Appendix E.1: Application Specific > E.3: Citrix MetaFrame XP

The Basics

Publishing Window-Eyes on a Citrix MetaFrame XP server enables end users to hear other server-based applications, just as if both applications were running locally on the desktop.

Server-based deployment of applications has three key benefits:

Providing users with secure access to enterprise resources from anywhere at any time
Maximizing IT efficiency with centralized administration
Ensuring a consistent set of applications and versions for all users, regardless of location, device or connection

For example, a company's IT department can install all the mission-critical applications (such as word processors, email, and order entry systems) on a centralized group of servers. Employees then access the applications on those servers from their own client devices (desktops, laptops, etc.). When the IT department updates a critical application, all users automatically connect to the updated version, without the need to install the new application on each individual workstation.

For more information about Citrix MetaFrame XP Presentation Server, visit www.citrix.com.

Server-Side Configuration

1. Installing Citrix MetaFrame XP Presentation Server

Please refer to the MetaFrame XP documentation for the installation and configuration procedures for installing MetaFrame XP.

MetaFrame XPe, XPs, or XPa Future Release 3 or greater must be installed on the server before you install Window-Eyes and any other applications.

2. Installing Window-Eyes

The steps for installing Window-Eyes on a server running MetaFrame XP are identical to the installation steps in Section 2 of the Window-Eyes manual.

3. Enabling Window-Eyes Video Support

There are two ways to enable Window-Eyes video support for Citrix MetaFrame XP sessions:

1.	From the Advanced Options pull down menu in the Window-Eyes program group in the Start menu of the server machine, select the Video Support Maintenance. Select the button labeled "Enable Citrix ICA Video Support" and follow any prompts that may appear.

2.	Log on to the MetaFrame XP server remotely and run Window-Eyes. Window-Eyes will install Citrix ICA Video Support, and will prompt to restart the machine.

4. Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer

The Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer option provides the user with the best possible option for remote speech synthesis. Without the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer, the only supported methods of speech during a MetaFrame XP session are serial and software synthesizers. The Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer allows the user to utilize any non-serial synthesizer that is installed on the local machine (the Triple Talk PCI, Triple Talk USB, DECtalk PC, and DoubleTalk PC are just a few examples), and is especially useful for maintaining a high rate of responsiveness when using SAPI or software speech. The Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer option uses a local copy of Window-Eyes for speech output, rather than relying on the synthesizer itself. The local copy of Window-Eyes (which must be running on the client device – the same place where the Citrix ICA Client was launched) will serve as a host between the local synthesizer and the remote copy of Window-Eyes. The Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer option is also the easiest to set up by following these instructions:

1. Run Window-Eyes on the client device.

2. Run Window-Eyes through a remote session.

3. From the remote session, select the Virtual (Citrix MetaFrame) synthesizer from the Select Synthesizer dialog box located in the File menu of the Window-Eyes voice control panel.

At this point, the remote copy of Window-Eyes will begin transferring speech to the local copy of Window-Eyes. Commands for modifying voice rate, pitch, and tone (as well as the selection of other synthesizers where applicable) will still be executed in the remote session. For information about installing the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer, please refer to the section below titled "Window-Eyes Virtual Server Installation."

Serial Synthesizers – If the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer is not an option, Window-Eyes users have the alternative choice of using any supported serial synthesizer during their MetaFrame XP session. To use a serial synthesizer, follow the steps below for serial port mapping.

Software Synthesizers - If the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer is not an option, Window-Eyes users can still use a software synthesizer. Audio support will need to be enabled on either the server-side or client-side. For more information about the pros and cons of using software speech, please refer to the "Remote Access Caveats" section at the end of this appendix.

Serial Port Mapping – If a Window-Eyes user will be using a serial synthesizer during the Citrix MetaFrame XP session, the appropriate serial ports must be configured correctly prior to launching Window-Eyes to create and maintain a talking environment. After a serial port is mapped for a specific client, the mapping will remain in effect through all future connections from that client. Other clients will not be affected by serial port mapping. To map a serial port, use the following steps:

Enable serial ports through the Citrix ICA Client application (Citrix Program Neighborhood->Tools->Serial Devices->Add). Please refer to the Citrix ICA Client documentation for more information about setting up serial devices.
Using the Citrix ICA Client, log on to the appropriate Citrix MetaFrame XP server using the credentials of the user who will utilize the mapped serial port.
Go to the Start menu, and choose Run.
Type CMD and press ENTER.
At a command prompt, type the following and press ENTER:

net use ComX: \\Client\ComY: (where X is the number of the serial port located on the server and Y is the number of the serial port located on the client device.)

The following confirmation will display: The command completed successfully.

5. Running Window-Eyes Automatically

To enable automatic startup of Window-Eyes after a Citrix MetaFrame XP session is initiated, use the following steps:

1. Log on as the user for whom Window-Eyes is to load automatically.

2. Launch Window-Eyes- and access the Window-Eyes voice control panel with CTRL-BACKSLASH.

3. Press ALT-F for File.

4. Press R for Startup Options.

5. TAB to the After Login for Current User, Run Window-Eyes radio button group

6. Arrow down to Always

7. Press ENTER to close the Startup Options dialog

When using this configuration, the logon screen will not be spoken automatically. Pass-through authentication is one solution to this issue. For more information about pass-through authentication, review the Citrix MetaFrame XP documentation.

Client-Side Configuration

1. Citrix ICA Client

The Citrix ICA Client software does not require any additional setup to support Window-Eyes (aside from what is required to connect to a Citrix MetaFrame XP server).

2. Citrix MetaFrame XP Web Access

Citrix ICA Win32 Client Software

If the client is accessing a Citrix MetaFrame XP server through the Web interface, the client will need to download and install the Citrix ICA Client software. This package, as well as any documentation pertaining to the installation of the Citrix ICA Client software, should be available through the Web interface, depending upon the configuration of the Citrix MetaFrame XP server.

Citrix ICA Java Client Software

Although the Citrix ICA Java Client software will perform the same as the Citrix ICA Win32 Client software (in terms of running Window-Eyes remotely), it will not support the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer. To use the Citrix ICA Java Client software, the client will need to use either a serial synthesizer (please refer to the above section titled "Serial Port Mapping" for more information) or software speech.

3. Alternative Citrix ICA Clients

Citrix ICA Clients for alternative operating systems (Windows CE, UNIX, Macintosh, and so on) will support running Window-Eyes remotely. It is important to note, however, that the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer option is available only with the Citrix ICA Win32 Client software.

4. Window-Eyes Virtual Channel Installation

To install the Window-Eyes Virtual Channel, use the following steps:

1.	From the Advanced Options pull down in the Window-Eyes program group in the start menu of the client machine, run the Virtual Channel Maintenance utility.

2.	TAB to the "Enable Citrix Virtual Channel Support For Window-Eyes" button, and press ENTER.

To uninstall the Window-Eyes Virtual Channel, use the following steps:

1.	From the Advanced Options pull down in the Window-Eyes program group in the start menu of the client machine, run the Virtual Channel Maintenance utility.

2.	TAB to the "Disable Citrix Virtual Channel Support For Window-Eyes" button, and press ENTER.

Running Window-Eyes Remotely

1. Important Hot Keys

Citrix ICA Client hot keys can be defined by modifying the options located in Citrix Program Neighborhood->Tools->ICA Settings->Hotkeys. These hot keys are required for accessing the remote desktop operating system Start menu, ALT-TAB list, task list, and so on. For more information about defining Citrix ICA Client hot keys, please refer to the Citrix ICA Client documentation.
Window-Eyes hot keys can be modified under the Hot Keys dialog in the Window-Eyes voice control panel. All Window-Eyes hot keys are defined in Appendix A of the Window-Eyes manual.

2. Desktop Versus Stand Alone Application

Window-Eyes can be accessed by logging on to a published desktop, or by using Window-Eyes as a published application (depending on the configuration of the Citrix MetaFrame XP server -- Note that shared applications must be running under the same session ID). During a remote desktop session, Window-Eyes will interact with any other application launched in the same desktop area. As a published application (not accessed through a remote desktop session), Window-Eyes will only interact with other published applications launched in the same client's unique session. For example, if Window-Eyes and Microsoft Internet Explorer are both shared applications, and the client runs both applications during a unique session, Window-Eyes will be able to read and interact with the Microsoft Internet Explorer window. Running Window-Eyes as a published application will not read any local application that is run on the client device. Running Window-Eyes remotely through Citrix MetaFrame XP will only allow speech access to other remote applications run under the same unique session. Your local copy of Window-Eyes, however, can be used to interact with your local applications.

It is important to note that, while running Window-Eyes as a remote application, and as a local application, you will have two instances of Window-Eyes on the taskbar at one time. You will be able to tell the difference by examining the names of the applications.

3. Interacting with Other Applications

After a user initiates a Citrix MetaFrame XP session and is running Window-Eyes successfully, the interaction between Window-Eyes and any installed application will work identically to running Window-Eyes on a stand alone machine with that same application. For example, Window-Eyes keystrokes, hot keys, and reading options for Microsoft Internet Explorer will work the same whether Window-Eyes is running locally or through a remote Citrix MetaFrame XP session.

4. Multiple Window-Eyes sessions

Multiple users can run Window-Eyes under their own unique sessions with no conflicts with other instances of Window-Eyes running remotely in Citrix MetaFrame XP sessions.

Running Window-Eyes Locally on Server

Window-Eyes can be run on the Citrix MetaFrame XP desktop with no conflicts with other instances of Window-Eyes running remotely in Citrix MetaFrame XP sessions.

Remote Access Caveats

1. Software Speech

At the time of this documentation, support for SAPI speech synthesizers in a remote Citrix MetaFrame XP session is somewhat lacking. Although the voice quality can remain tolerable, the responsiveness (even over high bandwidth network connections) can lag behind up to two seconds behind a given key press. For a solution to this problem, review the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer option listed in the Server-Side Configuration section.

2. Hot Key Conflicts

Window-Eyes users are often comfortable with the Windows hot keys (such as CTRL-ESC, ALT-TAB, etc.) that allow them easy access to commonly used areas in the operating system. Pressing these keys during a remote session will most likely cause the intended action to execute locally rather than in the Citrix MetaFrame XP session. It is important to note the Important Hotkeys section of the Running Window-Eyes Remotely section listed above.

3. Citrix MetaFrame XP Management Console

At the time of this documentation, the Citrix MetaFrame XP Management Console application (available only to the Administrator of the Citrix MetaFrame XP server) is written in Java. Window-Eyes, currently, does not support the Java language interface, and therefore does not provide access to the Citrix MetaFrame XP Management Console.

4. Window-Eyes Local Versus Window-Eyes Remote

If a user runs Window-Eyes on a client device while at the same time running the Citrix ICA Client software, Window-Eyes will remain loaded, but in a suspended state. This will eliminate any hot key conflicts between the local copy of Window-Eyes and remote copy of Window-Eyes. To communicate with the local copy of Window-Eyes, or other local applications, the user will need to ALT-TAB out of the Citrix ICA Client to switch activation from the Citrix ICA Client to the local desktop. Window-Eyes will no longer be suspended once activation has left the Citrix ICA Client. Closing the Citrix ICA Client will also result in the local desktop regaining activation. It is possible, even after pressing ALT-TAB to move activation to the local desktop, for the remote copy of Window-Eyes to send information to the local copy of Window-Eyes through the Window-Eyes Virtual Synthesizer feature. This may cause some speech to bleed through.

Navigation: Appendix E.1: Application Specific > E.3: Citrix MetaFrame XP