Application Virtualization Explorer 2.2 is here!

Or rather, it was already here some days ago! ;-)

Although it goes with a minor version number update, new version is quite major update to the product and one that has been in the works for at least since the last summer.
In addition to carrying both new features as well as enhancements and fixes to old functionality, new version makes it easier to introduce additional auxiliary functionality for AVE in the future through internal plug-in interface. And who knows if some day we open up the plugin interface for others to integrate against too..!

Another significance of the new version is of course that it coincides with the original launch of AVE exactly one year ago. Hard to imagine, but full one year has now behind and all the fixes, updates and other events – like our recent partnering with Packaging Robot who OEM’d AVE for their product – within that year.

Some of the new features we introduced in this release are following, in no particular order:

Full support for OSD scripting

I will come back and highlight this one in more details later on in separate posts.

Support for creating Dynamic Suite Composition (DSC) links between packages

Although we have had capability of simulating effects of DSC since the very beginning of the product, it took some time to implement actual DSC linking functionality for the packages. But, now it’s here and you can easily create and manage links in the package.

And as a special addition, DSC linking display in AVE will show actual package names for “foreign” packages instead of just SFT’s name or streaming URI.

Proper search (and replace) for files and registry views

Well, this one has been long due although we did have filtering interface for files (now gone). To effectively seek the package you just need proper searching functionality.

Virtual registry import

Based on the feedback we have collected for trial version, this is another one that has been long due. Yes, you could import and export files but only export registry. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Good news is that importing of registry editor (.REG) files is indeed now in and with a bit of intelligence: you can actually start import from a specific key existing in the virtual registry and import only those entries that would go under said branch.

Package repositories

And speaking of feedback; package repositories in the new version was also born directly based on the feedback collected. If you have large number of App-V packages – like most of you likely does – then you probably store those packages in the specific directory tree. Now, if you need to view or edit packages in that director tree regularly, it gets little bit cumbersome for browsing directories back and forth using normal Open -dialog in AVE.
Enter package repositories, which simply means user-defined directory paths that AVE can then scan and show all found packages in a single browsing interface.

—-

As you can see there’s number of new features – and not everything is even listed above – but more importantly stability and reliability in AVE has been increased markedly in this new release thanks to a number of updates to underlying Lib-V decoding/encoding engine which we sell to other parties as well.

So if you have not tried out AVE yet, please download a trial version (which is also more fully featured now as compared trials in the previous versions) and when you find that you cannot live without AVE anymore, purchase a license for yourself!