Administrator Guide HP Easy Shell
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User input syntax key Text that you must enter into a user interface is indicated by fixed-width font.
iv User input syntax key
Table of contents 1 Getting started ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Supported operating systems, connection types, and applications .................................................................... 1 Obtaining and opening HP Easy Shell .................................................................................................................... 2 Using HP Easy Shell ......................
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1 Getting started HP Easy Shell allows you to configure connections, websites, and applications for kiosk-style deployments of HP thin clients based on Windows® operating systems. You can also customize the kiosk interface that is presented to standard users and enable or disable user access to specific Control Panel settings. The configured environment can be deployed to multiple thin clients using HP Device Manager (HPDM).
Obtaining and opening HP Easy Shell HP Easy Shell is typically preinstalled on HP thin clients. It can also be downloaded or updated via HP ThinUpdate. NOTE: For more information, see the administrator guide for HP ThinUpdate. HP Easy Shell contains the following two components: ● HP Easy Shell—This is the tile-based, kiosk-style user interface that allows standard users to launch applications, connections, and websites as configured by the administrator.
NOTE: You can test the user experience from an administrator account, with the exception that the Kiosk mode setting does not affect administrator accounts. 4. Make sure that the environment is configured as needed. If it is not, return to HP Easy Shell Configuration to make additional changes. 5. The configuration can be deployed to other thin clients (see Deployment on page 13 for more information).
2 Configuration ● Creating an HP Easy Shell configuration ● Customizing the user interface ● Adding an application ● Adding a Citrix ICA, RDP, or VMware connection ● Adding a Citrix StoreFront connection ● Adding an Internet, network, or Citrix Web Interface site ● Adding a custom Easy Shell profile Creating an HP Easy Shell configuration The following table describes the settings available in each panel in the HP Easy Shell Configuration utility.
Customizing the user interface The settings under the User Settings heading let you enable or disable access to specific system settings for standard users. Select the Advanced button for quick access to HP Logon Manager and HP Hotkey Filter. NOTE: For information about HP Logon Manager, see the administrator guide for your operating system. For information about HP Hotkey Filter, see the administrator guide for HP Hotkey Filter.
Setting Description Allow restart If set to On, users can restart the computer using the drop-down menu for the power button. Allow shutdown If set to On, users can shut down the computer using the drop-down menu for the power button. Display virtual keyboard button If set to On, users can access a virtual keyboard using a button in the top-left corner of the user interface.
Adding an application 1. In the Applications panel, select the Application tile. 2. Configure settings in the application editor as necessary. NOTE: See the following table for a list of settings. 3. Select OK to finish adding the application. 4. Select Apply to save your changes. You can edit or delete an application by selecting the corresponding button on that application tile. The following table describes the settings available in the application editor.
Adding a Citrix ICA, RDP, or VMware connection 1. In the Connections panel, select the tile for the connection type you want to add. 2. Configure settings in the connection editor as necessary. NOTE: See Common connection settings on page 8 for descriptions of some basic connection settings that are common to all connection types. For information about RDP file customization, see RDP file customization on page 9.
Creating custom connection error messages Administrators can create custom error messages for when a connection fails. ▲ The registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HP\HP Easy Shell\protocols contains subkeys for the default connection protocols: CitrixICA, RDP, and VMware. With the subkey specified, create a string key-value with the name ErrorMessage. For the data, input the text you want to display. For example, to create a custom error message for RDP: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HP\HP Easy Shell\prot
TIP: If you do not include http:// or https:// in the URL, it defaults to https://. 4. If prompted, enter the StoreFront Citrix credentials, and then select OK. 5. Select the StoreFront account, and then select Next. 6. Configure the settings in the connection editor as necessary. NOTE: See the following table for a list of settings. 7. Select Save to finish adding the connection. 8. Select Apply to save your changes.
Panel Setting Description Options Resource title Allows you to set a specific StoreFront resource to launch automatically when the connection starts. Behaviors Wait for network When enabled, the StoreFront connection does not auto-launch until a network connection is found. A screen with the message Waiting for connectivity is displayed while the network connection is searched for. NOTE: Behaviors Wait for Internet This setting can be set only if Auto-launch is set to On.
Setting Description Wait for network When enabled, the web browser does not auto-launch until a network connection is found. A screen with the message Waiting for connectivity is displayed while the network connection is searched for. NOTE: Wait for Internet This setting affects only the home site. When enabled, the web browser does not auto-launch until an Internet connection is found. A screen with the message Waiting for connectivity is displayed while the Internet connection is searched for.
3 Deployment This chapter discusses the various methods that can deploy HP Easy Shell to multiple thin clients. The best method depends on your use case and environment. NOTE: All of the following methods discuss using HPDM for deployment. For more specifics on HPDM, see the HP Device Manager Administrator Guide. Deploying a preconfigured thin client image HP Easy Shell can be deployed by configuring it on a thin client image that will be captured and deployed to other thin clients.
14 ● Copy the registry file to another thin client, and then double-click the registry file to apply the settings. ● Use Group Policy to propagate the registry settings to certain domain users.
4 Tips and best practices Consider the following information when using HP Easy Shell: ● Some applications might require a launch delay to function properly. ● When setting Internet Explorer as an auto-started application, be sure to launch the version that best matches the operating system (32-bit or 64-bit); otherwise, the end-of-session action might not be triggered. ● HP Easy Shell does not filter the built-in web browser content. Keep this in mind when selecting the websites.
A Internet Explorer registry restrictions Modify the following registry key to restrict the built-in web browser and the full Internet Explorer browser: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer \Restrictions The following table describes the registry settings that are applicable to HP Easy Shell: NoSelectDownloadDir Disables the Save command in the File Download dialog box. NoBrowserContextMenu Disables the right-click context menu in the browser.
