Virtual Desktop Tabs

Virtual Desktop tabs show the graphical desktop of a VM in your lab. Users work in it with their mouse and keyboard, as on their own computer, so you can teach software that needs a screen, such as desktop applications or a graphical installer. Unlike a Web Browser tab, which runs a browser pointed at a URL, the Virtual Desktop tab shows everything on the VM’s screen.

Creating a Virtual Desktop Tab

To create a Virtual Desktop tab:

1. Navigate to the Tabs section in your lab editor
2. Click Add Tab and select Virtual Desktop from the dropdown
3. Select the VM to show as the Target
4. Turn on Audio if users need to hear the VM’s sound

The Virtual Desktop tab type is disabled until your lab has at least one VM in the Sandbox tab. Containers have no desktop to show.

Supported Fields

Field	Required	Description
Name (internal)	✓	Used for internal reference. Not visible to end users
Target	✓	The VM whose desktop the tab shows
Audio		Give the VM a sound card whose output plays in the tab (default: false)

Using the Desktop

• Screen: the desktop is scaled to fit the tab. Desktops that follow display changes (e.g. GNOME on Wayland) also resize to the tab.
• Clipboard: users copy and paste text between the desktop and their own computer. The first paste into the desktop may ask users to allow clipboard access in their browser. Clipboard sharing needs spice-vdagent in the VM’s image.
• Sound: with Audio on, a speaker icon appears in the tab’s header. Sound starts muted, and users click the icon to turn it on or off.
• One window at a time: a desktop shows in one browser window at a time. When a user opens the lab in another window, that window takes the desktop over, and the first one says “This desktop is open in another window.” Clicking Show it here takes it back.

The VM’s image needs a graphical desktop. For what clipboard sharing and sound need in the image, see Guest Requirements.

Reference

For detailed HCL reference information, see the Virtual Desktop Reference.