new users and RDP

[Henry E Schaffer <he...@unity.ncsu.edu>]

  RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is the method used for using Windows
images in the VCL.  For Windows and Macs, Microsoft makes available a
RDP Client.  It has come with Windows since XP and is available for
free download for OS X Macs.

  This note discusses the confusion of one Mac user when Sarah and I
observed him trying to use the VCL.

  One of the features of the VCL is the automated provision of an "RDP
file" which contains the settings so the user can automatically login to
the Windows image via RDP.  This save the effort of entering the IP
address, and then the login (id/pw) information.

  For this user, the difference between the RDP "program" and the "file"
wasn't apparent - i.e. he thought they referred to the same entity and
that all he needed to do was to click on "Get RDP File."  He hadn't
downloaded the RDP client - he didn't understand the necessity of doing
this.

  Needless to say, with only the RDP file and not the (client) program
he couldn't connect - and so he was frustrated.

  We've improved the initial wording on the Connect! page - but that
will only help if the user reads and understands that information.

  This user didn't read carefully, and I suspect that many users have
had and will have this problem.
-- 
--henry schaffer

Re: new users and RDP

[Henry E Schaffer <he...@unity.ncsu.edu>]

  Some more on RDP and new users.

  IMHO, one of the *very* desireable features of Microsoft's RDP Client
is the ability to "map" the user's local disks for the remote computer.

  This provides a bunch of benefits - such as easy access to data on the
user's local machine and easy storage of results on the user's local
machine.

  But, for new users, it is often far from obvious how to get this
benefit.  Sometimes, it appears, the RDP client comes with this feature
enabled.  When enabled, a warning box appears at connection time asking
the user if it is ok to expose the local disks to the remote machine.

  But sometimes this feature is not enabled, and the typical new user
doesn't know what's going on - just that local storage is not
accessible.

  How to enable this feature?  It's an option, and exactly where it is
seems to differ among different versions of the client software.

  I have done a fair amount of training of new users via telephone
conference call - where I can't see what they see.  My solution has been
to ask them to click on options, or whatever, and blunder around a bit
looking for a check box.  So far, everyone has been able to find it,
even when it doesn't appear in exactly the same way it does on the
computer I'm using.

  A useful method I've developed is to have my entire "class" log in to
the same image, and I'll do the same.  That way I can go with them step
by step.

--henry schaffer

P.S. I'm not sure it's worth the effort to try to find every RDP client
version and writeup a procedure for each one.  If you do that, however,
please let me know and send me your writeups. :-)