Hiding Citrix XenDesktop 7.x applications from PNAgent published Apps and Desktops

Problem

You’ve successfully configured a zero client to connect to your XenDesktop 7.x infrastructure via the URL:

https://yourStoreFrontFQDN.com/Citrix/StoreName/PNAgent/config.xml


… but would like to hide all of the published applications because the zero client will only be used for desktop access.

Solution

One of the ways to hide Applications or Desktops is to use the PowerShell cmdlet Set-DSResourceFilterType on the StoreFront server.

Begin by setting the execution policy to remote signed then importing the necessary Citrix PowerShell modules with the following cmdlets:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
$dsInstallProp = Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Citrix\DeliveryServicesManagement -Name InstallDir
$dsInstallDir = $dsInstallProp.InstallDir
& $dsInstallDir\..\Scripts\ImportModules.ps1

Next, determine the Site ID of the IIS site hosting the StoreFront website:

With the Site ID determined, execute the following cmdlet to list what is being displayed for the store:

Get-DSResourceFilterType -SiteId 1 -VirtualPath "/Citrix/"

For example:

Get-DSResourceFilterType -SiteId 1 -VirtualPath "/Citrix/Desktop"

Notice the output above shows that Applications, Desktops and Documents are displayed meaning nothing is filtered out.

Next, execute the following cmdlet to filter out Applications and Documents thereby leaving only Desktops displayed:

Set-DSResourceFilterType -SiteId 1 -VirtualPath "/Citrix/Desktop" -IncludeTypes @("Desktops")

Executing the:

Get-DSResourceFilterType -SiteId 1 -VirtualPath "/Citrix/Desktop"

… will now show that only Desktops are included.

Logging into the zero client will now hide the applications that were displayed in the earlier screenshot:

Attempting to connect to Citrix XenDesktop 7 from an HP t410 Smart Zero Client throws the error: “This client could not connect to a Citrix server at the address ‘https://yourStoreFrontFQDN.com/Citrix/StoreNameWeb”

Problem

You’ve configured a new HP t410 Smart Zero Client to connect to your Citrix XenDesktop 7.x StoreFront site but receive the following error message when you attempt to log in:

No Citrix Server


This client could not connect to a Citrix server at the address ‘https://yourStoreFrontFQDN.com/Citrix/StoreNameWeb

Solution

The reason why this error is thrown is because you have configured the connection’s Server URL with the Receiver for Web URL.  To correct the issue, simply change the URL to:

https://yourStoreFrontFQDN.com/Citrix/StoreName/PNAgent/config.xml

You should be able to log in after the URL is changed:

Attempting to connect to a Citrix XenDesktop 7 store secured with internal CA throws the error: “CA certificate required to connect to this server is not installed or found…”

Problem

You’re in the process of configuring a new HP t410 Smart Zero Client with a XenDesktop 7.x infrastructure.  You proceed to configure the zero client to connect to StoreFront 3.0.1 but quickly notice the following error message:

Certificate error

CA certificate required to connect to this server is not installed or found. Please use Certificate Manager to add the CA certificate or contact your system administrator.

Solution

The reason why this error is thrown is because the certificate presented by the StoreFront to secure the traffic between itself and the zero client is issued by an internal Microsoft CA which the zero client does not trust.  To correct this issue, simply export the root certificate as Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER) format:

Then navigate into the Certificate Manager of the zero client and import it into the Local Root Certification Authorities:

You should now be able to log into the site without receiving the certificate error message.

Windows 10 installation on a Dell Latitude E5550 loops back to the start of the installation screen

I was recently asked by a colleague to look at why their attempt to install Windows 10 on a Dell Latitude E5550 laptop continuously loops back to the beginning of the installation as shown in the following screenshots:

The reason why the installation loops back to the beginning is because legacy boot is turned on.  To continue to the install, either manually select the UEFI Boot: Windows Boot Manager option:

… or as you’ll need to do after the install, change the Boot List Option from Legacy to UEFI:

Disabling tabs displayed in Citrix StoreFront 3.x

I’ve recently been asked a few times by clients and colleagues about the ability to hide the new X1 StoreFront interface’s Favorites, Apps and Desktop tabs and as I don’t have a blog post demonstrating it, I thought I’d write this quick post so I could direct these questions to it.

Hiding the Favorites Tab

To hide the Favorites tab as shown in the screenshot below:

… simply launch the Citrix StoreFront console, navigate to Stores, select the store you would like to hide the tab and the click on the Disable User Subscriptions option on the right:

You will be briefly presented with the following prompt:

Click on Yes to complete the configuration.

Hiding the Apps or Desktops Tab

To hide the Apps or Desktops tab as shown in the screenshot below:

… simply navigate to the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\<StoreName>Web directory, open the web.config file with Notepad:

Then search for either showAppsView or showDesktopsView which will bring you to the following section:

<userInterface autoLaunchDesktop="true" multiClickTimeout="3"

enableAppsFolderView="true">

<workspaceControl enabled="true" autoReconnectAtLogon="true"

logoffAction="disconnect" showReconnectButton="false" showDisconnectButton="false" />

<receiverConfiguration enabled="true" downloadURL="ServiceRecord/GetDocument/receiverconfig.cr" />

<uiViews showDesktopsView="true" showAppsView="true" defaultView="auto" />

<appShortcuts enabled="false" allowSessionReconnect="false" />

</userInterface>

Modify the true option for the respective tabs by changing them to false if you would like to hide them.

The following is an example of a StoreFront store with the Favorites and Apps tab hidden:

Attempting to share PowerPoint (ppt or pptx) presentations with Skype for Business 2015 fail with: “Some presenting features are unavailable due to server connectivity issues.”

Problem

You’ve noticed that sharing PowerPoint presentations in your Lync 2013 or Skype for Business 2015 business no longer works with the following error message being displayed:

Some presenting features are unavailable due to server connectivity issues.

Logging onto the WAC / Office Web Apps server displays the following errors logged:

Log Name: Application

Source: Application Error

Event ID: 1000

Level: Error

Faulting application name: pptviewerbackendwatchdog.exe, version: 15.0.4502.1000, time stamp: 0x512d2645

Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 6.2.9200.17366, time stamp: 0x554d4531

Exception code: 0xe0434352

Fault offset: 0x000000000004aea8

Faulting process id: 0xeec

Faulting application start time: 0x01d130637d0f659c

Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Web Apps\PowerPointViewingServicesWatchdog_App\pptviewerbackendwatchdog.exe

Faulting module path: C:\Windows\system32\KERNELBASE.dll

Report Id: bb35573c-9c56-11e5-9420-005056a10329

Faulting package full name:

Faulting package-relative application ID:

Log Name: Application

Source: Application Error

Event ID: 1026

Level: Error

Application: pptviewerbackendwatchdog.exe

Framework Version: v4.0.30319

Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.

Exception Info: System.TypeInitializationException

Stack:

at Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.ServiceInstanceFinder.GetLocalAgentInstance(Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.OfficeServiceType)

at Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.WatchdogHelper.PrepareRegistrations(Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.OfficeServiceType)

at Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.WatchdogHelper.WatchMachines(Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.OfficeServiceType, CheckServiceInstance, Microsoft.Office.Web.Common.OfficeServiceType, System.String)

at Microsoft.Office.Server.Powerpoint.Watchdog.ViewingBackend.Program.Main(System.String[])

Solution

I wasn’t able to find much material on this issue but the closest match was the following TechNet blog post:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/dodeitte/archive/2013/03/29/issue-with-automatic-updates-enabled-amp-office-web-apps-server-2013-update.aspx

The WAC / Office Web Apps server in this environment wasn’t on automatic updates but the administrators simply install any updates that are available on a routine schedule.  The KB2760445 wasn’t on the list of updates installed onto the server but as I didn’t have any other leads, I went ahead to uninstall Office Web Apps, then the language pack, then reinstalled all the components in the following order;

1. Office Web Apps Server 2013
2. Office Web Apps Server Language Pack 2013
3. Office Web Apps Server 2013 SP1

Once reinstalled, I recreated the Office Web Apps Server Farm and noticed that everything was working again.

A few notes worth mentioning that I noticed:

1. There is no need to install https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2760445 as noted in the TechNet blog above as the Office Web Apps Server 2013 SP1 covers it
2. I tried installing Office Web Apps Server 2013 SP1 prior to uninstalling and that did not fix the problem

Just for reference, the following version is Office Web Apps Server 2013 pre-SP1:

15.0.4420.1017

The following version is Office Web Apps Server 2013 after installing SP1:

15.0.4571.1502

NetScaler load balanced StoreFront server throws the error: “Cannot complete your request.”

I’ve noticed that I’ve been asked about the following error quite frequently over the past year so I thought writing a blog post may help anyone who might be searching for an answer to this problem.

Problem

You’ve configured a Load Balancing Virtual Server on your NetScaler appliance which you use to direct NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server requests to your StoreFront servers:

Accessing the StoreFront portal and authenticating through the NetScaler works fine but you notice the following error if you try to access the URL of the Load Balancing Virtual Server internally to bypass the NetScaler Gateway authentication page:

Cannot complete your request.

Clicking the OK button will cycle through the previous prompts and end with the same message.

Solution

While there are many reasons why this error would be thrown as outlined in the following KB:

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX133904 http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/integrate-with-netscaler-and-netscaler-gateway/load-balancing-with-netscaler.html?_ga=1.149961662.983477202.1446337615

Two of the most frequent reasons I’ve seen is either the need to create a host record on your StoreFront servers to resolve the FQDN URL you are using to send traffic to your NetScaler’s Load Balancing Virtual Server to resolve to itself or that Integrated Caching is enabled on the NetScaler:

Try turning this feature off if you are experiencing this issue: