Citrix Workspace app 2303 for HTML5 - Preview

What’s new

Plug and Play audio device support

Previously, only a single audio playback and recording device was supported and displayed as Citrix HDX Audio irrespective of the real device name.

Starting with the 2303 version, you can connect multiple audio devices and redirect them to VDA. When you redirect USB audio devices, you can now view the real name of the audio device under the Sound settings > Playback and Sound settings > Recording on the VDA. The list of devices on the VDA is dynamically updated whenever an audio device is plugged in or removed.

Note: By default, this feature is enabled.

For more information, see Plug and Play audio device support.

Client Drive Mapping (CDM)

Previously, you couldn’t copy files from your local machine to the virtual environment. In a session, you couldn’t access local drives directly from the file explorer.

Starting with the 2303 version, the Client Drive Mapping feature supports folder mapping on the local machine so they’re accessible from within a session. You can map any folder from the local machine, provided that the folder doesn’t contain system files.

The end user can do the following operations:

• Copy files and folders from the local machine to the mapped drive in the session.
• View the list of files and folders in the mapped drive.
• Open and read file contents in the mapped drive.
• View the file properties (modified time and file size only) in the mapped drive.

This feature provides the advantage of accessing both virtual desktop drives as well as local machine drives together in the file explorer within the HDX session. This feature is supported on desktop platforms, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge Chromium browsers only.

Note:

By default, this feature is enabled.

Known limitations

• You won’t be able to rename files and folders inside the mapped drive.
• Mappings will only have the name of the folder and not the full path.
• If your local folder has hidden files, and you mapped the same folder, the hidden files are visible inside the session in the mapped drive.
• You can’t change the file property to read-only access in the mapped drive.
• When you map a folder from the removable device and if you remove the device during an active session, you can’t use the mapped drive inside the session. You need to remove the mapping manually.

Know issues in the feature

• When you use the CDM feature on mobile platforms, the dialog box gets truncated from the top.

Configuration

You can configure the CDM feature in the following way:

• Configuration.js

Note:

As a prerequisite, an administrator must enable the Client drive redirection policy on the Delivery Controller (DDC). For more information, see Client Drive Redirection in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops documentation.

Configuration.js

The configuration.js file is located in the C:\Program Files\Citrix\HTML5Client folder. Edit this file to configure the CDM feature.

Notes:

• Citrix recommends that you back up the configuration.js file before modifying it.
• Administrator-level credentials are required to edit the configuration.js file.

To disable the feature:

1. Locate and edit the configuration.js file in the HTML5Client folder.

2. Add the clientDriveMapping attribute and set the attribute enabled to false. For example,

   `features':
       {
     'clientDriveMapping' :
        {
           'enabled' : false,
               'availableAccessLevels': [1, 2, 3],
                // 1 - Read-Write Access, 2 - Read-Only Access, 3 - No-Access
               //drop-down options
              'accessLevel': 1
               // 1 - Read-Write Access, 2 - Read-Only Access, 3 - No-Access
               //admin sets these values
       }
       }
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

3. Save the changes.

Access level

When you enable the feature, you can set the folder or drive access levels. For example, if an administrator sets availableAccessLevels as [2, 3], the end user can view the Read-Only Access and No-Access options in the drop-down list.

How to use the feature

1. Navigate to the Toolbar > more (…) > Map a drive.

   

2. Select the Access level for the folder or the drive. The drop-down option you see depends upon on the access level set by your organization’s IT administrator for your profile.

   

3. Select a Drive letter and click Browse to navigate to your folder or drive in your local machine.

   

4. Click Add.

5. Disconnect and reconnect the session.

   The session displays the drive letter that is mapped inside the session.

Background blurring and effects in MS Teams optimization

Starting with the 2303 release, Citrix Workspace app for HTML5 supports background blurring and effects in Microsoft Teams optimization for video calls. You can either blur or replace the background effects provided by Microsoft Teams to avoid unexpected distractions by helping the conversation stay focused on the silhouette (body and face). This feature can be used with P2P and conference calls.

Notes:

• By default, this feature is disabled.
• This feature is now integrated with the Microsoft Teams UI. Multi-window support is a prerequisite that requires a VDA update to 2112 or higher. For more information, see Multi-window meetings and chat.

Limitations

• Administrator and user-defined background replacement aren’t supported.
• When you enable this feature, you might observe performance issues.
• After the ICA session is reconnected, the effect is off. However, the Microsoft Teams UI shows that the previous effect is still On by a tick mark. Citrix and Microsoft are working together to resolve this issue.

How to configure

You can configure the background effect feature in one of the following ways:

• Configuration.js
• Global App Configuration service

Configuration.js

In Citrix Workspace app for HTML5, the configuration.js file is located under C:\Program Files\Citrix\HTML5Client folder. Edit this file to configure the background effect feature.

NOTES:

• Citrix recommends that you back up the configuration.js file before modifying it.
• Administrator-level credentials are required to edit the configuration.js file.

To enable background effect:

1. Navigate to the configuration.js file in the HTML5Client folder.

2. Add the backgroundEffects attribute and set the attribute to true. For example,

   'features' : {
           'msTeamsOptimization' :
           {
               'backgroundEffects' : true
           }
       }
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

3. Save the changes.

Global App Configuration service

On the cloud setup, administrators can enable the background effect feature by setting the backgroundEffects attribute to False in the Global App Configuration service.

For more information, see Global App Configuration service documentation.

Combo box workflow on mobile platforms

Starting with the 2303 version, selecting UI elements within a combo box on small screens is smoother. An administrator can enable the policy Remote the combo box to make the user experience of selecting check boxes, drop-down list options, radio buttons, and more a smooth experience on iOS and Android mobiles.

For more information, see Remote the combo box in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops documentation.

Note:

This feature is enabled by default.

Configuration

You can configure the enhanced touch experience in one of the following ways:

• Configuration.js
• Global App Configuration service

Configuration.js

In Citrix Workspace app for HTML5, the configuration.js file is located under C:\Program Files\Citrix\Receiver StoreFront\HTML5Client folder. Edit this file to configure the enhanced touch experience feature.

Notes:

• Citrix recommends that you back up the configuration.js file before modifying it.
• Administrator-level credentials are required to edit the configuration.js file.

To disable the enhanced touch experience feature:

1. Navigate to the configuration.js file in the HTML5Client folder.

2. Add the enablePointerForTouchEvents attribute and set the attribute to false.

   For example,

   'ui':
       {
           'touch':
             {
                'enablePointerForTouchEvents': false
             }
       }
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

3. Save the changes.

Global App Configuration service

On the cloud setup, administrators can disable the feature by setting the enablePointerForTouchEvents attribute to False in the Global App Configuration service.

For more information, see Global App Configuration service documentation.

Fixed issues

• There are no known issues in this release.

Known issues

• There are no known issues in this release.