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E35975-02
May 2013
Abstract
This manual describes how to use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android to log into a Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server and start or reconnect to a session.
Document generated on: 2013-05-15 (revision: 971)
Table of Contents
The Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android User Guide for Release 1.2 provides an introduction to using Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android. The manual provides information on how you can use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to connect to a Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server from an Android tablet.
This document is intended for new users of Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. It is assumed that readers are familiar with Web technologies.
The document is organized as follows:
Chapter 1, Introducing Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android provides a brief introduction to Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
Chapter 2, Using Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android describes how to use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to connect to a session.
Chapter 3, Configuring Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android describes how to change the configuration of Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
Chapter 4, Frequently Asked Questions answers some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
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The documentation for this product is available at:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/documentation/virtualdesktopclient-411777.html.
The following text conventions are used in this document:
Convention | Meaning |
---|---|
boldface | Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary. |
italic | Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for which you supply particular values. |
| Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter. |
This chapter provides an introduction to Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Client is an application that enables you to access your virtual desktop from anywhere and from almost any device. You use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to connect to a Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server to access your virtual desktop.
Because Oracle Virtual Desktop Client installs on a variety of client operating systems, you can use your PC, laptop, or tablet computer as an alternative to using a Sun Ray Client. Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android allows you to easily and securely access desktop applications and data that are hosted in your data center – all while on the go.
This manual describes how to use the version of Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android tablet computers.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android includes the following features:
Simple, intuitive, and accurate gestures and navigation
Rich keyboard support, including additional keys for the Android on-screen keyboard, enables enhanced user interactions with your applications
Fast and responsive interface
Supports screen resolutions compatible with high resolution Android tablet displays
Copy and paste of text between the Android tablet and the remote desktop
Support for external keyboard and mouse devices, such as docking keyboards and Bluetooth wireless devices
Smooth multimedia playback experience on Oracle Desktop Virtualization hosted applications, including Adobe Flash Player and Windows Media Player
Bidirectional audio enables clear two-way communication
Optimized multimedia delivery to the local client provides enhanced network utilization and scalability
Secure remote access, using your existing Virtual Private Network (VPN) software
Uses the ultra secure Appliance Link Protocol (ALP) with Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Increase productivity with the ability to instantly switch between virtual and native applications
Simple configuration of connection settings
Click-and-go connectivity to configured and available desktops and applications
You can configure international languages for the on-screen keyboard. The following languages are supported:
Dutch
French
German
Hebrew
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swiss German
Turkish
UK English
US English
This chapter describes how you can use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to connect to a Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server from your Android tablet computer and log in to a session.
Details of the supported gestures when you are working in a session are included, as well as information on using the on-screen keyboard.
Finally, the procedure for disconnecting from a session is described.
Before you begin to use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client, check the following:
Ensure you know the user name and password for your Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure session.
(Optional) Ensure you know the name or IP address of your Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server.
This information is only required if you need to configure Oracle Virtual Desktop Client with your server details.
If your administrator has preconfigured Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for your server, you do not need to know these details.
Start the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client application.
On the All Apps screen, tap the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client application icon.
The Oracle Virtual Desktop Client connect screen is displayed.
The following links are available at the bottom of the connect screen:
Settings. Displays the Settings screen. See Section 3.2, “Changing Settings for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client”.
Help. Displays this User Guide.
Gestures. Displays help on supported gestures.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. Displays the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client software version.
Specify a server to connect to.
For the Server field, do one of the following:
Choose the Find Automatically option. Use this option if you want Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to find a server on your network automatically.
Tap the
button to show the servers list.
Choose the Find Automatically option in the servers list.
Enter the name of a server. If you know the name of the server, enter this in the Server field.
Tap in the Server field to display the on-screen keyboard.
You can enter a host name or IP address for the server. See Section 4.2, “Do I Need to Know the Name of My Server?”.
Choose a server you have connected
to before. Tap the
button to show a list of servers that you have
connected to previously.
Choose the server from the servers list. See Figure 2.3, “Servers List, Showing Previous Server Connections”.
Connect to the server.
Tap the Connect button.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Client connects to the server and displays the login screen.
Log in to the session.
Enter the user name and password for your Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure session.
When you are not using an external keyboard, the on-screen keyboard is displayed automatically.
After logging in, the session is displayed.
An example session is shown in Figure 2.6, “Java Desktop Session Displayed Using Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android”. This figure shows a desktop session displayed on an Android tablet screen.
The action bar is a menu bar displayed across the top of the session window.
The action bar includes the tool icons described in Table 2.1, “Icons on the Action Bar”.
Table 2.1. Icons on the Action Bar
Icon | Description |
---|---|
![]() Hide Action Bar | Hides the action bar. To redisplay the action bar, use the Android Back button. |
![]() Keyboard | Displays the on-screen keyboard. |
![]() More | Displays more menu options, such as Help. |
A gesture is a finger motion that is used to interact with the Android tablet touch screen. Table 2.2, “Supported Gestures in a Session” shows the supported gestures when you are working in a session.
Table 2.2. Supported Gestures in a Session
Gesture | Action |
---|---|
Tap with one finger | Left mouse-button click |
Tap with two fingers | Right mouse-button click |
Drag upwards with three fingers [a] | Display the on-screen keyboard |
Drag down with three fingers | Display the Sun Ray Windows connector (uttsc) toolbar |
Touch and hold, then drag | Left mouse-button click + drag |
Pinch fingers together | Zoom out |
Pinch fingers apart (unpinch) | Zoom in |
Drag with one finger | Pan across the screen. Only available when zoomed in. |
Drag downwards or upwards with two fingers | Simulates scrolling using the middle scroll wheel on a mouse |
[a] Tap with three fingers also displays the keyboard. |
To view help information on supported gestures, do one of the following:
To display the on-screen keyboard, do either of the following:
Drag upwards on the screen with three fingers
Tap the Keyboard button in the action bar
To provide enhanced support for keyboard input during a session, some additional keys have been added to the Android on-screen keyboard.
The additional keys are at the top of the on-screen keyboard, as shown in Figure 2.10, “Additional Android Keys for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client”.
Table 2.3, “Additional Android Tablet Keys for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client” lists the additional keys.
Table 2.3. Additional Android Tablet Keys for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client
Key | Description |
---|---|
Tab | Tab |
Del | Delete |
Esc | Escape |
Ctrl | Control |
Alt | Alt |
Shift | Shift |
fn | Function keys. A list of options enables you to select a function key, from F1 to F12. |
Ext | Extra keys. A list of options enables you to select from the following extra keys: Insert, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down. |
Cursor | Cursor keys. A list of options enables you to select from the following cursor keys: Left, Right, Up, Down. |
Display the on-screen keyboard.
Tap the required key strokes.
You can use the additional keys in combination with the normal keys.
For example, to type Control-C
, tap the
ctrl
key. After the key turns blue, then tap the
C key.
See your Android documentation for more information about using the on-screen keyboard.
See Section 3.3, “Changing the Keyboard Language” for details of how to change the language for the on-screen keyboard used by Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
(Optional) Log out of the session.
The procedure used to log out of a session depends on the type of session. For example:
For an Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Windows desktop session, tap the Log Off option in the Windows Start menu.
For a Sun Ray GNOME desktop session, tap the Log Out option in the Sun Ray Launch menu.
Disconnect from the server.
Display the Disconnect dialog. See Figure 2.11, “Disconnect Dialog”.
Do one of the following:
Tap the Disconnect option in the drop-down menu on the action bar.
Tap the Back button when the action bar is displayed.
Tap the Disconnect option on the Disconnect dialog.
You are not disconnected from the session if you tap the Home button to return to the Home screen.
This chapter describes how you can change the configuration of Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android.
Details on how to configure the list of servers are included, as well as how to change settings such as the language used for the on-screen keyboard.
The servers list contains a list of servers that you have previously connected to. See Figure 2.3, “Servers List, Showing Previous Server Connections”.
To display the servers list, tap the
button on the connect screen.
The list of servers is automatically populated as you use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
If the list contains incorrect or outdated host names, you can remove servers from the list. See Section 3.1.1, “Removing a Server”.
To change settings for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client, do one of the following:
Tap the Settings link on the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client connect screen.
Tap the Settings option in the drop-down menu on the action bar.
The Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings screen is shown.
Table 3.1, “Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings Screen” shows the available settings on this screen.
Table 3.1. Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings Screen
Setting | Description |
---|---|
Dynamic Resize | Resizes the session automatically when you rotate the tablet screen. This feature is called dynamic session resizing. This setting is enabled by default. To use dynamic session resizing, the feature must be enabled on the server. See Section 4.11, “What Happens If I Rotate My Tablet Display During a Session?”. |
Fullscreen | The session is shown using all of the tablet screen. Use this setting to maximize the screen area used for a session. You may have to hide the action bar to see the full session. See Section 4.12, “How Can I Hide the Action Bar?”. If this setting is disabled, the space for the action bar is not used when displaying the session. Hiding the action bar does not then affect the screen space used. |
Session Size | Controls the size of the session sent from the server. For the best user experience with large desktop sessions, you can choose a larger session size. To ensure that that the session size works well on your Android tablet, resolutions for some common portrait and landscape tablet displays are available. See Section 4.13, “Improving the User Experience for a Large Desktop Session”. |
Bandwidth | Maximum bandwidth for the connection, in megabits per second. The default setting is 75 megabits per second, which is the maximum value. Decrease this setting if you are using a low bandwidth connection, or if you want to restrict the amount of server bandwidth used by Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. |
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) | This is the maximum packet size for network connections, in bytes. The default setting is 1500 bytes, which is the maximum value. If you are experiencing problems when using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you might want to decrease this value. See Section 4.3, “Can I Connect Over a Virtual Private Network?”. |
Keyboard Country Code | Changes the language used for the on-screen keyboard. The default setting is Automatic. This means that the current language setting for the Android on-screen keyboard is used. See Section 3.3, “Changing the Keyboard Language” for more details about changing the keyboard language. |
To change the language for the on-screen keyboard used by Oracle Virtual Desktop Client, use the following steps.
Change the language setting for the Android tablet.
Go to Settings, Language & Input, Android Keyboard and configure the Input Language for the Android tablet.
Set the primary keyboard country for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
This is the keyboard country code sent to the remote server.
Display the Settings screen. See Section 3.2, “Changing Settings for Oracle Virtual Desktop Client”.
Tap Keyboard Country Code to display a list of languages supported by Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
Tap the Automatic setting.
The Automatic setting detects automatically the language setting that is used by the Android tablet.
Switch the keyboard language when you are using the on-screen keyboard.
See your Android tablet documentation for details of how to do this.
This chapter provides the answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Oracle Virtual Desktop Client for Android.
To view help on using Oracle Virtual Desktop Client, either tap one of the following buttons in the drop-down menu on the action bar, or the corresponding link on the connect screen:
Help. Displays this User Guide.
Gestures. Displays help on supported gestures.
If you use the Find Automatically option on the connect screen, you do not need to know the name of the server.
If you have connected previously to the server, the server name is shown in the servers list. You can select the required server from the servers list.
If you want to connect to a new server, you need to type the name of the server in the Server field. Depending on how your network is configured, you can use one or more of the following names:
The full name of the server on the network, also called the
DNS name. For example, vdi-1.example.com
.
The host name of the server. For example,
vdi-1
.
The IP address of the server. For example,
123.456.789.12
.
Contact your administrator if you need to know the name of your Sun Ray Software or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server.
You can use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to connect to a server over a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN is typically used to provide secure access to a company network to people from outside the network, such as employees working from home. See your administrator if you need help to configure your computer for connecting over a VPN.
When you are connected to a VPN, an icon is displayed in the Android status bar.
If you are experiencing problems when using a VPN, you might want to decrease the MTU setting to allow space for Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) headers. See Table 3.1, “Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings Screen”.
Contact your administrator for advice on the correct MTU setting for your network.
Sun Ray Software uses an on-screen display (OSD) to show the status of a connection. The OSD can be used to diagnose problems with a connection. For example, the following OSD icon indicates that the Sun Ray Software has not been enabled for access using Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
If you are unable to connect to the Sun Ray server and this icon is displayed, contact your administrator.
Your firewall configuration might prevent you from connecting to the Sun Ray server. Check that the firewall settings on your network allow you to use Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to access the Internet.
If the connection to the Sun Ray server fails, Oracle Virtual Desktop Client displays a warning screen.
If your administrator has enabled audio for sessions, you can play and record audio on your Android tablet device. If you play a podcast, for example, the sound is output through the speaker on your tablet.
To record audio input from your Android tablet in a session, you can connect a microphone to the tablet, for example, and record the sound using software running on the server. Alternatively, you can use the built-in microphone on the Android tablet.
Yes. You can run other Android applications at the same time as you are using Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. This is called multi-tasking.
For example, when you tap the Home button to switch away from your session, the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client application is suspended. You can then run other applications on your Android tablet.
Provided that your server is not configured to close the connection after a period of inactivity, you can usually resume your session when you switch back to Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
If the Android tablet is running low on memory, it may terminate the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client application to free up memory. You cannot then resume your session by switching back to Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. Instead, you must reconnect to your session.
If you are experiencing issues with low memory, close down unwanted applications before you start Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
To scroll through a document or web page when you are working in a session, use the scroll gesture. The scroll gesture emulates the middle scroll wheel on a mouse.
To use the scroll gesture, drag upwards or downwards with two fingers.
An alternative way to scroll through a document or web page is to use the scroll bars on the application window.
See Section 2.3, “Using Gestures in a Session” for details of the supported gestures when you are working in a session.
You can use an external input device, such as a keyboard or mouse, with Oracle Virtual Desktop Client.
See your Android tablet documentation for more information about using an external keyboard or mouse. You may need to configure your Android tablet to use a Bluetooth wireless device.
The Sun Ray Windows connector (uttsc) is used to connect to a remote Windows desktop from within a Sun Ray Software session.
On a desktop computer, you display the toolbar for the Sun Ray Windows connector by moving the mouse to the top of the screen.
This feature can be reproduced on an Android tablet by dragging downwards with three fingers.
Table 4.1, “Gestures for Working in a Sun Ray Windows Connector Session” describes the gestures you can use with the Sun Ray Windows connector.
Table 4.1. Gestures for Working in a Sun Ray Windows Connector Session
Gesture | Description |
---|---|
Drag downwards with three fingers | Display the Sun Ray Windows connector (uttsc) toolbar |
Drag upwards with three fingers | Display the on-screen keyboard |
You can copy and paste text between applications running on a virtual desktop and applications running on the Android tablet.
For example, you might be using a text editor application in a Sun Ray desktop session. You can copy text from this application and paste it into an application running on your Android tablet. Alternatively, you can copy text from an application running on your Android tablet and paste it into a text editor application running in your Sun Ray desktop session.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Client supports the copy and paste of Unicode characters.
To copy and paste, the clipboard service must be enabled on the server. This is done by enabling the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Clipboard option in the Sun Ray Software Admin GUI, as described in the Sun Ray Software Administration Guide.
To use the clipboard service in a Sun Ray or Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure session, the remote server must be running at least Sun Ray Software version 5.3. This version of Sun Ray Software is supplied with Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure version 3.4.
Clipboard sharing is configured on the Android tablet by default. Note that clipboard sharing is not available if the clipboard service is not enabled on the server.
If you are displaying a remote session and you rotate your Android tablet between landscape and portrait display, the session is resized automatically.
This feature is called dynamic session resizing.
To configure dynamic session resizing, use the Dynamic Resize setting on the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings screen. This setting is enabled by default. See Table 3.1, “Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings Screen”.
To use dynamic session resizing, the feature must be enabled on the server. See the Sun Ray Software Administration Guide for details.
Sometimes you may want to be able to use the full screen space of your Android tablet. For example, if you are displaying a desktop session this might give the best user experience.
The action bar is the menu bar across the top of the Android screen. To maximize screen space, you can hide the action bar as follows:
Tap the Hide icon in the action bar.
To redisplay the action bar, tap the Android Back button.
When you disable the Full Screen option on the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings screen, the action bar screen area is not used. The session is displayed underneath the action bar and is not resized if you hide the action bar.
If you want to use the maximum available screen space, enable the Full Screen option and hide the action bar.
When you are displaying a large desktop session on your Android tablet, you may see one of the following issues:
The desktop session does not fit well on the tablet screen; or
Desktop icons, text, and menus are too small
For the best user experience when displaying a desktop session, you can configure Oracle Virtual Desktop Client to display the session in a resolution that works best on your tablet screen.
Use the Session Size setting on the Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings screen to select a session size. Typical landscape and portrait settings that should work well on an Android tablet are available. See Table 3.1, “Oracle Virtual Desktop Client Settings Screen”.
If you rotate the tablet screen, the pixel dimensions for the Session Size setting are swapped. For example, if you rotate a 1024 x 768 display, a resolution of 768 x 1024 is used.