Virtual Desktop Frequently Asked Questions 1. How do I download the VMWare agent? 2. I downloaded the client from another computer. Why don t I see the shortcut on the desktop of this computer? 3. How do I open the virtual desktop after I download the VMWare client? 4. The VMWare client is asking for a server name. What name should I enter? 5. When I open my virtual desktop for the first time, my shortcuts from my desktop at work do not appear. How do I get these shortcuts to appear on the virtual 6. When I open Internet Explorer on the virtual desktop for the first time, my IE Favorites from my office desktop do not appear. How do I get these to appear on the virtual 7. When I open Outlook on the virtual desktop for the first time, the settings are different than my settings on my desktop in my office. How do I get those settings back? 8. I cannot see my archived email folders (also called PST files). How do I connect them to Outlook on this 9. I have connected to my Outlook PST file, but I still cannot view it. What do I need to do to correct this? 10. Why did I lose my signature in Outlook? 11. When I open Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc) on the virtual desktop for the first time, my quick tools from my office desktop do not appear. How do I get these to appear on the virtual 12. When I make system changes on my desktop at the office, I can t see those changes on the virtual desktop. Why don t I see the changes reflected on the virtual 13. I cannot see my F:, H:, or I: drives? 14. Where are my local drives located on the virtual desktop and how do I access them? 15. Can I print to my home printer from the virtual 16. I use an application at work that is not on the virtual desktop. How do I get this application installed? 17. I have been told that I have access to a new application thru the Virtual desktop, but when I log into the virtual desktop, I do not see the application on my desktop. How do I correct this? 18. Can I connect to the virtual desktop using my ipad or similar mobile device? 19. I have dual monitors at home. How do I setup the virtual desktop to use both monitors? 20. If I disconnect from VMView & then try to reconnect, I get an error. What do I do to reconnect? 21. When I disconnect from VMView I getn an error that the Client has stopped working. What do I do?
1. Q: How do I download the VMWare agent? A: Go to My.DukeRealty.Com and select the Link named VPN Access. If this is your first time selecting the link on the device, the installation will automatically start. Follow the installation instructions that can be found on My.DukeRealty.Com. These instructions will take you through the steps needed to install the VMWare client. This process will install a shortcut to the client on your desktop. 2. Q: I downloaded the client from another computer. Why don t I see the shortcut on the desktop of this computer? A: You will need to install the VMWare client along with the shortcut on each machine you use to access the system. 3. Q: How do I open the virtual desktop after I download the VMWare client? A: Click this icon on your desktop. You will see a pop up screen asking you to log into the desktop. 4. Q: The VMWare client is asking for a server name. What name should I enter? A: TheVPN.Dukerealty.com 5. Q: When I open my virtual desktop for the first time, my shortcuts from my desktop at work do not appear. How do I get these shortcuts to appear on the virtual all set back to the Company s default settings. You will need to add your shortcuts to this desktop manually. Once you add them to this desktop, they should be there every time you access the virtual desktop in the future. 6. Q: When I open Internet Explorer on the virtual desktop for the first time, my IE Favorites from my office desktop do not appear. How do I get these to appear on the virtual all set back to the Company s default settings. You will need to add your IE favorites to this desktop manually. Once you add them to this desktop, they should be there every time you access Internet Explorer on the virtual desktop in the future. 7. Q: When I open Outlook on the virtual desktop for the first time, the settings are different than my settings on my desktop in my office. How do I get those settings back? all set back to the Company s default settings. You will need to configure your Outlook settings manually. Once you add them to this desktop, they should be there every time you access Outlook on the virtual desktop in the future.
8. Q: I cannot see my archived email folders (also called PST files). How do I connect them to Outlook on this A: In order to add your archived PST files to Outlook on the virtual desktop, you need to select File>Open>Outlook Data Files with Outlook. Your PST files will most likely reside within your H:\Exchange directory. Locate the file(s) you want to add to Outlook and highlight the file and select open. You should be able to see the folder listed at the bottom of your Outlook folders. 9. Q: I have connected to my Outlook PST file, but I still cannot view it. What do I need to do to correct this? A: PST files cannot be opened on multiple machines. If you left Outlook running on your office machine, it cannot be viewed from your virtual desktop. You will need to exit Outlook on your office machine before attempting to view the PST archived emails from the virtual desktop. 10. Q: Why did I lose my signature in Outlook? A: Unfortunately the virtual desktop is the same as getting a brand new desktop at work. Your configurations for Outlook are set back to the Company s default settings. You will need to add your signature back to Outlook. The easiest way to add your signature is to copy your signature from a previously sent email and select Tools>Options>Mail Format>Signatures>New within Outlook. After you have named the signature, paste the copy of your signature into the Edit Signature section on the screen. Remember to change the default signature for new messages or replies/forwards to your newly created signature. 11. Q: When I open Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc) on the virtual desktop for the first time, my quick tools from my office desktop do not appear. How do I get these to appear on the virtual all set back to the Company s default settings. You will need to configure your Microsoft Office application quick tools manually. Once you add them to this desktop, they should be there every time you access Microsoft Office applications on the virtual desktop in the future. 12. Q: When I make system changes on my desktop at the office, I can t see those changes on the virtual desktop. Why don t I see the changes reflected on the virtual A: The virtual desktop is not connected or synced with the desktop in your office. The virtual desktop resides on a server at our corporate office. They are two separate machines and do not communicate changes between one another. It s just like using your desktop at home. Changes you make to your home desktop are not reflected on your desktop at work and vice versa. If you want to see those changes on the virtual desktop, you need to make those changes manually.
13. Q: I cannot see my F:, H:, or I: drives? A: The login script should have automatically mapped these drives during login, and sometimes this will take a minute to complete. Double click the computer icon on your desktop. A screen will pop up showing all the drives that exist on your desktop. Under the section labeled network drives, you should see your F:, H:, and I: drives along with any other drives you normally would have access to on your desktop at the office. If you cannot see these drives on this page, you ll need to contact the call center and let them know that you are on the virtual desktop and cannot see the drives. 14. Q: Where are my local drives located on the virtual desktop and how do I access them? A: Double Click the computer icon on your desktop or click on windows explorer (sometimes this will take a minute to complete). A new screen will appear that will show you the location of all your mapped drives. Your local drives should be listed under the section labeled Other in the right side panel. This will include your local C: drive along with your DVD, CD, and externally attached drives attached via USB. 15. Q: Can I print to my home printer from the virtual A: Your home printer should have been added as your default printer during the start up of the virtual desktop. Select the Start icon, printers to open a screen with a list of your printers. Your home printer should be listed on this screen. If your printer is not located in the list, contact the call center. 16. Q: I use an application at work that is not on the virtual desktop. How do I get this application installed? A: Contact the call center and let them know what program you use at work that is not available on your virtual desktop. They will contact the appropriate people within the IT department that will be responsible for determining the best method for providing this program to the employees that use it. They will contact you and update you on their decision. Not all programs can be used on the virtual desktop because of license or application restrictions. 17. Q: I have been told that I have access to a new application thru the Virtual desktop, but when I log into the virtual desktop, I do not see the application on my desktop. How do I correct this? A: The application will be available thru the Start icon, All Programs. They will not be automatically added to the desktop icons. You can add a shortcut to the virtual desktop that will be available each time you log in. Also note that the first time you log into the virtual desktop after having the application added, it may take a few minutes for the application to load & display in your All Programs list. 18. Q: Can I connect to the virtual desktop using my ipad or other mobile device? A: Yes, you can access the virtual desktop from your ipad or mobile device. You need to download an application from the apps store. There are two applications available for download on your ipad. There is a free application called VMWare View Client. This client is only available for the ipad. There is also a client available for a fee called the Wyse Pocket Cloud. This client is available for the ipad and devices running the Android operating system. The
fee for this client at the time of writing this document is $14.95. At this time, we are not aware of clients available for mobile devices that use operating systems other than the ios or Android. 19. Q: I have dual monitors at home. How do I setup the virtual desktop to use both monitors? A: When you are logging into the virtual desktop, you will need to change the monitor selection to all monitors. Since the desktop uses the RDP protocol to connect, the image will be spread across both monitors and will not allow for separate images on each monitor. 20. Q: If I disconnect from VMView & then try to reconnect, I get an error. What do I do to reconnect? A: The original virtual desktop session is still in the process of logging out, behind the scenes. Wait a few minutes and then try to reconnect again. 21. Q: When I disconnect from VMView I getn an error that the Client has stopped working. What do I do? A: Click the Close program button.