Automating App-V Package Cleanup

If you have been Sequencing for Microsoft App-V on Windows 10, you have probably noticed a lot more garbage in your packages.

While the App-V Sequencer has a really awesome capture algorithm that automatically ignores changes made by pre-existing Windows background processes, under Windows 10 there are many, many, more background events that generate new processes, resulting in more crap in your packages.  And it seems like the problem gets worse and worse on every new release of the OS.

The sequencer also includes a list of File and Registry locations to be filtered out, but that list has not been updated since Windows 7 (and probably wasn’t robust enough even then).  While you can augment that list, it involves creating a Template file and manually importing the file each time you sequence.  Which is a PITA!

So you have a new option, but only if you buy a copy of TMEdit. TMEdit is an external package editor, but built into it is a collection of automated fixes that you can apply with the touch of a button.

The tool contains an augmented list of file and registry locations that should always be ignored.  This list was generated by analyzing a bunch of packages created on Windows 10, and only includes items that we can clearly determine should never be in a package.  Better yet, you can augment this list yourself.  The list is stored in the registry under HKCU\Software\TMurgent\TMEdit in a pair of multi-value string entries (one for the file system and one for the registry).  So if you don’t like our list, just update it.

Yeah, it means running an extra program.  But save that until after you know your package is good otherwise.  

Best yet, with TMEdit 1.8 you can skip the TMEdit gui and just run the AutoUpdatePackage utility from a command line to optimize your package in just a few seconds. 

By Tim Mangan

Tim is a Microsoft MVP, and a Citrix CTP Fellow. He is an expert in App-V and MSIX.