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Windows Virtual PC Application Exclude List

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In some instances, you might not want applications that are installed in the MED-V workspace to be published to the host computer Start menu. You can unpublish these applications by following the instructions at How to Publish and Unpublish an Application on the MED-V Workspace. However, if the program ever automatically updates, it might also be automatically republished. This causes you to have to unpublish the application again.

Windows Virtual PC includes a feature known as the "Exclude List" that lets you specify certain installed applications that you do not want published to the host Start menu. The "Exclude List" is located in the guest registry in the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Virtual Machine\VPCVAppExcludeList key and lists those applications that are not published to the host Start menu. You can think of the “Exclude List” as permanently unpublishing the specified applications because any automatic updates to the applications that are listed will not cause them to be automatically republished.

Managing Applications by Using the Exclude List in Windows Virtual PC

  1. Open the MED-V workspace in full screen.

    For information about opening the MED-V workspace in full-screen mode by using the MED-V Administration Toolkit, see Viewing MED-V Workspace Configurations. Or you can manually open it in full screen by clicking Start, click All Programs, click Windows Virtual PC, click Windows Virtual PC, and then double-click the MED-V workspace.

  2. In the MED-V workspace Windows Virtual PC window, open Registry Editor.

    Click Start, click Run, and then type regedit. Then click OK.

  3. In Registry Editor, locate the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Virtual Machine\VPCVAppExcludeList registry key.

  4. Create a new registry value for the installed application that you do not want published to the host computer Start menu. For example, if you want to unpublish the automatically published program Microsoft Silverlight, follow these steps:

    1. With the VPCVAppExcludeList registry key highlighted, click Edit, click New, and then click String Value.

    2. Enter the name for the new registry value. For example, for Microsoft Silverlight, you might enter sllauncher.exe.

    3. Double-click the new registry value and enter the value data.

      The value data is the full path for the command that you want to unpublish. You can find the full path by right-clicking on the shortcut on the Start menu for the application that you do not want published and then clicking Properties. The full path is listed in the Shortcut tab under Target.

      For example, for the program Microsoft Silverlight, the full path might be "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Silverlight\4.0.50917.0\Silverlight.Configuration.exe."

      Important   If applicable, remove the quotation marks from the full path when you enter it into the value data field.

  5. Close Registry Editor and restart the MED-V workspace virtual machine.

    The application is still installed in the MED-V workspace but is now removed from the host computer Start menu.

You can also republish an excluded application to the host Start menu by deleting the corresponding value from the VPCVAppExcludeList key. For example, to republish Microsoft Silverlight, right-click the registry value sllauncher.exe and select Delete.

Technical Reference for MED-V

How to Publish and Unpublish an Application on the MED-V Workspace