[en] Best practices for Citrix environments

Tabelle 1. [en] Licensing

[en] Using NiceLabel multi-user products

[en] Citrix provides the application delivery system for many concurrent users. NiceLabel is installed and deployed on one or multiple VDA computers.

[en] Only NiceLabel products with multi-user license key can be activated and used in the Citrix multi-user environments

[en] Installing NiceLabel client with a pre-configured license key

[en] After the installation, you must activate the NiceLabel client. You can do this manually on each VDA.

[en] You can semi-automate the activation of clients by providing the license key in a text file next to the installer. After the installation completes, and you start for the first time, just confirm the activation process.

[en] Make sure the license is already activated and registered in your environment to let other NiceLabel clients use it for activation (e.g. you have already activated the license against the NiceLabel internet activation server). The best practice approach would be to activate NiceLabel Control Center first as it is always up and running being a web server application.

[en] For more information, read Enforcing Configuration Options.

Tabelle 2. [en] Printers

[en] Using network-connected label printers

[en] To print with network-connected label printers in a Citrix session:

[en] Install the printer driver on the VDA host with NiceLabel installed. You can also register the driver from the “print server” that you might have in the network. It is important that the printer driver is installed on the VDA host.
[en] Do not map local printer drivers from the clients, even if the driver for a network printer is installed locally. If you are mapping the locally installed printer driver for a network printer, Citrix omits the port information. This disrupts NiceLabel licensing and the same printer consumes a printer seat for each user, instead of just for one printer seat. Set Citrix policy Autocreate client printers to Do not auto-create client printers.

[en] This configuration ensures that the client uses the printer driver that is installed on the host. The network printer consumes just one printer seat no matter how many users are printing labels with it.

Anmerkung

[en] NiceLabel unique printer identification works because NiceLabel can read the name/location (IP address) from the driver on the server, unlike the locally installed drivers mapped in the session.

[en] Using locally connected label printers (USB/LPT)

[en] To print with locally-connected label printers (typically connected to LPT and USB ports) from Citrix session:

[en] Make sure the NiceLabel printer drivers that are installed on client computers are also installed on the VDA host. Install exactly the same printer drivers that are installed on the clients.
[en] Enable mapping of local printers into the Citrix session. Set the Citrix Auto-create client printers policy appropriately. You might want to auto-create all client printers or just the specific ones.

[en] Having NiceLabel printer drivers installed on the host ensures that within the Citrix session the client uses NiceLabel drivers and not the functionally limited Universal Printer.

Tabelle 3. Web Printing

[en] Installing NiceLabel Web Client for all users (not per user)

[en] When providing the NiceLabel Web Client application for web printing inside the Citrix sessions, make sure you install the Web Client on the VDA host for all users.

[en] The default installation type is per user. The Web Client is installed in your %AppData% folder in this case.

[en] To install the NiceLabel Web Client just once for all users (in the %ProgramFiles% folder), Run the installer with the command-line parameter ALLUSERSINSTALL:

[en] NiceLabelWebClientSetup.exe ALLUSERSINSTALL

[en] Configuring Web Printing server name for NiceLabel Web Client

[en] The very first time you start the NiceLabel Web Client, you must start it from the browser. This is when Web Client remembers the name of the PowerFormsWeb server.

[en] To perform this action in Citrix environments, publish the browser in the Citrix session as well, so the users can perform their first-time logins from browsers.

[en] To skip the publishing of browser, you can provide the server name to NiceLabel Web Client in the command line:

[en] In Citrix Studio, add NiceLabel Web Client to the list of published applications.
[en] In Location properties, type the following for the command line argument:

[en] nicelabelwebclient2019:?server=http://host/powerformsweb
[en] Replace the http://host/powerformsweb address with the location of your PowerFormsWeb installation.