General settings include proxy options, time zone forwarding, multimedia acceleration, and other display settings.

General Settings

The following table describes the general settings in the Horizon Client Configuration ADMX template file. General settings include both Computer Configuration and User Configuration settings. The User Configuration setting overrides the equivalent Computer Configuration setting. The settings appear in the VMware Horizon Client Configuration folder in the Group Policy Management Editor.

Table 1. Horizon Client Configuration Template: General Settings
Setting Computer User Description
Allow Blast connections to use operating system proxy settings X Configures proxy server use for VMware Blast connections.

When this setting enabled, VMware Blast can connect through a proxy server.

When this setting is disabled, VMware Blast cannot use a proxy server.

When this setting is not configured (the default), users can configure whether VMware Blast connections can use a proxy server in the Horizon Client user interface. See Configure VMware Blast Options.
Allow data sharing X When this setting is enabled, the data sharing mode setting in the Horizon Client user interface is set to On and end users cannot change the setting.

When this setting is disabled, the data sharing mode setting in the Horizon Client user interface is set to Off and end users cannot change the setting.

When this setting is not configured (the default), end users can change the data sharing mode setting in the Horizon Client user interface.

Allow display scaling X X

When this setting is enabled, the display scaling feature is enabled for all remote desktops and published applications.

When this setting is disabled, the display scaling feature is disabled for all remote desktops and published applications.

If this setting is not configured (the default setting), end users can enable and disable display scaling in the Horizon Client user interface.

You can also hide the display scaling preference in the Horizon Client user interface by enabling the Locked Guest Size group policy setting. For more information, see Scripting Definition Settings for Client GPOs.

Allow H.264 Decoding X Configures H.264 decoding for the VMware Blast protocol.

When this setting is enabled, H.264 decoding becomes the preferred option.

When this setting is disabled, H.264 decoding is never used.

When this setting is not configured, users can choose whether to enable H.264 decoding. See Configure VMware Blast Options.
Allow H.264 high color accuracy X Configures high-color accuracy mode for H.264.

This setting takes effect only if H.264 decoding is enabled.

When this setting is not configured, users can choose whether to enable high-color accuracy mode. See Configure VMware Blast Options.
Allow HEVC Decoding X Configures HEVC (also known as H.265) decoding for the VMware Blast protocol.

When this setting is enabled, HEVC decoding becomes the preferred option.

When this setting is disabled, HEVC decoding is never used.

When this setting is not configured, users can choose whether to enable HEVC decoding. See Configure VMware Blast Options.
Allow user to skip Horizon Client update X Specifies whether users can click the Skip button in the Horizon Client update window. If users click Skip, they do not see another update notification until the next Horizon Client version is available.
Always hide the remote floating language (IME) bar for Hosted Apps X X Forces the floating language bar off for application sessions. When this setting is enabled, the floating language bar is never shown in a published application session, regardless of whether the local IME feature is enabled. When this setting is disabled, the floating language bar is shown only if the local IME feature is disabled. This setting is disabled by default.
Always on top X Determines whether the Horizon Client window is always the topmost window. Enabling this setting prevents the Windows taskbar from obscuring a full-screen Horizon Client window. This setting is disabled by default.
Automatic input focus in a virtual desktop window X X When this setting is enabled, Horizon Client sends input to the remote desktop automatically when a user brings the remote desktop to the front. In other words, focus is not in the frame of the window, and the user does not need to click inside the remote desktop window to move focus.
Automatically check for updates X Specifies whether to check for Horizon Client software updates automatically. This setting controls the Check for updates and show badge notification check box on the Horizon Client update window. This setting is enabled by default.
Automatically install shortcuts when configured on the Horizon server X When published application and remote desktop shortcuts are configured on a Connection Server instance, this setting specifies how and whether the shortcuts are installed on client machines when users connect to the server.

When this setting is enabled, shortcuts are installed on client machines. Users are not prompted to install the shortcuts.

When this setting is disabled, shortcuts are never installed on client machines. Users are not prompted to install the shortcuts.

Users are prompted to install the shortcuts by default.

Automatically synchronize the keypad, scroll and caps lock keys X When this setting is enabled, the toggle states of the Num Lock, Scroll Lock, and Caps Lock keys are synchronized from the client device to a remote desktop. In Horizon Client, the Automatically synchronize the keypad, scroll and cap lock keys setting check box is selected and the setting is dimmed.

When this setting is disabled, the lock key toggle states are synchronized from the remote desktop to the client device. In Horizon Client, the Automatically synchronize the keypad, scroll and cap lock keys setting check box is deselected and the setting is dimmed.

When this setting is either enabled or disabled, users cannot modify the Automatically synchronize the keypad, scroll and cap lock keys setting in Horizon Client.

When this setting is not configured, a user can enable or disable lock key synchronization for a remote desktop by configuring the Automatically synchronize the keypad, scroll and cap lock keys setting in Horizon Client. See Configure Lock Key Synchronization.

This setting is not configured by default.
Block multiple Horizon Client instances per Windows session X Prevents a user from starting multiple Horizon Client instances during a Windows session.

When this setting is enabled, Horizon Client runs in single-instance mode and a user cannot start multiple Horizon Client instances in a Windows session.

When this setting is disabled, a user can start multiple Horizon Client instances in a Windows session. This setting is disabled by default.

Configure maximum latency for mouse coalescing X Sets the maximum latency allowed, in milliseconds, when coalescing mouse movement events. Valid values are 0 through 50. A value of 0 disables the feature.

Coalescing mouse movement events can reduce client-to-agent bandwidth use, but can potentially add minor latency to mouse movement.

This setting is disabled by default.
Custom error screen footer X Enables you to add custom help text to the bottom of all Horizon Client error messages. You must provide the help text in a plain text (.txt) file on the local client system. The text file can contain up to 2048 characters, including control characters. Both ANSI and Unicode encoding are supported.

When this setting is enabled, you specify the full path to the file that contains the custom help text in the text box provided, for example, C:\myDocs\errorFooter.txt.

This setting is disabled by default.

Default value of the "Hide the selector after launching an item" check box X X Sets whether the Hide the selector after launching an item check box is selected by default. This setting is disabled by default.
Disable desktop disconnect messages X X Specifies whether messages that are normally shown upon remote desktop disconnection are disabled. These messages are shown by default.
Disable sharing files and folders X Specifies whether client drive redirection functionality is available in Horizon Client.

When this setting is enabled, all client drive redirection functionality is disabled in Horizon Client, including the ability to open local files with published applications. In addition, the following elements are hidden in the Horizon Client user interface:

  • Sharing panel in the Settings dialog box.
  • Share Folders item in the Option menu in a remote desktop.
  • Sharing item for Horizon Client in the system tray.
  • Sharing dialog box that appears the first time you connect to a remote desktop or application after you connect to a server.

When this setting is disabled, the client drive redirection feature is fully functional. This setting is disabled by default.

Disable time zone forwarding X Determines whether time zone synchronization between the remote desktop and the connected client is disabled.
Disable toast notifications X X Determines whether to disable toast notifications from Horizon Client.

Enable this setting if you do not want the user to see toast notifications in the corner of the screen.

Note: If you enable this setting, the user does not see a five-minute warning when the Session Timeout function is active.
Disallow passing through client information in a nested session X Specifies whether Horizon Client is prevented from passing through client information in a nested session. When enabled, if Horizon Client is running inside a remote session, it sends the actual physical client information instead of the virtual machine device information. This setting applies to the following client information: device name and domain, client type, IP address, and MAC address. This setting is disabled by default, which means passing through client information in a nested session is allowed.
Display modifier function key X X Specifies the switch modifier and function key combination that a user can press that, when grabbed and injecting input into a PCoIP or VMware Blast remote desktop session, changes the display configuration on the client machine.

When this setting is not configured (the default setting), the end user must use the mouse to ungrab the remote desktop and then press the Windows logo key + P to select a presentation display mode.

This setting does not apply to published application sessions.

Disable opening local files in hosted applications X Specifies whether Horizon Client registers local handlers for the file extensions that hosted applications support.

When this setting is enabled, Horizon Client does not register any file extension handlers and does not allow the user to override the setting.

When this setting is disabled, Horizon Client always registers file extension handlers. By default, file extension handlers are registered, but users can disable the feature in the Horizon Client user interface by using the Turn on the ability to open a local file with a remote application from the local file system setting on the Sharing panel in the Settings dialog box. For more information, see Share Local Folders and Drives.

This setting is disabled by default.

Don't check monitor alignment on spanning X By default, the client desktop does not span multiple monitors if the screens do not form an exact rectangle when they are combined. Enable this setting to override the default. This setting is disabled by default.
Enable multi-media acceleration X

Determines whether multimedia redirection (MMR) is enabled on the client.

MMR does not work correctly if the Horizon Client video display hardware does not have overlay support.

Enable relative mouse X X Enables the relative mouse when using the PCoIP display protocol. Relative mouse mode improves the mouse behavior for certain graphics applications and games. If the remote desktop does not support the relative mouse, this setting is not used. This setting is disabled by default.
Enable the shade X Determines whether the shade menu bar at the top of the Horizon Client window is visible. This setting is enabled by default.
Note: The shade menu bar is disabled by default for kiosk mode.
Enable Horizon Client online update X Enables the online update feature. This setting is enabled by default.
Note: You can also disable the online update feature by setting the AUTO_UPDATE_ENABLED property to 0 when you install Horizon Client from the command line. For more information, see Installation Properties for Horizon Client.
Hide items in application context menu X X Use this setting to hide items in the context menu that appears when you right-click a published application in the desktop and application selector window.

When this setting is enabled, you can configure the following options:

  • Hide Settings -- Select Yes to hide the Settings item in the context menu.
  • Hide Create Shortcut to Desktop -- Select Yes to hide the Create Shortcut to Desktop item in the context menu.
  • Hide Add to Start Menu -- Select Yes to hide the Add to Start Menu item in the context menu.
  • Hide Mark as Favorite -- Select Yes to hide the Mark as Favorite item in the context menu.

This setting is disabled by default.

Hide items in desktop context menu X X Use this setting to hide items in the context menu that appears when you right-click a remote desktop in the desktop and application selector window.

When this setting is enabled, you can configure the following options:

  • Hide Reset Desktop -- Select Yes to hide the Reset Desktop item in the context menu.
  • Hide Restart Desktop -- Select Yes to hide the Restart Desktop item in the context menu.
  • Hide Display -- Select Yes to hide the Display item in the context menu.
  • Hide Settings -- Select Yes to hide the Settings item in the context menu.
  • Hide Create Shortcut to Desktop -- Select Yes to hide the Create Shortcut to Desktop item in the context menu.
  • Hide Add to Start Menu -- Select Yes to hide the Add to Start Menu item in the context menu.
  • Hide Mark as Favorite -- Select Yes to hide the Mark as Favorite item in the context menu.

This setting is disabled by default.

Hide items in desktop toolbar X X Use this setting to hide items on the menu bar in a remote desktop window.
When this setting is enabled, you can configure the following options.
  • Hide Help -- Select Yes to hide the Help item in the Options menu.
  • Hide Support Information -- Select Yes to hide the Support Information item in the Options menu.
  • Hide Enabled Relative Mouse -- Select Yes to hide the Enable Relative Mouse item in the Options menu.
  • Hide Share Folders -- Select Yes to hide the Share Folders item in the Options menu.
  • Hide Allow Display Scaling -- Select Yes to hide the Allow Display Scaling item in the Options menu.
  • Hide Reset Desktop -- Select Yes to hide the Reset Desktop item from the Options menu.
  • Hide Restart Desktop -- Select Yes to hide the Restart Desktop item from the Options menu.
  • Hide Connect USB Device -- Select Yes to hide the Connect USB Device menu on the menu bar.

This setting is disabled by default.

Hide items in system tray menu X X Use this setting to hide items in the context menu that appears when you right-click the Horizon Client icon in the system tray on the local client system.

When this setting is enabled, you can configure the following options.

  • Hide Sharing -- Select Yes to hide the Horizon Client Sharing item.
  • Hide Settings -- Select Yes to hide the Horizon Client Settings item.

This setting is disabled by default.

Hide items in the client toolbar menu X X Use this setting to hide items in the toolbar at the top of the desktop and application selector window.

When this setting is enabled, you can configure the following options.

  • Hide Favorites Toggle -- Select Yes to hide the Show Favorites (star) icon.
  • Hide Settings Gear -- Select Yes to hide the Settings (gear) icon.

This setting is disabled by default.

Hotkey combination to grab input focus X X Configures a hot key combination to grab input focus for the last-used PCoIP or VMware Blast remote desktop session. The hot key consists of one or two modifier keys and one letter key.

When this setting is disabled or not configured, the user can grab focus by clicking inside the remote desktop window. This setting is not configured by default.
Hotkey combination to release input focus X X

Configures a hot key combination to release input focus from a PCoIP or VMware Blast remote desktop session. The hot key consists of one or two modifier keys and one function key.

When the Minimize the fullscreen virtual desktop after release input focus check box is selected, users can press any hot key that is configured to release input focus (for example, Ctrl+Shift+F5) to minimize the remote desktop window when the remote desktop is in full-screen mode. By default, Ctrl+Shift+F5 minimizes the remote desktop window when the desktop is in full-screen mode without any configuration.

When this setting is disabled or not configured, the user can release focus by pressing Ctrl+Alt or clicking outside the remote desktop window.

This setting is not configured by default.
Pin the shade X Determines whether the pin on the shade at the top of the Horizon Client window is enabled and auto-hiding of the menu bar does not occur. This setting has no effect if the shade is disabled. This setting is enabled by default.
Save resolution and DPI to server X Determines whether Horizon Client saves custom display resolution and display scaling settings on the server. For information about customizing the display resolution and display scaling settings for a remote desktop, see Customize the Display Resolution and Display Scaling for a Remote Desktop.

When this setting is enabled, and the display resolution or display scaling has been customized for a remote desktop, each time a user opens the remote desktop, the custom settings are applied automatically, regardless of the client device that the user uses to log in to the remote desktop.

This setting is disabled by default.
Tunnel proxy bypass address list X Specifies a list of tunnel addresses. The proxy server is not used for these addresses. Use a semicolon (;) to separate multiple entries.
Update message pop-up X Specifies whether to show the update pop-up message to end users automatically when a new version of Horizon Client is available. This setting controls the Show pop-up message when there is an update check box on the Horizon Client update window. This setting is disabled by default.
URL for Horizon Client online help X Specifies an alternate URL from which Horizon Client can retrieve help pages. This setting is intended for use in environments that cannot retrieve the remotely hosted help system because they do not have Internet access.
URL for Horizon Client online update X Specifies an alternate URL from which Horizon Client can retrieve updates. This setting is intended for use in an environment that defines its own private/personal update center. If it is not enabled, the VMware official update server is used.