Blog about the latest Citrix News and products features

Customize the Control Panel on XenApp Workloads

August 13, 2018 by Ulrik Christensen Leave a Comment

One of the things you do when you lockdown your VDAs in your XenApp environment is restricting access to the control panel. Sometimes it would be a great help for your users and your service desk if you customize the control panel instead of restricting access to it. There are two ways to customize the control panel on your XenApp workloads. I will describe both of them in this article.

Customize the Control Panel with GPO

If you wish to customize the control panel using GPO, navigate to the “Group Policy Management Console” and create a new GPO or edit an existing one. Go to: “User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Control Panel. Find the policy called “Allow only specified Control Panel items” and double-click it.

Click “Enable” and then click on “Show…”. Add the canonical names of the items you wish the users should be able to see. You can see all the Control Panel items right here -> Control Panel Items

Customize the Control Panel with Workspace Environment Management

The other way you can customize the Control Panel is using Workspace Environment Management from Citrix. Log in to your WEM administrator console and navigate to “Policies and Profiles”->”Environmental Settings”->”Control Panel”. Check the “Show only specified Control Panel Applets” and add the applets you wish the users should be able to access. You can find the canonical names of the control panel items just below.

Control Panel Items

Applet Name	Canonical Name
Action Center	Microsoft.ActionCenter
Administrative Tools	Microsoft.AdministrativeTools
AutoPlay	Microsoft.AutoPlay
Biometric Devices	Microsoft.BiometricDevices
BitLocker Drive Encryption	Microsoft.BitLockerDriveEncryption
Color Management	Microsoft.ColorManagement
Credential Manager	Microsoft.CredentialManager
Date and Time	Microsoft.DateAndTime
Default Programs	Microsoft.DefaultPrograms
Device Manager	Microsoft.DeviceManager
Devices and Printers	Microsoft.DevicesAndPrinters
Display	Microsoft.Display
Ease of Access Center	Microsoft.EaseOfAccessCenter
Family Safety	Microsoft.ParentalControls
File History	Microsoft.FileHistory
Folder Options	Microsoft.FolderOptions
Fonts	Microsoft.Fonts
HomeGroup	Microsoft.HomeGroup
Indexing Options	Microsoft.IndexingOptions
Infrared	Microsoft.Infrared
Internet Options	Microsoft.InternetOptions
iSCSI Initiator	Microsoft.iSCSIInitiator
iSNS Server	Microsoft.iSNSServer
Keyboard	Microsoft.Keyboard
Language	Microsoft.Language
Location Settings	Microsoft.LocationSettings
Mouse	Microsoft.Mouse
MPIOConfiguration	Microsoft.MPIOConfiguration
Network and Sharing Center	Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter
Notification Area Icons	Microsoft.NotificationAreaIcons
Pen and Touch	Microsoft.PenAndTouch
Personalization	Microsoft.Personalization
Phone and Modem	Microsoft.PhoneAndModem
Power Options	Microsoft.PowerOptions
Programs and Features	Microsoft.ProgramsAndFeatures
Recovery	Microsoft.Recovery
Region	Microsoft.RegionAndLanguage
RemoteApp and Desktop Connections	Microsoft.RemoteAppAndDesktopConnections
Sound	Microsoft.Sound
Speech Recognition	Microsoft.SpeechRecognition
Storage Spaces	Microsoft.StorageSpaces
Sync Center	Microsoft.SyncCenter
System	Microsoft.System
Tablet PC Settings	Microsoft.TabletPCSettings
Taskbar and Navigation	Microsoft.Taskbar
Troubleshooting	Microsoft.Troubleshooting
TSAppInstall	Microsoft.TSAppInstall
User Accounts	Microsoft.UserAccounts
Windows Anytime Upgrade	Microsoft.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade
Windows Defender	Microsoft.WindowsDefender
Windows Firewall	Microsoft.WindowsFirewall
Windows Mobility Center	Microsoft.MobilityCenter
Windows To Go	Microsoft.PortableWorkspaceCreator
Windows Update	Microsoft.WindowsUpdate
Work Folders	Microsoft.WorkFolders

How do i get Mail / Outlook to show in the Control Panel

One item is missing from the list above. If you want “Mail” to show in the control panel, you need to add “Mail” in the items list.

How to fix Sharefile StorageZone usage is showing “Migrating”

July 30, 2018 by Ulrik Christensen Leave a Comment

Moving files around in Sharefile can sometimes cause that some ASync Operations in the management plane to get stuck. You can see this in the Sharefile management plane under Admin->StorageZones. Under Usage, it says “Migrating”. This can cause that you are unable to upload files to your Sharefile StorageZone.

You need to contact Citrix Support

Before you go any further, you need to create a support case at Citrix. You have to ask for the IDs of the AsyncOperation that you want to cancel and you can only get them by getting in touch with Citrix Support.

How to solve the “Migrating” issue with Sharefile StorageZone?

Go to api.sharefile.com and log in with your Master Admin account. You cannot use a regular user account to access api.sharefile.com. Once you are logged in, click on “API Entries -> Asyncoperations” as shown below. Find the box with the headline “Cancel Asyncoperation”. In the box for a String, put in the ID of the Async Operation you wish to cancel.

The only way to get the IDs is by contacting Citrix Support. Once you have the IDs, put them, one at the time, into the box as shown below and click on “Send Request”.

Once this is done, you will see that the “Migrating” Status at the Sharefile StorageZone is gone. Your Sharefile StorageZone now works again. Unfortunately, you will need to contact Citrix Support to get this solved. But they know about the issue so that they can resolve it very quickly.

VeridiumID gives Easy and Secure access to Apps and Desktops

June 19, 2018 by Ulrik Christensen Leave a Comment

VeridiumID integrates perfectly into Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop and gives users easy and secure access to their apps and data. VeridiumID can be used as the primary authentication or as the second authentication. The whole idea is to avoid users having weak passwords. With Veridium, you are making the users the password by using biometrics on your phone. VeridiumID has an app for iOS and Android.

If you are using VeridiumID as the primary authentication, which is my favorite, you will get presented Storefront like the picture below. You only need to enter your username.

VeridiumID and Storefront

Once that is done, you will get a notification on your phone from the VeridiumID app. Swipe the notification and it will take you to the VeridiumID app and you can authenticate by using fingerprint or FaceID.

Veridium iPhone Notification

The app will give you a message if the authentication is successful or not and based on that, you will get access to your apps and files.

How is VeridiumID more secure?

VeridiumID is using biometrics for authentication. This means that the users do not have a password and hackers cannot hack something that does not exist. The whole discussion in the IT Department about the company’s password policy is gone. It is a discussion that has been going for decades. Now you no longer have to worry about that anymore.

ServiceDesk will love you

We have all been there. Not remembering our password. We just came back from a well-deserved vacation and we have no idea what our password is. Most companies do not have a self-service password reset solution, even though talk about it. The only option is to call ServiceDesk and get a new password. People forgetting their password happens more often than you think. All of that is history. Again, with biometrics, you can’t forget your password, because you are it.

If you want to try it out, you can request a demo at VeridiumID’s website.

All-in-One with Samsung DeX, Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenMobile

April 22, 2018 by Ulrik Christensen Leave a Comment

Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop support many deferent endpoints, which means that you can access your applications and your files on almost any devices that you prefer. I have tested the Samsung S8 and Samsung DeX for the last week, and it is cool. With the, already existing, technology from Citrix, this device is a potent tool for your everyday work.

Samsung DeX

What is Samsung DeX?

Samsung DeX is the device that makes possible to connect the Samsung S8 to a regular PC monitor. It also has an ethernet connection, if you do not have WiFi available. Once you place the Samsung S8 in the Samsung DeX, it automatically goes into “Desktop Mode,” and you can use a keyboard and mouse.

How did I configure the setup with Samsung DeX

The whole configuration part is almost the best thing. The only thing I need to do is to enroll the Samsung S8 into my XenMobile solution. Once if have done that, my Samsung S8 will get a WiFi profile, and all my standard apps will get installed, including Citrix Receiver. Now I can receive my email when I am on the run and when I am in the office, I place my Samsung S8 into my Samsung DeX and access my Windows Desktop through the XenMobile Enterprise Store.

How about the user experience

The setup with Samsung S8 and Samsung DeX can be used by most users. When it comes to multimedia, the experience could be better. But for 98% of the work that I do, it works perfectly. The whole experience that I have my desktop at the office and I have the Citrix XenMobile apps when I am on the run and get presented the content of my emails and files, so it fits the form factor that I am using is perfect.

Worx Home by Citrix is Now Citrix Secure Hub

March 29, 2018 by Ulrik Christensen Leave a Comment

As we all know, Citrix is very famous for renaming their products. They have products that have changed their name so many times that I can’t even remember. The productivity apps for XenMobile are no exception. We all are all used to the Worx name. Thet is now gone and has been changed with Secure. This means that Worx Home by Citrix is now Citrix Secure Hub.

What are the new names for the productivity apps?

Here is a list of some of the old names and what the names are now.

Worx Home = Secure Hub
WorxMail = Secure Mail
SecureWeb = Secure Web

There are more than these apps, but the most important one is Worx Home by Citrix or Secure Hub because that is the one that you are looking for. All the other apps will come from the XenMobile server.

The reason for name change is that Citrix wants to focus more on security. There are no new features in combination with the name change.

The new Citrix Secure Apps will also be available from the Apple App Store. This means that you no longer need a developer certificate if you only need the Citrix Secure Apps. Then you only need to download the MDX files from Citrix’s download page.

Where can I get Citrix Secure Hub?

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/citrix-secure-hub/id434682528

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zenprise

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know in the comments field below.