Naming
Make the final FlexApp One application a simple static name. The user’s registry will be instructed to start an application with a specific path (including filename) when you use --startup or 'Activate at Login'. The user’s system tray will show the original FlexApp package given name before it was bundled as a FlexApp One application. This can help with version identification.
Storing
FlexApp One applications should reside somewhere permanently since each EXE contains the application read-only data bits. Do not delete the FlexApp One EXE after you launch it. Put your FlexApp One EXE on the fastest storage. It is recommended you store your EXE on local storage which allows for faster and more reliable operation. If your EXE resides on a remote network location, you may be subject to SMB file handle reconnect issues should your connection drop for any reason.
Cloud Syncing
The ProfileUnity Console version 6.8.5 and newer makes deploying and syncing FlexApp One applications easy with no scripting required to maintain a local cache of packages or to update packages. You can copy your FlexApp One EXE’s to your cloud storage manually or use the FlexApp Packaging Console to capture and upload your FlexApp One package and EXE to cloud storage, directly.
Alternatively, an example process on an end-user machine for cloud syncing updated packages might look like the following.
- Copy the updated application to cloud storage using a different name.
- Rename the current, in-use EXE to
*.old. - Rename the new updated application to the simple name of the now
.oldEXE.
These operations can be staggered to allow endpoints to sync down. When the user logs out or reboots, any binaries in use will close and the renames can occur.
You can also use the --replace argument to replace the application if space is a concern, but the client might have to wait for the binary to completely sync down prior to seeing changes to a large application. Rebooting can ensure processes are closed for cloud storage to process changes.
Large Applications
To overcome a limitation present when using a large FlexApp One executable (4GB or more), rather than creating a single executable, the package is broken into two components: a smaller stub file (.exe) and a larger backing file (.fa1). Both files are automatically created during FlexApp One bundling when the FlexApp One exceeds the 4GB limit. When created, these components are identically named, except for the file extension. If the package name needs to change, both files are required to be renamed. Both files are also required for the package to function - e.g. the stub executable will not launch without the respective backing file present.
