Launching an App or Desktop
After logging in to Apporto, you will see the App Store. This is where you can access all of the desktops and apps available to you. It is your virtual computer lab.
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 (eg. “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 (Virtual Machines) 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 when the server is starting.
Using Apps and Desktops
The Menu
Available options 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.
In full-screen mode, the top menu bar is hidden by default. Hover your cursor at the top edge of your browser to reveal the menu.
Upload/Download Files
Click the File Upload 
icon in the top panel to upload a file from your computer to the Apporto desktop.
Click the File Download 
icon in the top panel to download a file from Apporto to your computer.
Save or Restore a Snapshot
Click the Snapshots 
icon in the top panel to save or restore a "snapshot" of your files.
Share Screen
Use the Share Screen 
icon to share your screen with another user and collaborate in the current session.
Open Messenger
Click the Messenger 
icon in the top panel to open and use Messenger.
View Analytics
Click the Analytics 
icon to view your activity statistics.
Use Multiple Monitors (beta)
When you click the Multi Monitor 
icon a new browser tab will open. Simply drag it to another monitor and resize as needed.
You must launch the desktop in Multimonitor Mode in order to see the Multi Monitor icon in the menu.
Turn Sound On/Off
Click the Sound 
icon to turn sound on or off.
Restart
Click the Restart 
icon to restart a Virtual Machine, Mac Desktop, or Linux Desktop. (This option only displays in the menu for some types of applications.)
Network Indicator
A fast and reliable network connection is key for fast performance when working in Apporto. View the Network Indicator 
to guage the strength of your network connection. The number of bars depends on network latency (the amount of time in milliseconds for response from the server).
- Five bars show when latency is < 40 ms
- Four bars show when latency is 40 < 70 ms
- Three bars show when latency is 70 < 100 ms
- Two bars show when latency is 100 < 130 ms
- One bar shows when latency is > 130 ms
Click on the indicator to see details:
Settings
Click the Settings 
icon to view microphone and clipboard browser settings.
Recommended network speed
Network speed is more important for certain types of applications.
If you are using an application like Microsoft Word to write a report, a slower network will be sufficient. If you are using applications like Adobe Photoshop, SolidWorks, or Premiere to edit images or video, a faster network is important.
- For most applications, like Excel, SPSS, etc., Apporto performance is good over wifi if latency is less than 100ms. Bandwidth is typically not a limiting factor.
- For graphics-intensive applications, like Photoshop and SolidWorks, we recommend bandwidth of 1 Mbps or greater and latency less than 50ms.
- For video editing applications, like Premiere, we recommend bandwidth of 3 Mbps for regular video (or 5 Mbps for HD) and latency less than 50ms. We also recommend using a hard wired "cabled" internet connection instead of wifi.
Use of personal hotspots is not recommended. Latency is higher since data has to travel through the cellular network before reaching the internet.
Using a hard wired network connection can reduce latency by a factor of ten! This is why video gamers prefer wired internet to wifi.
Sitting closer to a wifi router can reduce latency.
How can I check my network speed?
If you experience slow performance in Apporto, you may test latency using sites like:
- www.azurespeed.com
- www.cloudping.info
Bandwidth is typically not a limiting factor unless you are using a graphics-intensive application or streaming video. To test your bandwidth, you may use sites like Ookla's Speedtest:
- www.speedtest.net
Inactivity and Poor Network
Inactivity
If you step away from Apporto, your session will become inactive. Be sure to save your work, because the session will expire after 60 minutes of inactivity (no mouse or keyboard activity).
Three warnings are provided before the session ends:
- After 28 minutes of inactivity, a Windows "Idle timer warning" displays in the desktop.
- After 30 minutes of inactivity, a "Session Disconnected" dialog displays in the desktop.
- After 45 minutes of inactivity, a "Session Expiring!" browser notification is displayed.
Clicking in the Apporto desktop will reset the inactivity timer.
If the session has disconnected, click Reconnect to continue work.
If the session has ended, go back to the App Store to launch a new session.
Poor Network
If your internet connection becomes unstable, a warning will display at the top of the screen. Save your work to avoid data loss!
The warning above is displayed when a ping response from the server is > 1000 ms. This warning is only shown once per session.
If your internet connection is lost, a "SESSION DISCONNECTED" message displays.
Click the Reconnect button to attempt to reconnect to the Apporto server.
If you are unable to reconnect, check your internet connection.
Once you've found a good internet connection, go back to the App Store to launch a new session.