For your convenience, almost all configuration settings have both a key=value property and a corresponding command-line option name. For some settings, there is a command-line option but no corresponding property you can set in a configuration file. For some other settings, you must set a property because no command-line option is available.
| Configuration Key | Command-Line Option | Description |
|---|---|---|
| view.allMonitors | --allmonitors | Hides the host operating system and opens Horizon Client in full-screen mode on all monitors that are connected to the client system when Horizon Client starts. If you set the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "FALSE". |
| view.allowDefaultBroker | -l, --lockServer | Using this command-line option, or setting the property to "FALSE", disables the Server text box unless the client has never connected to any server, and no server address is provided in the command line or in the preferences file. For example: --lockServer -s view.company.com |
| view.allowEnableHEVC | None | Setting this property to "FALSE" disables the client from changing the Allow High Efficiency Video Decoding (HEVC) option in the VMware Horizon Blast Configuration window. |
| view.autoConnectBroker | None | Connects to the last server used automatically unless the view.defaultBroker configuration property is set or the --serverURL= command-line option is used. Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". Default is "FALSE". Setting this property and the view.autoConnectDesktop property to "TRUE" is the equivalent of setting the view.nonInteractive property to "TRUE". |
| view.autoConnectDesktop | None | Connects to the last remote desktop used automatically unless the view.defaultDesktop configuration property is set or the --desktopName= command-line option is used. Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". Default is "FALSE". Setting this property and the view.autoConnectBroker property to "TRUE" is the equivalent of setting the view.nonInteractive property to "TRUE". |
| view.autoDisconnectEmptyAppSession | None | When set to "TRUE" (the default), if the application session becomes empty because the user quits all applications, a message is shown to the end user. This message prompts the user to choose between disconnecting the empty session or keeping the empty session running. If set to "FALSE", the session is closed according to the timeout setting used in Horizon Console, which by default might be to disconnect after one minute. |
| view.autoHideToolbar | None | Specifies whether the toolbar is hidden or pinned automatically by default. Specify "TRUE" to hide the toolbar automatically. The default is "FALSE". This option can also be set by starting Horizon Client, selecting from the menu bar, and selecting the Auto-hide toolbar check box. |
| view.BENITServerConnectionMode | None | Sets the connection mode to use when connecting to a server. Use one of the following values:
|
| view.BENITTcpConnectCount | None | Use this value when connecting from an extremely high-loss network (greater than 20 percent packet loss). Set the default value to 12.
Important: Always use this option with the
view.BENITUdpSendCount configuration key.
|
| view.BENITUdpSendCount | None | Use this value when connecting from an extremely high-loss network (greater than 20 percent packet loss). Set the default value to 12.
Important: Always use this option with the
view.BENITTcpConnectCount configuration key.
|
| view.defaultAppHeight | None | Specifies the default height, in pixels, of the window for published applications. Use this property and view.defaultAppWidth when specifying a custom desktop size (view.defaultAppSize property is set to "5"). The default is "480". |
| view.defaultAppWidth | None | Specifies the default width, in pixels, of the window for published applications. Use this property and view.defaultAppHeight when specifying a custom desktop size (view.defaultAppSize property is set to "5"). The default is "640". |
| view.defaultBroker | -s, --serverURL= | Adds the name that you specify to the Server text box in Horizon Client. Specify a fully qualified domain name. You can also specify a port number if you do not use the default 443. The default is the most recently used value. For example: --serverURL=https://view.company.com -s view.company.com --serverURL=view.company.com:1443 |
| view.defaultDesktop | -n, --desktopName= | Specifies which remote desktop to use when autoConnectDesktop is set to "TRUE" and the user has access to multiple remote desktops. The value specified is the name that you can see in the Select Desktop dialog box. The name is usually the desktop pool name. |
| view.defaultDesktopHeight | None | Specifies the default height of the window, in pixels, for the remote desktop. Use this property and view.defaultDesktopWidth when specifying a custom desktop size (view.defaultDesktopSize property is set to "5"). |
| view.defaultDesktopSize | --desktopSize= | Sets the default size of the window for the remote desktop:
For example: --desktopSize="1280x800" --desktopSize="all" |
| view.defaultDesktopWidth | None | Specifies the default width of the window for the remote desktop, in pixels. Use this property and view.defaultDesktopHeight when specifying a custom desktop size (view.defaultDesktopSize property is set to "5"). |
| view.defaultDomain | -d, --domainName= | Sets the domain name that Horizon Client uses for all connections and adds the domain name that you specify to the Domain Name text box in the authentication dialog box. |
| view.defaultLogLevel | None | Sets the log level for Horizon Client logs. Set the property to one of the following values:
The default is "3". |
| view.defaultPassword | -p "-", --password="-" | For VMware Blast, PCoIP, and rdesktop connections, always specify "-" to read the password from stdin. Sets the password that Horizon Client uses for all connections and if the server accepts password authentication, adds the password to the Password text box in the authentication dialog box.
Note: You cannot use a blank password. That is, you cannot specify
--password="".
|
| view.defaultProtocol | --protocol= | Specifies which display protocol to use. Specify "PCOIP" or "BLAST" or "RDP". These values are case-sensitive. For example, if you enter rdp, the protocol used is the default. Default is the setting specified in Horizon Console, under pool settings for the pool. If you use RDP and you want to use FreeRDP rather than rdesktop, you must also use the rdpClient setting. |
| view.defaultUser | -u, --userName= | Sets the user name that Horizon Client uses for all connections and adds the user name that you specify to the User Name text box in the authentication dialog box. For kiosk mode, the account name can be based on the client's MAC address, or it can begin with a recognized prefix string, such as custom-. |
| view.enableDataSharing | None | Specifies whether Horizon Client is allowed to share anonymous data on the client system. Set the value to "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "TRUE". |
| view.enableDisplayScaling | None | Specifies whether the display scaling feature is enabled for all remote desktops. Set the value to "TRUE" or "FALSE". When this setting is set to "FALSE", the display scaling feature is disabled for all remote desktops. If this setting is not configured or is set to "TRUE" (the default setting), display scaling is enabled for all remote desktops. |
| view.enableH264 | None | Enables or disables H.264 decoding. Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "TRUE". For more information, see Configure VMware Blast Options. |
| view.enableHEVC | None | Enables or disables HEVC decoding. Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "TRUE". For more information, see Configure VMware Blast Options. |
| view.enableMMR | None | Enables or disables multimedia redirection (MMR). Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "FALSE". |
| view.enableRelativeMouse | None | Specifies whether to force enable or disable the Horizon Client relative mouse feature for the current remote desktop session. If you set the configuration key, specify "1" to force enable the feature and "0" to force disable it. Any other values are invalid and ignored. The specified value cannot be edited during the current remote desktop session. If the remote desktop does not support the relative mouse, this setting is not used. If this setting is not configured (the default setting), end users can enable and disable the relative mouse feature using from the Horizon Client menu bar. |
| view.enableSyncDesktopLayout | None | Specifies whether to synchronize the display resolution and scaling of remote desktops to the values stored on the Connection Server. For more information, see Customize the Display Resolution and Display Scaling for a Remote Desktop.
The default is "TRUE". |
| view.fullScreen | --fullscreen | Hides the host operating system and opens Horizon Client in full-screen mode on one monitor. This option does not affect the screen mode of the remote desktop session. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "FALSE". |
| view.ipProtocolUsage | None | Specifies the network protocol to use when connecting to a Horizon Connection Server:
The default is "dual". |
| view.kbdLayout | -k, --kbdLayout= |
Specifies which locale to use for the keyboard layout.
Note:
rdesktop uses locale codes, such as
"fr" and
"de", whereas
freerdp uses keyboard layout IDs. For a list of these IDs, use the following command:
xfreerdp --kbd-list Following is an example of using the command-line option for rdesktop: --kbdLayout="en-us" -k "fr" Following is an example of using the command-line option for freerdp: -k "0x00010407" |
| view.kioskLogin | --kioskLogin | Specifies that Horizon Client authenticates by using a kiosk mode account. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". Default is "FALSE". For examples, see the kiosk mode example that follows this table. |
| None | --launchMinimized | Starts Horizon Client in minimized mode. The Horizon Client window remains minimized and hidden in the background while the user-specified remote desktop or published application starts. |
| view.monitors | --monitors= numbered list | Allows you to specify which adjacent monitors to use for Horizon Client. Use --allmonitors (or view.allMonitors) to specify that you want to use a full screen on all monitors, and use --monitors=numbered list to specify which subset of the monitors to use. The following example shows how to specify the first and second monitors in a configuration where three monitors are set next to each other horizontally: --allmonitors --monitors="1,2" ` To help distinguish which physical monitor is associated with a monitor icon in Horizon Client, a rectangle appears at the top-left corner of the physical monitor that you specified to use. The rectangle has the corresponding color and number that the icon for the selected monitor uses. |
| view.noMenuBar | --nomenubar | Suppresses the Horizon Client menu bar when the client is in full-screen mode, so that users cannot access menu options to log out of, reset, or disconnect from a remote desktop. Use this option when configuring kiosk mode. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "FALSE". |
| view.nonInteractive | -q, --nonInteractive | Hides unnecessary user interface steps from end users by skipping the screens that are specified in the command line or configuration properties. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". Default is "FALSE". Setting this property to "TRUE" is the equivalent of setting the view.autoConnectBroker and view.autoConnectDesktop properties to "TRUE". For example: --nonInteractive --serverURL="https://view.company.com" --userName="user1" --password="-" --domainName="xyz" --desktopName="Windows 10" |
| view.once | --once | Specifies that you do not want Horizon Client to retry the connection if an error occurs. Specify this option if you use kiosk mode and use the exit code to handle the error. Otherwise, stopping the vmware-view process remotely might be difficult. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". The default is "FALSE". |
| view.rdesktopOptions | --rdesktopOptions= | (Available if you use the Microsoft RDP display protocol.) Specifies command-line options to forward to the rdesktop application. For information about rdesktop options, see the rdesktop documentation. For example: --rdesktopOptions="-f -m" |
| None | -r, --redirect= | (Available if you use the Microsoft RDP display protocol.) Specifies a local device for rdesktop to redirect to the remote desktop. Specify the device information to pass to the -r option of rdesktop. You can set multiple device options in a single command. For example: --redirect="sound:off" |
| view.rdpClient | --rdpclient= | (Available if you use the Microsoft RDP display protocol.) Specifies which type of RDP client to use. The default is rdesktop. To use FreeRDP instead, specify xfreerdp.
Note: To use FreeRDP, you must have the correct version of FreeRDP installed and any applicable patches. For more information, see
Using FreeRDP and Remote Desktop for RDP Connections.
|
| None | --save | Saves the user name and domain name that were last used to log in successfully so that you do not need to enter them the next time you are prompted to supply login credentials. |
| view.sendCtrlAltDelToLocal | None | (Available if you use the VMware Blast or PCoIP display protocol.) When set to "TRUE", sends the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Del to the client system rather than opening a dialog box to prompt the user to disconnect from the remote desktop. The default is "FALSE".
Note: If you use the Microsoft RDP display protocol, you can achieve this functionality by using the
-K option; for example,
vmware-view -K.
This option has the same priority as the setting in the /etc/vmware/view-keycombos-config file. |
| view.sendCtrlAltDelToVM | None | (Available if you use the VMware Blast or PCoIP display protocol.) When set to "TRUE", sends the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Del to the remote desktop rather than opening a dialog box to prompt the user to disconnect from the remote desktop. Default is "FALSE". This option has a higher priority than the setting in the /etc/vmware/view-keycombos-config file. |
| view.sendCtrlAltInsToVM | None | (Available if you use the VMware Blast or PCoIP display protocol.) When set to "TRUE", sends the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Ins to the virtual desktop rather than sending Ctrl+Alt+Del. The default is "FALSE".
Note: To use this feature, you must also set the
Use alternate key for sending Secure Attention Sequence agent-side group policy setting, which is available in the
pcoip.adm template file. For more information, see the
Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon document.
This option has a lower priority than the setting in the /etc/vmware/view-keycombos-config file. |
| view.shareRemovableStorage | None | When set to "TRUE", enables the Allow access to removable storage option. The default is "TRUE". |
| view.skipCRLRevocationCheck | --skipCRLRevocationCheck | By default when connecting to a server, Horizon Client checks for and downloads the certificate revocation list (CRL) for the server. This command-line option instructs Horizon Client to stop checking for the CRL during connections. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" to stop checking for the CRL. The default is "FALSE". |
| view.sslCipherString | --sslCipherString= | Configures the cipher list to restrict the use of certain cryptographic algorithms before establishing an encrypted SSL connection. For a list of cipher strings, see http://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ciphers.html . The default for Horizon Client is "!aNULL:kECDH+AESGCM:ECDH+AESGCM:RSA+AESGCM:kECDH+AES:ECDH+AES:RSA+AES". |
| view.sslProtocolString | --sslProtocolString= | Configures the cipher list to restrict the use of certain cryptographic protocols before establishing an encrypted SSL connection. The supported protocols are TLSv1.1, and TLSv1.2. The cipher list consists of one or more protocol strings separated by colons. The strings are not case-sensitive. The default is "TLSv1.1:TLSv1.2". |
| view.sslVerificationMode | None | Sets the server certificate verification mode. Specify "1" to reject connections when the certificate fails any of the verification checks, "2" to warn but allow connections that use a self-signed certificate, or "3" to allow unverifiable connections. If you specify "3", no verification checks are performed. The default is "2". |
| view.UnauthenticatedAccessEnabled | --unauthenticatedAccessEnabled | When set to "TRUE", the Unauthenticated Access feature is enabled by default. The Log in anonymously using Unauthenticated Access setting is visible in the user interface and is marked as selected. When set to "FALSE", the Unauthenticated Access feature is disabled. The Log in anonymously using Unauthenticated Access setting is hidden and deselected. When set to "", the Unauthenticated Access feature is disabled, and the Log in anonymously using Unauthenticated Access setting is visible from the user interface and deselected. If you are setting the configuration key, specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". For example: --unauthenticatedAccessEnabled="TRUE" |
| view.UnauthenticatedAccessAccount | --unauthenticatedAccessAccount | Specifies the account to use when unauthenticatedAccessEnabled is set to "TRUE". If the unauthenticatedAccessEnabled is set to "FALSE", then this configuration is ignored. The following example shows how to use this command-line option with the anonymous1 user account: --unauthenticatedAccessAccount='anonymous1' |
| view.usbAutoConnectAtStartUp | --usbAutoConnectAtStartUp= | Redirects USB devices automatically to a remote desktop or published application if the USB devices are inserted into the host system before the desktop or application is connected. Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". Default is "FALSE". |
| view.usbAutoConnectOnInsert | --usbAutoConnectOnInsert= | Redirects USB devices automatically to a remote desktop or published application when the USB devices are inserted into the host system after the desktop or application is connected. Specify "TRUE" or "FALSE". Default is "FALSE". |
| view.xfreerdpOptions | --xfreerdpOptions= | (Available if you use the Microsoft RDP display protocol.) Specifies command-line options to forward to the xfreerdp program. For information about xfreerdp options, see the xfreerdp documentation.
Note: To use FreeRDP, you must have the correct version of FreeRDP installed and any applicable patches. For more information, see
Using FreeRDP and Remote Desktop for RDP Connections.
|
| None | --useExisting | Enables you to start multiple remote desktops and published applications from a single session. When you specify this option, Horizon Client determines whether there is already a session connected to the same server URL. If so, Horizon Client uses that session instead of starting a new session. If there is a session connected to a different server URL, Horizon Client disconnects from that session and then starts a new session connected to the new server URL. If more than one such session exists, Horizon Client disconnects from the earliest session before starting the new session. In the following example, user1 starts the Calculator application and a new session is created. vmware-view -serverURL view.mycompany.com -userName user1 -password 'secret' -domainName domain -appName Calculator In the next example, user1 starts the Paint application with the same server URL, and the same session is used. vmware-view -serverURL view.mycompany.com -userName user1 -password 'secret' -domainName domain -appName Paint --useExisting In the next example, user1 starts the Calculator application with a different server URL. Horizon Client disconnects from the first session with view.mycompany.com and starts a new session with horizon.mycompany.com. vmware-view -serverURL horizon.mycompany.com -userName user1 -password 'secret' -domainName domain -appName Calculator --useExisting |
| None | --enableNla | (Applies if you are using FreeRDP for RDP connections.) Enables network-level authentication (NLA). You must use this option and the --ignore-certificate option. For more information, see Using FreeRDP and Remote Desktop for RDP Connections. If you are using FreeRDP, NLA is turned off by default. You must have the correct version of FreeRDP installed and any applicable patches. For more information, see Using FreeRDP and Remote Desktop for RDP Connections.
Note: The
rdesktop program does not support NLA.
|
| None | --printEnvironmentInfo | Shows information about the environment of a client device, including its IP address, MAC address, machine name, and domain name. For kiosk mode, you can create an account for the client based on the MAC address. To display the MAC address, use this option with the -s option. For example: --printEnvironmentInfo -s view.company.com |
| None | --usb= | Specifies which options to use for USB redirection. For more information, see System Requirements for USB Redirection. |
| None | --version | Displays version information about Horizon Client. |
| None | --tokenUserName | For RSA SecurID or RADIUS authentication, specifies the token user name. If you do not use this option, or if the option is empty, the Active Directory user name is used. To specify the RSA SecurID or RADIUS authentication passcode, use the --passcode option. The following example shows how to use the -q option to log in without user interaction in Horizon Client. If you do not specify the -q option, the RSA SecurID or RADIUS login page appears in Horizon Client. vmware-view --serverURL='12.345.67.89' -q --tokenUserName='pwduser' --userName='johndoe' --password='password' --domainName='mydomain' --passcode='passcode' |
| None | --passcode | Specifies the passcode for RSA SecurID or RADIUS authentication. The passcode can be used only once. Use this option with the --tokenUserName option. |
Kiosk Mode Example
Kiosk users might include customers at airline check-in stations, students in classrooms or libraries, medical personnel at medical data entry workstations, or customers at self-service points. Accounts are associated with client devices rather than users because users do not need to log in to use the client device or the remote desktop. Users can still be required to provide authentication credentials for some applications.
To set up kiosk mode, you must use the vdmadmin command-line interface on the Horizon Connection Server instance and perform several procedures documented in the chapter about kiosk mode in the Horizon Administration document. After you set up kiosk mode, you can use the vmware-view command on a Linux client to connect to a remote desktop in kiosk mode.
To connect to remote desktops from Linux clients in kiosk mode, you must, at a minimum, include the following configuration keys or command-line options.
| Configuration Key | Equivalent Command-line Options |
|---|---|
| view.kioskLogin | --kioskLogin |
| view.nonInteractive | -q, --nonInteractive |
| view.fullScreen | --fullscreen |
| view.noMenuBar | --nomenubar |
| view.defaultBroker | -s, --serverURL= |
Omitting any of these configuration settings is not supported for kiosk mode. If Horizon Connection Server is set up to require a non-default kiosk user name, you must also set the view.defaultUser property or use the -u or --userName= command-line option. If a non-default user name is not required and you do not specify a user name, Horizon Client can derive and use the default kiosk user name.
The command shown in this example runs Horizon Client on a Linux client system and has the following characteristics:
- The user account name is based on the client's MAC address.
- Horizon Client runs in full screen mode without a Horizon Client menu bar.
- Users are automatically connected to the specified Horizon Connection Server instance and remote desktop and are not prompted for login credentials.
- If a connection error occurs, depending on the error code returned, a script might run, or a kiosk monitoring program might handle the error. As a result, for example, the client system might display an out-of-order screen or might wait a certain amount of time before attempting to connect to Horizon Connection Server again.
./vmware-view --kioskLogin --nonInteractive --once --fullscreen --nomenubar --serverURL="server.mycomany.com" --userName="CM-00:11:22:33:44:55:66:77" --password="mypassword"
