With the Session Collaboration feature, users can invite other users to join an existing Linux remote desktop session.

System Requirements for Session Collaboration

To support the Session Collaboration feature, your Horizon deployment must meet certain requirements.

Table 1. System Requirements for Session Collaboration
Component Requirements
Client system Session owners and collaborators must have Horizon Client 4.7 or later for Windows, Mac, or Linux installed on the client system, or must use HTML Access 4.7 or later.
Linux remote desktops The Session Collaboration feature is supported on remote desktops running the following Linux distributions and desktop environments:
  • Ubuntu 20.04/18.04 with Gnome desktop environment
  • RHEL 7.5 with Gnome Classic or KDE desktop environment
  • RHEL 7.6 or later with Gnome Classic desktop environment
  • RHEL 8.x with Gnome Classic desktop environment

In addition, the remote desktop must meet the following requirements:

  • Horizon Agent 7.7 or later must be installed to support Session Collaboration in a Gnome desktop environment.
  • Horizon Agent 7.12 or later must be installed to support Session Collaboration on a RHEL 7.5 desktop with KDE desktop environment.
  • The Session Collaboration feature must be enabled at the desktop pool and the remote desktop level.
Connection Server The Connection Server instance uses an Enterprise license.
Display protocol VMware Blast
Note: RHEL 8.x desktops require additional system configuration to support Session Collaboration. See Configure a RHEL 8.x Desktop for Session Collaboration.

For information about how to use the Session Collaboration feature, see the Horizon Client documentation.

Setting Session Collaboration Options in Configuration Files

Set the following option in the /etc/vmware/viewagent-custom.conf file to enable or disable the Session Collaboration feature.
  • CollaborationEnable
Set the following options in the /etc/vmware/config file to configure the settings used during a collaboration session.
  • collaboration.logLevel
  • collaboration.maxCollabors
  • collaboration.enableEmail
  • collaboration.serverUrl
  • collaboration.enableControlPassing
See Setting Options in Configuration Files on a Linux Desktop for more information.

Session Collaboration Feature Limitations

The following general limitations apply to the Session Collaboration feature:
  • Users cannot use the following remote desktop features in a collaboration session.
    • USB redirection
    • Audio input redirection
    • Client drive redirection
    • Smart card redirection
    • Clipboard redirection
  • Users cannot change the remote desktop resolution in a collaboration session.
  • Users cannot have multiple collaboration sessions on the same client machine.

The following limitations apply to collaboration sessions on a RHEL 7.5 desktop with KDE desktop environment:

  • To display the Session Collaboration menu, users must right-click the Session Collaboration icon in the system tray. Left-clicking the icon has no effect.
  • Users might see the Email button, which is used to send invitation emails to collaborators but is initially inactive. To make the button active, a user must first configure a default email application for the KDE desktop environment.
Note: Use the following remedies to troubleshoot issues related to Session Collaboration:
  • If the Session Collaboration icon fails to appear in the system tray after a user logs in for the first time to the remote desktop, instruct the user to disconnect from and reconnect to the desktop. The Session Collaboration icon usually appears after reconnection to the desktop.
  • If the Session Collaboration icon in the system tray is unresponsive after a user logs in for the first time to the remote desktop, instruct the user to resize the remote desktop window. The Session Collaboration icon becomes responsive after the desktop window is resized.