AVD Instructions

Owned by Tom Johnston
Last updated: Sept 02, 2023 by Sean Speers

  1. Open your web browser and go to the following website: https://avd.uwaterloo.ca. Note: Microsoft does offer native clients for Windows, MacOS, Android, IST only supports WebClient.

  2. If you are not already logged in with your UWaterloo account, you will be prompted to log in to ADFS.

    1. Enter your 8-character username @uwaterloo.ca (e.g. j25rober@uwaterloo.ca) and password. Also, authenticate with DUO (two-factor authentication).

      DUO Authentication page

  3. Now, you will be logged into the Windows Virtual Desktop (AVD) Remote App Portal and see the UWaterloo virtual lab desktops and UW_Apps RemoteApps:

Windows virtual desktop remote applications portal

 

Note you can only connect to one resource at a time. Connecting to more than one pool at a time or from multiple computers will give an FSLogix profile in use error.

  1. Select the desired virtual lab icon by double clicking.

  2. You will receive a prompt to access local resources (clipboard, printer, and microphone). Click

    Allow.

  3. Enter your 8-character username @uwaterloo.ca (e.g. j25rober@uwaterloo.ca), if this field is not already populated and your password. Click Submit.

  4. You will see a Connecting and launching message.

The full virtual desktop will now display on your screen.

It may take longer to load the WVD full desktop the first time you use it. It will create your initial profile.

5. OneDrive starts automatically. If this is the first time you are accessing AVD, you need to initialize OneDrive.

6. Sign out of the full desktop the same way as you logout of windows normally.

Note you can only connect to one resource at a time. Connecting to more than one pool at a time or from multiple computers will give an FSLogix profile in use error.

  1. Once you log in to the AVD environment, you should see all the RemoteApps assigned to you:

  2. Start a RemoteApp by double clicking on it, again you will be asked to login to local resources:

     

     

    Click on Allow and Submit button, the RemoteApp should be launching:

  3. OneDrive is configured to start at the login to the first RemoteApp, KFM folders are redirected to OneDrive.

You can see ‘This PC\Documents’ is indeed your OneDrive\Documents folder.

4. Again, if this is the first time you login to UW_Apps RemoteApp, you will probably need to initialize your OneDrive.

5. To open other RemoteApps, go back to ‘All Resources’ and double-click on other apps.

6. Logout from the RemoteApps by clicking on Sign Out at the top-right of the window:

The first time you run AVD full desktop or one of the RemoteApps, you will need to initialize your OneDrive account, follow the instructions below:

  1. OneDrive application should start automatically.

  2. Sign into your OneDrive account, ADFS authentication and 2FA.

  3. Just click on ‘Next’ to accept the default settings.