An administrator can configure URL links that you click inside a remote desktop or published application to open in the default browser on the local client system. The URL link might be to a web page, a phone number, an email address, or another type of link. This feature is called URL Content Redirection.

An administrator can also configure URL links that you click inside a browser or application on the local client system to open in a remote desktop or published application. If Horizon Client is not already open you click the URL link, it starts and prompts you to log in.

An administrator might set up the URL Content Redirection feature for security purposes. For example, if you are at work and click a link that points to a URL outside your company network, the link might be more safely opened in a published application. An administrator can configure which published application opens the link.

Each company configures its own URL Content Redirection policies. If you are an end user and have questions about how the URL Content Redirection feature behaves at your company, contact your system administrator.

Responding to URL Content Redirection Prompts

The first time you start Horizon Client and connect to a server on which the URL Content Redirection feature is configured, Horizon Client prompts you to open the VMware Horizon URL Filter application when you click a link for redirection. Click Open to allow the URL to be redirected.

Depending on how the URL Content Redirection feature is configured, Horizon Client might display an alert message that asks you to change your default web browser to VMware Horizon URL Filter. If you see this prompt, click the Use "VMware Horizon URL Filter" button to allow VMware Horizon URL Filter to become the default browser. This prompt appears only once, unless you change your default browser after clicking Use "VMware Horizon URL Filter".

Horizon Client might also display an alert message that asks you to select an application when you click a URL. If you see this prompt, you can click Choose Application to search for an application on the local client system, or click Search App Store to search for and install a new application. If you click Cancel, the URL is not opened.

Using URL Content Redirection with Chrome

If the Chrome browser prompts you to enable the VMware Horizon URL Content Redirection Helper extension, click Enable Extension to use the URL Content Redirection feature with the Chrome browser. If you click Remove from Chrome, the extension is removed and URLs clicked in Chrome are not redirected. You can still install the extension manually from the Chrome Web Store.

The first time a URL is redirected from the Chrome browser on the client system, you are prompted to open the URL in Horizon Client. If you select the Remember my choice for VMware Horizon Client links check box (recommended) and then click Open VMware Horizon Client, this prompt does not appear again.

Using URL Content Redirection with Microsoft Edge (Chromium)

To use the Microsoft Edge (Chromium) browser for URL Content Redirection, you must install the helper extension for the browser on the client. See "Install the URL Content Redirection Helper Extension for Microsoft Edge (Chromium) on Linux" in the Horizon Remote Desktop Features and GPOs document.