Citrix Plug-in 11.2 released! RIP Program Neighborhood

Last month, I posted my findings on the beta releases of XenApp 4.5/5.0 HRP5 for Windows 2003 and the 11.2 Plug-in.  Today, Citrix released the final Citrix XenApp Online Plug-In 11.2 (formally called XenApp client).  See my previous post on more detail on the new features and changes this client; another notable change in this client is the removal of the Program Neighborhood. 

Program Neighborhood (PN.EXE) was primarlily leveraged to create connections directly to XenApp servers (as opposed to connecting through a Web Interface or the PNAgent).  With the removal of the Program Neighborhood, Citrix has made it very clear that they do not want support this functionality.  Fortunately, there IS a way to work around this issue if you decide to upgrade to 11.2 client and are still required to make a connection directly to a XenApp server.  The trick is to create an ICA file. Copy and paste the template below into notepad and substitute the approriate server name denoted below as “servername.domain.com”.  Save the file with a .ICA extension and voilà.  You can now connect directly to a XenApp server with the 11.2 client.