QuickFix > Set Working Directory on WVD RemoteApp

This one might be old news to some but I thought I’d share it as it got me out of jam earlier this week.

I needed to create a RemoteApp in WVD (Spring Release) for a proof of concept I was working on, however, this application required a working directory to be set for it to launch correctly.

I’ll stress this was a quick fix and there may be a more elegant way to achieve the same result but I was against the clock at the time.

The quick fix was to create a batch file locally on the WVD instance with the below syntax:

start /d c:\App-Working-Directory-Here c:\Executable-To-Launch-Here.exe

eg.

start /d c:\EstGrp\CM\830\CM\USER c:\EstGrp\CM\BINW\cmw32.exe

Once the batch file is saved, from the WVD Management UI create a new RemoteApp in the relevant Application Group and enter the path the batch file in the Application Path, continue to enter the Display Name and set the Icon Path to the path to the executable as normal:

As expected when you launch the application from the RD Client or WVD Web Interface (from the correct URL, thanks to Tom and Marcel 🙂 the batch file will launch, albeit quickly and then launch the required app.

Note, the same could be achieved using PowerShell with the below syntax:

Start-Process -FilePath C:\EstGrp\CM\BINW\cmw32.exe -WorkingDirectory C:\EstGrp\CM\830\CM\USER

If you have been in a similar situation in needing to set the Working Directory, or some other attribute and have a more elegant solution please feel free to share it, either in the comments below or on Twitter.