by Greg Shields

I’ve spent a lot of time in this series talking about Terminal Services at a very high level. That’s been done on purpose because most of the actual click-by-click with Terminal Services is relatively self-explanatory. Yet, a walkthrough of a few of the key topics is necessary. You’ll find that at this point in this series, I’ll start the shift from an architectural-level discussion to more walkthrough topics.

Over the next three parts, I’ll be walking you through the click-by-click process to actually deploy your applications, starting with this short topic on creating new RemoteApps or RemoteApp Content. To create a new RemoteApp, open Server Manager and navigate to the Terminal Services node. There, you’ll find the TS RemoteApp Manager console. Alternatively, you can find the same console if you’ve installed the Remote Systems Administration Toolkit (RSAT) to your Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer.

Using either mechanism, you’ll see that the RS RemoteApp Manager is the central clearinghouse for application and remote desktop creation. To create a new RemoteApp, right-click in the RemoteApp programs white space on the bottom of the screen, and select Add RemoteApp Programs. There, you’ll bring forward the RemoteApp Wizard. In this wizard, you should find a list of all the applications you’ve already installed to the Terminal Server. Select the check box next to the application, and you’re ready to create your RemoteApp.

Some applications don’t correctly register themselves with the system. In these cases, you’ll need to click the wizard’s Browse button to find and link to that application’s primary executable. This button also allows you to create custom RemoteApps for applications that aren’t necessarily “installed” and thus not registered.

Once you’ve selected the correct executable and application, clicking the wizard’s Properties button gives you the option for adding information into the RemoteApp. Executable location, alias, icon, and command-line arguments are all options here, enabling you to adjust the execution of that program based on what you need.

One use of this Properties screen that isn’t immediately obvious is the ability to create connections to RemoteApp Content. The idea here is that sometimes you don’t necessarily want to connect to just Microsoft Excel. Maybe instead you want to create a RemoteApp connection to “The Employee PTO Spreadsheet.” In this case, rather than simply creating a RemoteApp that points to EXCEL.EXE you would use a command-line argument to point to EXCEL.EXE ptospreadsheet.xlsx. The resulting RemoteApp will indeed launch Excel, but it will also launch it with the PTO spreadsheet automatically opened. The result is a very quick way to direct users to key content on your network. Click Next, then Finish to complete the wizard.

About the Author

Greg Shields is an independent author, speaker, and IT consultant, as well as a Partner and Principal Technologist with Concentrated Technology. With 15 years in information technology, Greg has developed extensive experience in systems administration, engineering, and architecture specializing in Microsoft OS, remote application, systems management, and virtualization technologies. He is a Contributing Editor and columnist for TechNet Magazine and Redmond Magazine, and serves as the Series Editor for Realtime Publishers, the world’s leading provider of high-quality content for the IT market. Greg is a highly sought-after and top-ranked speaker for both live and recorded events, and is seen regularly at conferences like TechMentor Events, Microsoft Tech Ed, VMworld, and more. He is a multiple recipient of Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional” award.