Azure Virtual Desktop Guidance

Below we will cover the steps to uninstall VMWare Horizon on Windows 10, Windows 11 and MacOS. If you have already done this, please skip to Installing Windows App.

Windows 10/11 - Uninstall VMWare Horizon

1. Open your Start Menu, search for and locate “Control Panel”

2. Click on Control Panel, locate “Uninstall a program” and click on it to open the uninstall menu

3. In the list of installed programs, locate “VMWare Horizon Client” and click “Uninstall”

4. Follow the steps in the new window to remove VMWare Horizon Client from your system and reboot at the end of the uninstall.

macOS - Uninstall VMWare Horizon

1. Ensure the VMWare Horizon Client is not running by force closing the application

2. Open the Apple logo menu in the top left of your screen and click “Force Quit”

3. In the “Force Quit” window check if VMWare Horizon Client is there, if it is then force close the application, if not then skip to step 4.

   

4. Open your Applications folder

5. Right-click on “VMWare Horizon Client”

6. Click on “Move to Bin” or “Move to Trash” on older versions of macOS

   

Once VMWare Horizon Client is uninstalled we are ready to install Windows App, used to access AVD

Windows 10/11 - Installing Windows App

The Windows App is available from the Microsoft Store and can be used to install on Windows 10 and 11 systems.

Please Note - Windows App is not available for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and requires Windows 10 or newer running the latest version for best compatibility.

1. Navigate in your web browser to https://avd.simbecorion.com

2. Select the option “Download for Windows” option

   

3. Click on “Download” and follow the on screen wizard to download the application on your Windows device

   

4. Open the application and click on the “Sign in” button

   

5. Sign in with your “@simbecorion.com” e-mail address and password used previously for Horizon

   

6. Once you click on “Sign in” you may be presented with instructions to set up Microsoft Authenticator on your personal device. This will be used for multi-factor authentication to sign into AVD.
   1. Download Microsoft Authenticator on your mobile device
      1. Apple - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-authenticator/id983156458
      2. Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azure.authenticator&hl=en_GB
   2. Once downloaded, open the application and follow the steps on your screen to set up Authenticator to be used as a MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) for AVD

7. Once Microsoft Authenticator is setup and you have signed in, you will be presented with a list of available applications or desktops allocated to you.

   

MacOS - Installing Windows App

The Windows App is available from the macOS App Store and can be used to install on macOS systems

1. Navigate in your web browser to https://avd.simbecorion.com

2. Select the option “Download for MacOS”

3. Download the “Windows App” for your Mac and open the application

4. Open the application and click on the “Sign in” button

   

5. Sign in with your “@simbecorion.com” e-mail address and password used previously for Horizon

   

6. Once you click on “Sign in” you may be presented with instructions to set up Microsoft Authenticator on your personal device. This will be used for multi-factor authentication to sign into AVD.
   1. Download Microsoft Authenticator on your mobile device
      1. Apple - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-authenticator/id983156458
      2. Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azure.authenticator&hl=en_GB
   2. Once downloaded, open the application and follow the steps on your screen to set up Authenticator to be used as a MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) for AVD

7. Once Microsoft Authenticator is setup and you have signed in, you will be presented with a list of available applications or desktops allocated to you.

On Windows 10/11 the sign-in process will look like the below image:

On Windows 10/11 you should simply click the “Sign in” button and login with the credentials shown in the next section of the guide. If you are not presented with a sign in button simply click the plus icon in the top right of the window and select a work or school account and proceed to the credentials section.

On MacOS the sign-in process will look like the below image:

You should click on the + button in the top right and sign in with a work or school account and use the credentials mentioned in the next section.

The credentials you should use when signing into the Windows app are as follows:

Username: [email protected]

Password: The usual password for your Simbec Orion resources

With Azure Virtual Desktop we utilise Microsoft Authenticator, if you do not already have this set up the system will walk you through the set-up process during the first sign in. You will need this to authenticate every time you log into AVD from a non Simbec Orion device.

1. On the sign in dialogue box please enter the credentials shown above
   1. Note: Your credentials will save your username for next time and you will only re-enter the password and MFA on re-opening the application.

      

2. After entering your password, you will receive a notification on your mobile phone to enter a 2 digit number shown on your screen, please follow the steps on screen to enter this on your device to complete the login

   

3. Once approved you will be greeted with the Windows App and the resources available to you for use.

There are some basic settings allowing you to configure how Azure Virtual Desktop displays your desktop on your local machine with a few options to chose from. To access these settings you can click on the … in the bottom right corner of your desktop instance before connecting and open the “Settings” menu.

You will need to untick the “Use default settings” to enable you to change the settings of the display. From there you have a few different options to make it easier for you to work. We encourage you to play around with these settings to find the option that works best for you.

Under “Display configuration” you have a drop down menu with a few options.

You can chose from the following:

• All displays - This will use all of your available monitors for Azure Virtual Desktop in fullscreen

• Single Display - This will use your primary display for Azure Virtual Desktop in fullscreen

• Select Displays - This will allow you to select what displays are used for Azure Virtual Desktop

You can also chose additional settings from “Single display” or “Select displays”

Single display

• Start in full screen - Defaults to full screen rather than windowed

• Fit session to window - Fits the Azure Virtual Desktop to the window

• Update the resolution on resize - Allows you to dynamically change resolution as you resize the window

Select displays

• Maximize to current displays - Defaults the window size to maximum size of the selected monitor

• Single display when in windowed mode - Automatically adjusts Azure Virtual Desktop to have one monitor when you exit fullscreen

• Fit session to window - Fits the Azure Virtual Desktop to the window

When launching a desktop session for the first time your local machine will ask if you would like to grant the Windows App permission for your webcam, location and microphone. This is to assist with local results and allow you to use conference applications such as Teams and Zoom within Azure Virtual Desktop.

If you accidentally click “No” or have issues with the permission for Microphone/Webcam please follow the guidance below:

Windows 10/11

In your start menu on your local machine, please search for “Camera Privacy Settings” or “Microphone Privacy Settings”

When inside the settings window, ensure that the Windows App is ticked to “On”

MacOS

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)

2. Click Microphone or Camera

3. Turn access to the microphone / camera on or off for the Windows App in the list.

Windows 10/11

When using AVD on a Windows 10/11 machine your keyboard shortcuts will work as normal for example CTRL + C to copy, CTRL + V to paste and CTRL + P to print.

MacOS

When using AVD on a MacOS machine your keyboard shortcuts will differ slightly as the Mac keyboard replaces some of the modifier keys on your keyboard. To ensure proper functionality please ensure that you have this option enabled within the Windows App

1. Once you are connected to your AVD session, locate the very top bar on your monitor

2. Select the option “Connections > Keyboard Mode > Unicode”

   

3. You can now use the keyboard shortcut Control + C, V, P etc where you would have usually used CMD key “⌘”

   

AVD has been configured to allow you to select from a variety of languages and keyboard layouts, below are guides on changing this to suit your preferences. By default on first login you may notice it default into English.

Changing Keyboard Layout

Upon logging into AVD you will notice in the taskbar in the bottom right next to your network connectivity and time the currently selected keyboard layout. To change this simply click on the icon and change it to your desired layout.

Changing Display Language

To change your display language you have to navigate to settings and toggle your desired language, below are the steps to do this:

1. On the start menu, search for “Language”

2. Select the option “Language Settings”

   

3. In the new window that appears you will see an option to change your Windows display language with a dropdown on the right, select your desired language and close the window

   

4. For the changes to take effect you MUST sign out of AVD and sign back in, to do this navigate to the start menu again and click on your picture/name

5. Click on the “Sign out” button and wait for the session to fully sign out

   

6. Wait 5 minutes and re-connect to your AVD session and your new display language will be in place.

File management in AVD differs from your usual personal laptop or your Simbec Orion laptop. Within AVD as they are temporary disposable virtual machines. Below is some guidance on what this means for you.

Files from VMWare Horizon

If you were a previous user of VMWare Horizon, your files and folders can be found under the L:\ drive on the AVD image as shown below in the file explorer:

Within the L drive (Home Drive) you will see everything that was previously in your Horizon documents folder, you will also notice a desktop folder in there containing everything that was previously in your Horizon desktop folder.

File Management

You can customise your AVD desktop experience and tailor it to your liking such as dark mode or the position and icons in the taskbar.

Please Note: You are unable to change the desktop wallpaper.

Customise Windows Appearance

1. Right click the Desktop and select “Personalise”

2. From here you are able to change the colours, accent colour and light/dark mode.

   

Customise Windows Taskbar

1. Right click on the Taskbar and select “Taskbar Settings”

2. From here you are able to customise a variety of features such as the icons, search box or the taskbar behaviours to move the taskbar from centre to the left.

   

Pinning Applications

You can drag and drop applications such as Word, PowerPoint etc to the taskbar for easy access in future or simply right click the icon and select “Pin to taskbar” when the application is open.

You can also drag and drop applications to the start menu for easy access or right click an existing application and select “Unpin”

For security purposes there are some limitations and processes in place on AVD, below are some which may be relevant to you.

• You must setup MFA and use MFA to login to AVD every time you begin a new session, as mentioned above your first login will walk you through the process if it is not already enabled. This will require a smartphone in order to use the Microsoft Authenticator

• Your session will expire if you disconnect from AVD after 2 hours and automatically sign you out of your session as to avoid stale connections so please ensure if you are stepping away from your machine that you save your work and ideally sign out if you are expecting to be away for a while

• Copy and pasting limitations - You may copy links and text INTO AVD but you cannot copy out of AVD and paste on your local machine. This is known as one way clipboard redirection.