With the USB redirection feature, you can use locally attached USB devices, such as thumb flash drives, in a remote desktop or published application.
When you use the USB redirection feature, most USB devices that are attached to the local client system become available from menus in Horizon Client. You use these menus to connect and disconnect the devices.
For information about USB device requirements and limitations for USB redirection, see "Using USB Devices with Remote Desktops and Applications" in the Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon 7 document.
You can connect USB devices to a remote desktop or published application either manually or automatically.
This procedure describes how to use Horizon Client to configure autoconnection of USB devices to a remote desktop or published application. You can also configure autoconnection by using the Horizon Client command-line interface, or by configuring a group policy.
For information about the command-line interface, see Running Horizon Client From the Command Line. For information about configuring group policies, see the Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon 7 document.
Prerequisites
- To use USB devices with a remote desktop or published application, a Horizon administrator must enable the USB redirection feature.
This task includes installing the USB Redirection component of Horizon Agent, and can include setting policies regarding USB redirection. For more information, see the Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon 7 document and USB Settings for Client GPOs.
- The USB Redirection component must be installed in Horizon Client. If you did not include this component in the installation, uninstall Horizon Client and run the installer again to include the USB Redirection component.
For installation instructions, see the VMware Horizon Client for Windows Installation and Setup Guide document.
- Become familiar with USB Redirection Limitations.
Procedure
Results
The USB device appears in the remote desktop or published application. A USB device might take up to 20 seconds to appear in the remote desktop or published application. The first time you connect the device to a remote desktop you might be prompted to install drivers.
If the USB device does not appear in the remote desktop or published application after several minutes, disconnect and reconnect the device to the client computer.
What to do next
If you have problems with USB redirection, see the topic about troubleshooting USB redirection problems in the Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon 7 document.