I'm using IE8 in a thinapp with a specific version of JRE to get around some compatability problems with a finicky web app. What I'm trying to achieve is to completely segregate the thinapp from the operating system and limit it's use to the web app mentioned previously. All of that has been accomplished by removing the address bar in IE via a registry setting and setting the homepage to the URL of the web app. Currently, it's being called from a .bat file on a network share that we populate a shortcut to for each user. It was first built with some build of 4.7.0 and has been updated a few times, most recently using the latest build of 4.7.3. For the most part, the thinapp works very well except for one problem that I've yet to find a solution for.
I'm running into a problem with users launching shortcuts to URLs to other places (google.com, etc.). If they have their native copy of IE running before the thinapp is launched and click a desktop shortcut, everything works as expected. The problem is that if they open the thinapp first and then click the shortcut, it opens in the thinapp IE. I'm trying to avoid using a thindirect.txt because I don't have a lot of control over the machines that the thinapp is being used on and won't be able to ensure that it's been registered properly.