Launching an App or Desktop
 

From the App Store you may launch an App or Desktop.

 

  If you have a popup blocker, you may need to temporarily stop the blocker or add the site to the popup blocker exception list.
 

This short guide will show you step by step how to:

 

Launch an App or Desktop
 

Login
 

Using your preferred web browser, navigate to the web address provided by your administrator, for example, “mycollege.apporto.com"

Then log in to the system to access the Apporto App Store.

 

Select your App or Desktop
 

Locate the desired app or desktop and click Launch
 

                  
 

The selected app or desktop opens in a new browser tab.
 

When you first login to Apporto, it may take up to 30 seconds to launch an app. This is because your profile is being created. After this, applications will launch much faster, typically between 7-15 seconds.

Some applications (those requiring administrative rights) may take a few minutes to launch, because the server needs to start before the app can be launched. In these cases, a popup will notify you the server is starting and may take 1-2 minutes.

 

                     

 

Using Apps and Desktops
 

The Menu
 

Available options and functions are displayed as icons in the top menu bar.

 

     

 

Change Display Mode
 

Click the icon in the top panel to toggle the display to full-screen mode.

Click the icon in the top panel or press the <Esc> key to return the display to normal mode.
 

Using the toggles above is a good way to maximize your workspace. You may also resize an app within Apporto using the windows resizing option in the upper right corner of the App.

We recommend NOT minimizing an App via windows option (In the upper right corner of the window) unless you are working in a full desktop. If you accidently minimize an App, there is no option to re-maximize it. Please close the browser tab and relaunch the app from the App Store

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Upload/Download Files

 

Click the File upload icon in the top panel to upload a file to a cloud PC.

Click the File download icon in the top panel to download a file from a cloud PC.
 

Learn more about uploading, downloading, and deleting files.

 

Save or Restore a Snapshot
 

Click the Save/Restore snapshots icon in the top panel to save or restore a "snapshot" of the current session.

 

Share Screen
 

Use the Share screen  icon to invite other users to collaborate in the current session.

 

Launch Messenger
 

Click the Messenger  icon in the top panel to launch and use Messenger.

 

View Analytics

 

Click the Analytics icon to view activity statistics for your user account.

 

Use Multiple Monitors (beta)
 

To use multiple monitors, you must first launch your application in Multimonitor Mode. Then, click the Multi Monitor  icon. A new browser tab will open. Simply drag it to another monitor and resize as needed.

 

Mute/Unmute App or Desktop
 

Click the Sound icon to turn sound on or off.

 

Reboot a Virtual Machine

 

Click the Reboot  icon to reboot your virtual machine. (This option only displays in the menu if you are using a VM.)

 

To ensure an optimal experience with Apporto, make sure you have a high bandwidth, low latency internet connection. If you have a poor network connection, response times may be slow and images may appear pixelated. Use of personal hotspots is not recommended as they will not work reliably.

 

  • For most applications, performance is good over wifi if latency is less than 100ms. Bandwidth is typically not a limiting factor.
  • For graphics-intensive applications, like SolidWorks and GIMP, we recommend using a wired network connection instead of wifi, ideally with bandwidth of 1 Mbps or greater and latency less than 50ms.
  • For video, we recommend a bandwidth of 3 Mbps for regular video or 5 Mbps for HD and latency less than 50ms.

 

Using a hard wired network connection can reduce latency by a factor of ten. This is why video gamers prefer wired internet to wifi. Wired connections can improve your experience using Apporto too.

 

Speed Tests

 

Your applications are running in data centers located as close to your university as possible to keep latency (the round trip time between your clicks and application responses) as low as possible.

Bandwidth is likely not a limiting factor unless you are using a graphics-intensive app or streaming video.

If you experience slow performance in Apporto, you may test latency and bandwidth using sites like: http://www.azurespeed.com/ and http://cloudharmony.com/speedtest-for-aws to determine whether your network connection is sufficient or not.

 

Inactivity, Poor Network, and Session Disconnected

 

If you step away from Apporto for some time, your session will become inactive. Typically after 30 minutes of inactivity the session will be ended. A warning message will show 2 minutes before ending the session. SAVE YOUR WORK to avoid data loss.

If your internet connection becomes unstable while working with an app, the message "Poor internet connection detected." will display at the bottom of the screen. SAVE YOUR WORK to avoid data loss.

If your internet connection is lost, a "SESSION DISCONNECTED" message displays. Click the Reconnect button to attempt to reconnect to the Apporto server.