The
sandbox holds runtime modifications that applications make as they
are running. The original EXE that you have built never changes, so
it can be placed in a shared folder with read-only access.
The name of a sandbox (SANDBOXNAME) is specified in the package.ini file prior to build.
Under normal circumstances, the sandbox is stored under
%AppData%\Thinstall\SANDBOXNAME. On Windows XP this path would be
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application
Data\SANDBOXNAME.
During startup, Thinstall searches for an existing Sandbox in the
following locations in the order listed below. If a sandbox already
exists, Thinstall will use the existing sandbox rather than
creating a new one.
Search
using an application-specific environment
variable
1. %SANDBOXNAME_SANDBOX_DIR%.ComputerName Example:
If SANDBOXNAME="Mozilla Firefox 1.0" then the environment variable
"Mozilla Firefox 1.0_SANDBOX_DIR.ComputerName" is
consulted 2.
%SBNAME_SANDBOX_DIR%
Search
using a global environment variable that applies to all Thinstalled
applications
3. %THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR%.ComputerName\SANDBOXNAME Example:
THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR.ComputerName
4. %THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR%\SANDBOXNAME
Search
for an application-specific 'local'
sandbox
5. ExeDirectory\SANDBOXNAME.ComputerName
6. ExeDirectory\SANDBOXNAME
Search
for a 'local' sandbox for all Thinstalled
applications
7. ExeDirectory\Thinstall\SANDBOXNAME.ComputerName
8. ExeDirectory\Thinstall\SANDBOXNAME
Use
the value "SandboxPath="
from Package.ini to determine a custom sandbox path this option is
set
7. SANDBOXPATH\SANDBOXNAME.ComputerName
8. SANDBOXPATH\SANDBOXNAME
Search
in the user's "Application Data\Thinstall" folder for a
sandbox
9. %AppData%\Thinstall\SANDBOXNAME.ComputerName
10. %AppData%\Thinstall\SANDBOXNAME
If an existing sandbox cannot be found, Thinstall will create a new
sandbox. Thinstall creates a new sandbox using the following
logic:
1. If SANDBOXNAME_SANDBOX_DIR environment variable is set, try to
create a sandbox at this location
2. If THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR environment variable is set, try to
create a sandbox at this location
3. If SANDBOXPATH Package.ini option is set, try to create a
sandbox at this location
4. Try to create a sandbox in the user %AppData%\Thinstall
folder
Notes:
SANDBOXNAME and SANDBOXPATH come from the Package.ini file
Example Scenarios:
Scenario: I want to run from USB Flash and have my sandbox
load and save to the same directory where the EXE is located How to accomplish: Set "SandboxPath=." in your package.ini file in
the [BuildOptions] section.
Scenario: My users have a mapped drive to store their files
and I want the sandbox stored on the mapped drive. How to accomplish: Option 1. Use "SandboxPath=z:\Sandbox" if the drive is
always mapped to the same letter
Option 2. In the user login script, set the environment variable
"THINSTALL_SANDBOX_DIR=z:\Sandbox". Any Thinstalled application run
after setting this variable will use z:\Sandbox for it's sandbox
storage location.