App-V: Error Running Virtualized SAS Client: “Could not Load SAS font”

After sequencing the SAS Base version 9.2 client, you may get the following error upon launching the application:

WARNING: Could not load SAS font : SAS Monospace WARNING: Could not load SAS font : SAS Monospace Bold

This will not happen during the launch phase so it comes very unexpected post deployment.

The two fonts referenced (“SAS Monospace” & “SAS Monospace Bold”) are located in the virtual file structure (CSIDL_Fonts), and are referenced in the Virtual Registry (in the key HKLM>Software>Microsoft>Windows NY>Current Version>Fonts & referenced as a redirected for another font value in the FontSubstitutes key.)

They are also viewable via sfttray /exe cmd.exe when browsing directly to the c:\windows\fonts folder.

The cause of this tracks back to the fact that the fonts are marked as User Data. Being marked at User Data implies that it is modifiable data that will be copied and maintained in the user’s package volume (*.PKG file.) Since it is marked as user data, when the query is made to the C:\ location, it is going to redirect it to the USER PKG where it may or may not be.

If you look at this through a Process Monitor trace (one both inside and outside the VE) you will see this happening as well.

If you change the source location for SAS Fonts in the file C:\Program Files\SAS\SASFoundation\9.2\nls\en\SASV9.CFG (Q:\\VFS\CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\SAS\SASFoundation\9.2\nls\en\SASV9.CFG) to point to the VFS location on the (i.e. Q:\\VFS\CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\SAS\SASFoundation\9.2\core\resource) instead of the original location on C:\, the error should go away.