Citrix Workspace Desktop

• Citrix Workspace App
• Receiver

Symptoms or Error

Solution

In general, switching between applications/windows within a Citrix Desktop Session will work without a need to alter any settings on an endpoint with the newer releases of Citrix Workspace App.
Please review the below sections for additional information:

1. With the latest releases of Workspace App for Windows, no changes on the endpoint are required. Hitting 'Alt+Tab' on the endpoint within a windowed Citrix Desktop session.
2. If the expected behavior of switching between applications/windows within a Citrix Desktop Session is not occurring, please follow these steps:

1. Hit the following keys: 'Option+ Tab'.

On Linux there are no required settings that need to be changed to allow this behavior.
If the expected behavior of switching between applications/windows within a Citrix Desktop Session is not occurring, please follow these steps:

1. Open terminal and navigate to the following location:
   • /etc/icaclient/config/All_Regions.ini
2. Edit the .ini file with your preferred editor
   • ex. nano All_Regions.ini
3. Find the following line within the file and update it to 'Remote' after the equal sign:
   • TransparentKeyPassthrough =Remote
4. Exit Citrix Workspace App or Citrix Receiver and launch it again

1. Go into full screen mode on your Citrix Desktop Session:
   • Proceed to switch between applications/windows using 'Alt+Tab'
2. Within a windowed session try the following key combination to:
   • Proceed to switch between applications/windows using 'Alt+PageUp'

Problem Cause

Additional Resources

Understanding Keyboard Input To Virtual Desktops
By default, when you use a virtual desktop all key presses are directed to it (not the local computer) with the following exceptions:

• Windows logo key+L is directed to the local computer.
• CTRL+ALT+DELETE is directed to the local computer except in some cases if you use the Citrix Desktop Lock.
• Key presses that activate StickyKeys, FilterKeys, and ToggleKeys (Microsoft accessibility features) are normally directed to the local computer.
• As an accessibility feature of the Desktop Viewer, pressing CTRL+ALT+BREAK displays the Desktop Viewer toolbar buttons in a pop-up window.
• Windows key combinations (for example, CTRL+ESC and ALT+TAB) are directed according to the settings that your help desk has selected.

Note: By default, if the Desktop Viewer is maximized, ALT+TAB switches focus between windows inside the session. If the Desktop Viewer is displayed in a window, ALT+TAB switches focus between windows outside the session.
Hotkey sequences are key combinations designed by Citrix. For example, the CTRL+F1 sequence reproduces CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and SHIFT+F2 switches applications between full-screen and windowed mode. You can use hotkey sequences with virtual desktops in many, but not all, setups. For example, they work with your hosted applications.

Disclaimer

The Citrix Workspace app (formerly known as Citrix Receiver) allows users to securely access applications, services, and data from several desktop and mobile devices. By using this app, you can get access to all your Software as a Service (SaaS) and web applications, files, and mobile apps instantly. This workspace can be accessed from various endpoint devices and operating systems, such as Windows, Windows Mobile, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and more.

The Workspace app (along with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops) is the front-end of the Workspace platform. Users have a single entry to their enterprise applications, desktops, and data by using any device from any network. The Citrix Workspace Platform is a single point of entry that allows unified administration of services like Virtual Apps and Desktops, Endpoint Management, Secure Browser, Analytics, Gateway etc. The Workspace Platform allows customers to subscribe to these services and is managed by Citrix, thus reducing the need for deployment and system update by administrators.

Deprecated features

To help you make timely business decisions this section indicates the deprecated features of the Citrix Workspace app. The deprecated items are not immediately removed but will be removed in the future.

How useful is the Citrix Workspace app?

Use it to access all applications through a single sign-on. Files that are stored centrally are dynamically updated across all devices that can access them. Personal and work-related applications can both exist on any device, without any threat of data breach for a company. Additionally, the app redirects any browsing-related activities to a cloud-hosted web browser, which is isolated from the corporate network. Hence, browsers are more or less secured from a possible cyber-security breach.

Does Citrix Workspace app have any drawbacks?

To use the app, you must have Citrix Virtual Apps—and that is quite expensive. Owing to this dependency, spending a considerable amount on Software does not make much sense for a medium-scale organization. Apart from the cost, Citrix has set the minimum number of users to 25. Hence, if your organization has just 15 members, you are still required to pay the same amount as you would for 25 users’ license.

Common Issues with the Citrix Workspace App

Citrix Workspace Desktop Not Launching

While the security and application delivery of Citrix are useful, its user interface is difficult to maneuver. The user experience is designed for highly skilled IT professionals with in-depth technical knowledge.

Citrix Workspace Desktop Shortcut

Citrix makes it difficult for a user to combine typing, basic clicking, and zooming all at once. It also encounters issues when users try to change the screen resolution. Another common issue with Citrix Workspace App is that organizations need to install Citrix Virtual apps to use Citrix Workspace which is, in fact, expensive. A medium scale organization would most likely not be able to incur the costs associated with it. The minimum number of users available is 25, so an organization that only has 15 users would still have to pay the fee for 25 users.

These limited functionalities of Citrix make it difficult for normal users to effectively reap the benefits of security and application delivery offered by Citrix

Parallels RAS: a better alternative

Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) is a virtualization solution that offers high-end features in a single license scheme. Parallels RAS allows you to publish virtual applications and desktops from a centralized location—at an affordable price. With Parallels RAS, you can get all components in a single package for a price that is far more reasonable. Another significant advantage of Parallels RAS is that IT admins can quickly deploy and manage this solution from a single pane of glass.

References

TechTarget | https://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/tip/Weigh-the-Citrix-Workspace-cost-against-its-benefits

Citrix | https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2018/06/12/citrix-workspace-app-everything-you-need-to-know/

Citrix Workspace Desktop Lock

TechTarget |https://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/definition/Citrix-Receiver

Citrix Workspace Desktop Download

Citrix | https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2018/07/03/your-citrix-workspace-app-journey-begins/

Citrix Workspace Desktop

A Xendc | http://axendatacentre.com/blog/