Providing single remote Applications from Windows XP under ESXi using RemoteApp RDP

Instead of opening the entire remote desktop on a Windows XP Machine, it is often desirable to provide only a single application  (running on Windows XP in a Vware ESXi Server)  via RDP to local  clients.
The advantage of RemoteApp is seamless integration of the remote application windows with the clients local desktop and usually a better performance/user experience than, for example VNC single window mode.
Think of it as an "impoverished scientist's citrix metaframe" kind of thing.
Please note that since XP SP2 concurrent RDP sessions are disabled - enabling it involves patching termsrv.dll and some registry settings - which seems to work but will not be covered here.


There are several howto's for enabling Remoteapp on the web, but i want to document/summarize the steps needed to make this work with Windows XP pro as host and client.

My Setup

:
Server: Windows XP pro SP3 fresh install running inside VMware ESXi 4.x
Client: Notebook with Windows XP pro SP3

Configuring the Server

1. Make sure that XP pro Service Pack 3 is installed
2. Download and install
   
   
   http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2F376F53-83CF-4E5B-9515-2CB70662A81B&displaylang=en
   
   
   (make sure the selected language matches the language of your XP server)
3. 
   Download and install
   
   
   http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=72158b4e-b527-45e4-af24-d02938a95683&displaylang=en
   
   
   (make sure the selected language matches the language of your XP server)
   
4. run regedit on the XP host and find the key TsAppAllowList
   
   (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TsAppAllowList)
   
5. Add a new key "Applications"
6. in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TsAppAllowList\Applications , add a new subkey for each program you you want to ake available through RDP Remoteapp.
   
7. 
   We will take SYSTATs free MySTAT statistics package as an elaborate
   Example:
   
   • Create a sub-key named "mystat"
   • In HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TsAppAllowList\Applications\mystat , add a string value named "Path" containing the full path to the Program, e.g. "C:\Programme\MYSTAT12\App\MYSTAT.exe""
     

Configuring the Client

Download and install http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=72158b4e-b527-45e4-af24-d02938a95683&displaylang=en (make sure the selected language matches the language of your XP client)
1. 
   configure a normal Rdesktop connection to your host and click "save_as" to save the rdp_file to Your desktop using a descriptive filename such as "mystat12_test.rdp"
   
2. 
   Use a text editor (like notepad or PSpad) to edit "mystat12_test.rdp"
   Add (or change) the following lines:
   
   
   
remoteapplicationmode:i:1
remoteapplicationprogram:s:||mystat
disableremoteappcapscheck:i:1
alternate shell:s:rdpinit.exe

   
   
   If you want specific local drives mapped on the server, add:
   drivestoredirect:s:Lokaler Datenträger (C:);DynamicDrives
   (syntax wants actual name of your drives)
   
   Or if You want to map all local Drives:
   drivestoredirect:s:*
   
   
   If you want to log on as a predefined user (with the option to save your password for later logins), add a line specifying the user name:
   
   
username:s:your_username_on_the_host_here

   
   
   
3. A listing of my working example file follows:
   
   
screen mode id:i:2
desktopwidth:i:1024
desktopheight:i:768
session bpp:i:24
winposstr:s:0,1,0,0,986,740
full address:s:192.168.1.214
compression:i:1
keyboardhook:i:2
audiomode:i:0
username:s:myuser1
redirectdrives:i:0
redirectprinters:i:1
redirectcomports:i:0
redirectsmartcards:i:1
displayconnectionbar:i:1
autoreconnection enabled:i:1
shell working directory:s:
disable wallpaper:i:1
disable full window drag:i:0
disable menu anims:i:0
disable themes:i:0
disable cursor setting:i:0
bitmapcachepersistenable:i:1
allow desktop composition:i:1
allow font smoothing:i:1
redirectclipboard:i:1
redirectposdevices:i:0
drivestoredirect:s:Lokaler Datenträger (C:);DynamicDrives
authentication level:i:0
prompt for credentials:i:0
negotiate security layer:i:1
remoteapplicationmode:i:1
remoteapplicationprogram:s:||mystat
disableremoteappcapscheck:i:1
alternate shell:s:rdpinit.exe
gatewayhostname:s:
gatewayusagemethod:i:4
gatewaycredentialssource:i:4
gatewayprofileusagemethod:i:0
promptcredentialonce:i:1
audiocapturemode:i:0
videoplaybackmode:i:1
connection type:i:2
redirectdirectx:i:1
use redirection server name:i:0