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 ● Display settings ● 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 logoff If set to On, users can log off the current user account using the drop-down menu for the power button. 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.
Setting Description Enable custom background If set to On, the specified image file is used for the background of the user interface. Extended background If set to On, the background used in HP Easy Shell displays on secondary monitors. NOTE: Select theme To activate this setting, set Enable Custom background to On. This button opens a dialog box that allows you to customize the color theme for the user interface. NOTE: Select Apply to apply the changes and add the settings to the registry.
Setting Description Maximized When enabled, the application maximizes automatically when opened. Persistent When enabled, the application reopens automatically when closed. NOTE: This setting can be set only if Exit action is set to None. Admin only When enabled, the application is available only for administrators. No tracking When set to Off, apps are tracked and a green indicator informs the user that the app is active.
Setting Description Connection name Specifies a custom name to be displayed on the tile for the connection. Hostname Specifies the host name or IP address for the connection. Exit action Sets the action to take when the connection is ended (None, Log off, Restart, Shut down). Launch delay Sets the delay, in seconds, for an auto-launched application. Arguments Allows you to specify command-line arguments.
3. Enter the base path for the StoreFront URL. A base path should be entered in a format similar to the following: https://samplestorefrontaddress.net. Then, select Next. 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.
Panel Setting Description Options Desktop Viewer toolbar When enabled, the Citrix Desktop Viewer toolbar is displayed during published desktop sessions for the StoreFront. Options Disable resource interactivity When enabled, auto-launch resources start, but the user cannot interact with StoreFront resources. Options Resource title Allows you to set a specific StoreFront resource to launch automatically when the connection starts.
Setting Description NOTE: This setting can be enabled only if Full-screen Internet Explorer is enabled. Allow closing embedded Internet Explorer When enabled, the embedded Internet Explorer can be closed. 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.
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 You can deploy HP Easy Shell 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 Customizing through the registry You can further customize the behavior and settings of HP Easy Shell through the registry. Display user name To display the user name of the user: ▲ In the registry, create the following string key-value: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HP\HP Easy Shell\UI. DisplayUsername=True Customizing title category names Categories can be renamed through the registry. You must create a string key-value DisplayName.
Delay browser embed If the embedded browser window does not resize properly, create the following string key-value to delay the browser window embedding. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HP\HP Easy Shell\Sites] EmbedDelay=2 Accepted value: 2 or higher. By default, the value is 2. Increase the value to delay the embedding. 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\protoco
