) technology.
  • Package converter has reported low success rates and low detection diagnosis.
  • Virtual application packages that require write access to any files and folders in the virtual environment are incompatible with App-V 5.0.
  • Upgraded versions of virtual application packages cannot be deployed in parallel with the original version of the package on the client.
  • Virtual application packages that contain shortcuts to executable (.exe) files on a network share cannot start those executables if the system account does not have access to the network share.
  • App-V Deployment configuration does not handle certain registry settings correctly.
  • The Windows PowerShell window is listed on the taskbar during App-V Client startup.
  • App-V Service crashes when packages are deployed through System Center Configuration Manager.

All things considered, I would consider this App-V 5.1 with the way Microsoft has been naming their product updates as of late. Things that caught my eye: Writable VFS, improved performance in VDI environments, and application shortcuts on the network.

As always, please use caution when deploying an update and test on a non-production system first.