Configure Citrix Workspace app
This article lists tasks that help you configure Citrix Workspace app for iOS.
Fetching GACS Endpoints via Email or Domain-Based Discovery API
Starting with the 24.9.0 release, iOS devices now fetch GACS endpoints using an email or domain-based discovery API. This improvement eliminates the need for hardcoded GACS endpoints in the Citrix Workspace app, reducing unnecessary GACS calls from clients when GACS is not configured for a specific store. This update benefits both cloud and on-premise stores. For more information, see Configure Citrix Workspace app using Global App Configuration service.
Supports GACS authenticated microservices (Cloud)
As of the 24.9.0 release, Citrix Workspace app for iOS support Authenticated Microservices, enabling GACS to manage User Groups for our customers. This provides greater flexibility and control and is currently supported for cloud stores only. For more information, see Manage settings for user group using configuration profile (Preview).
Feature flag management
If an issue occurs with Citrix Workspace app in production, the affected feature can be disabled dynamically in Citrix Workspace app. It is possible to do so even after the feature is shipped. We use feature flags and a third-party service called LaunchDarkly. You do not need to make any configurations to enable traffic to LaunchDarkly, except when you have a firewall or proxy blocking outbound traffic. In that case, you enable traffic to LaunchDarkly via specific URLs or IP addresses, depending on your policy requirements.
You can enable traffic and communication to LaunchDarkly in the following ways:
Enable traffic to the following URLs
features.netscalergateway.net
app.launchdarkly.com
events.launchdarkly.com
stream.launchdarkly.com
clientstream.launchdarkly.com
Firehose.launchdarkly.com
mobile.launchdarkly.com
List IP addresses in an allow list
If you must list IP addresses in an allow list, for a list of all current IP address ranges, see LaunchDarkly public IP list. You can use this list to ensure that your firewall configurations are updated automatically in keeping with the infrastructure updates. For details about the status of the infrastructure changes, see LaunchDarkly Status.
LaunchDarkly system requirements
You must verify that the apps can communicate with the following services if you have split tunneling on the Citrix ADC set to OFF for the following services:
-
LaunchDarkly service
-
APNs listener service
Provision to disable LaunchDarkly service:
You can disable LaunchDarkly service on both on-premises and cloud stores.
On the cloud setup, you can disable the LaunchDarkly service by setting the enableLaunchDarkly attribute to False. You can achieve this from the Global App Configuration service UI.
{
"assignedTo": [
"AllUsersNoAuthentication"
],
"category": "Third Party Services",
"settings": [
{
"name": "Enable Launch Darkly",
"value": "true"
}
],
"userOverride": false
}
<!--NeedCopy-->
For more information, see the Global App Configuration Service documentation.
On the on-premises deployment, do the following:
- Use a text editor to open the web.config file, which is typically at
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\Roaming
directory. -
Locate the user account element in the file (Store is the account name of your deployment).
For example,
<account id=... name="Store">
Before the tag, navigate to the properties of that user account:
<properties> <clear/> </properties> <!--NeedCopy-->
- Add the enableLaunchDarkly tag and value as false.
-
Add the enableLaunchDarkly tag and value as false.
<property name="enableLaunchDarkly" value="false" />
Note:
Most of the features are behind a feature flag controlled by LaunchDarkly. In the environments where it is disabled, you have to wait for a minimum of 90 days.
Inactivity timeout for Citrix Workspace app
Admins can specify the amount of idle time that is allowed. After the time-out value, an authentication prompt appears.
The inactivity timeout value can be set starting from 1 minute to 24 hours. By default, the inactivity timeout isn’t configured. Admins can configure the inactivityTimeoutInMinutesMobile property by using a PowerShell module. Click here to download the PowerShell modules for Citrix Workspace app configuration.
When you’ve reached the specified time-out value, the end-user experience is as follows depending on the authentication type configured:
- After the inactivity timeout, you’ll receive a prompt to provide biometric authentication to access the Citrix Workspace app again.
-
If you can cancel the biometric authentication prompt, the following message appears:
Citrix Workspace app is locked.
You must authenticate to continue to use the Workspace app.
If the passcode is not configured on the iOS, you have to sign in with credentials after the inactivity timeout.
Note:
This feature is applicable for customers on Workspace (Cloud) only.
Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP)
Data Collected | Description | What we Use it for |
---|---|---|
Configuration and usage data | The Citrix Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) gathers configuration and usage data from the Workspace app for iOS and automatically sends the data to Google Firebase. | This data helps Citrix improve the quality, reliability, and performance of the Workspace app. |
Additional Information
Citrix handles your data in accordance with the terms of your contract with Citrix. The data is protected as specified in the Citrix Services Security Exhibit. For more information, see the Citrix Trust Center.
Citrix uses Google Firebase to collect certain data from Citrix Workspace app as part of CEIP. Review how Google handles data collected for Google Firebase.
To stop sending CEIP data to Citrix and Google Firebase:
- Open Citrix Workspace app for iOS.
- Tap Home > Settings.
- Navigate to the General section.
- Disable the Send Usage Statistics option.
Note:
No data is collected for the users in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK).
The specific CEIP data elements collected by Google Firebase are:
Session information and session launch method | Citrix stores and store configuration | Auth type and authentication configuration | ICA connections |
HDX session launch | Store app session | WebView action open | WebView action copy |
WebView action share | Workspace app review | Connection status, connection error, connection center usage | External display |
Socket status | Session duration | HDX over UDP | Session launch time |
Device information | Device model info | Send usage statistics | App language, Workspace app language |
Keyboard language | Citrix store type | Citrix store combination | Store protocol type |
Store count | HDX UDP status | RSA token installations |
Known limitations
- On VDA 7.18 and earlier, casting to a workspace hub requires the desktop or other resource you’re using to have the h.264 full-screen policy enabled and the legacy graphics policy to be disabled.
Session sharing
If users log off from a Citrix Workspace app account, they can still disconnect or log off from remote sessions.
- Disconnect: Logs off from the account but leaves the Windows application or desktop running on the server. The user can then start another device, launch Citrix Workspace app for iOS, and reconnect to the last state before the user disconnects from the iOS device. This option allows users to reconnect from one device to another device and resume working in running applications.
- Log off: Logs off from the account and closes the Windows application. It also logs off from the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix DaaS server. This option allows users to disconnect from the server and log off from the account. When they launch Citrix Workspace app for iOS again, it opens in the default state.
Cloud stores
You can access the web, SaaS apps, and websites hosted by your organization regardless of your access location. This feature is available only for customers on cloud stores.
Support for multiple cloud stores
Starting with the 24.1.0 release, you can add multiple cloud store accounts to the Citrix Workspace app for iOS and iPadOS. Now, it’s easy for end users to add and switch between multiple stores. This feature improves the user experience when accessing multiple stores.
To add another account, do the following steps:
- Navigate to Settings > Manage Account. A dialog appears at the bottom of the screen with a list of your accounts.
-
Tap Add new account.
- Type the URL or email address provided by your IT administrator. To optionally use a smart card to log on, tap Use smart card.
- Tap Continue. The Sign in dialog appears with fields for your user name, password, domain, and passcode.
- Type the information. For more information about the fields, contact your IT administrator.
-
Tap Sign in. Your new account is now set up.
Auto-populate store URL
Starting with the 23.2.0 version, when you’re accessing the rebranded Citrix Workspace app for iOS, you can choose to auto-populate the store URL. This capability reduces manual intervention and provides quick access to the app. For more information about app personalization, see App Personalization.
Support for deleting multiple stores at once
Starting with the 24.2.0 version, Citrix Workspace app for iOS supports the selection of multiple stores and deleting them. This feature improves the user experience while working with multiple stores. This feature is enabled by default.
To delete multiple stores at once from the Stores screen, do the following steps:
-
On the Stores screen, tap Select.
- Select stores to delete. To delete all the stores, tap Select All.
-
Tap Delete.
Support for administrator to restrict the user from changing the store name
Previously, users were able to change the store name by using the Edit Account option.
Starting with 24.2.0, Citrix Workspace app for iOS provides administrators an option to disable the user from changing the store name. With this feature, administrators can easily identify and maintain consistency in the store names.
To allow the end-users to change the store name, do the following steps:
- Sign in to Citrix Cloud with your credentials.
-
Navigate to Workspace Configuration > Access. Under Workspace URL, you can find a list of existing store URLs.
- Click the ellipsis menu for the store that you want to allow end-users to change the store name.
-
Select Edit.
-
On the Edit Workspace URL dialog box, select Allow end-users to change this store name in Workspace (not allowed by default).
- Click Save.
Auto-populate store name
Starting with the 24.2.0 version, Citrix Workspace app for iOS supports store name updates by the administrator and automatically pushes the updated store names to the user. This feature improves the user experience by eliminating the need for manual intervention when updating the store name.
Note:
This feature can take effect only if the administrator has disabled the user from changing the store name.
End user experience monitoring enhancement
We now support the EUEM (End user experience monitoring) client startup metrics. EUEM helps in collecting highly granular session experience monitoring data in real time. It sends the data to the Director dashboard, so that the administrator can monitor the user experience. The data is collected through the Session experience monitoring service (SEMS) present on the VDA. Client startup metrics data available for monitoring on the dashboard includes:
- ICA file download duration.
- Session creation client duration. Session creation client duration represents the time taken to create a session. It is calculated from the moment that an ICA file is launched till the connection is established.
- Session lookup client duration. Session lookup client duration represents the time taken to query every session for hosting the requested published application. The check is performed on the client to determine whether an existing session can handle the application launch request.
- Citrix real-time recording of the ICA round trip time, also known as ICA RTT. ICA RTT is the time that elapses from when the user presses a key until the response is displayed at the endpoint.
Enhanced the user interface for Service continuity offline mode
Starting with the 24.1.0 release, the Citrix Workspace app for iOS’s user interface has been improved to be more informative, modern, and provide a user-friendly experience during Citrix Workspace outages. The fuzzy search feature is also included for offline mode. With this feature, you can find the results for apps or desktops with closely matching text and misspelled search terms. For more information about the Service continuity, see Service continuity.
Global App Configuration service channel support
Starting with the 23.4.5 release, administrators can now use the Global App Configuration service to define settings and test them before rolling out the configuration to all end users. This process ensures that features and functionalities are well-tested before production.
Note:
- Citrix Workspace app for iOS supports the Default and Test channel configurations. By default, all users are on the Default channel.
For more information, see the Global App Configuration service documentation.
For more information on how to configure, see Global App Configuration service channel support.
Access Global App Configuration service enabled web stores
Starting with the 23.7.5 version, admins can now configure a web store (web interface) for email-based store discovery. Based on the email address entered by the end users while adding a store (on the Welcome screen), the Global App Configuration service helps identify the custom web (web interface) URL defined by the admin. The end user is then directed automatically to the web store configured by the admin. To know more about configuring web store URLs for end-users, see Allowed custom web portal.
In this article
- Fetching GACS Endpoints via Email or Domain-Based Discovery API
- Supports GACS authenticated microservices (Cloud)
- Feature flag management
- Inactivity timeout for Citrix Workspace app
- Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP)
- Cloud stores
- Support for multiple cloud stores
- Auto-populate store URL
- Support for deleting multiple stores at once
- End user experience monitoring enhancement