Accessing the Apporto Desktop from D2L

Introduction

Apporto is UCO's officially supported Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) solution and is replacing the previous Horizon client. A VDI allows faculty, staff, and students to access university-owned and/or licensed resources from any computer, anywhere! Many groups/departments across campus use this resource to provide access to expensive or equipment-intensive resources to students enrolled in specific courses or programs. These courses can utilize industry standard tools without students needing to purchase additional software, hardware or licenses in order to complete coursework. 

This article provides instructions for students to access the Apporto Desktop through a link in their D2L course shell. This option will only be available in courses that have permission to use Apporto licensing. There are a limited number of individuals who can be on the Apporto Desktop simultaneously. If you receive a message telling you that there all licenses are currently in use, please exit and try again later. 

For more information or to request use of Apporto for your courses, please reach out to the Office of Information Technology by completing this form. 

Accessing the Apporto Desktop from D2L 

  1. Log in to Learn@UCO (D2L) and open your course. 
  2. Click on the Content tab and click the Apporto Desktop link. (some courses may use the title "Apporto GPU Desktop")  
  3. The Apporto Desktop will open as a new tab in your browser window. You may need to allow access to certain tools on the computer such as the clipboard and/or microphone. This may take a few minutes to load, especially the first time you make a connection to the desktop. 
  4. Once the Apporto Desktop has loaded, you will be able to access specific programs such as ArcGIS, CLO3D, MatLab, and more through the desktop links or the start menu. Contact your instructor for information on accessing and using the specific software programs. 
  5. When finished, log out of the windows desktop by clicking the start icon, selecting your username, and clicking Sign Out. 
     

Apporto Desktop Options

When using Apporto Desktop, you will have a few additional features not available on a traditional computer lab desktop. 

  1. A toolbar of Apporto options can be hidden/shown using the dropdown arrow.
  2. Enlarge the screen for a full desktop experience using the Full Screen button. 
  3. Move files from the physical computer or flashdrive to the Apporto desktop and vice versa, using the Upload & Download buttons
  4. You can collaborate with others in your course who are currently using the Apporto desktop by sharing your screen. 
  5. You can communicate with others in your course currently using the Apporto Desktop with the chat tool by clicking the chat button or opening the chat window in the bottom right of the screen. 
  6. Take advantage of duel monitors (aka two browser windows) by clicking More > Second Monitor. 
  7. Desktop settings like network and sound options are accessed via the buttons on the far right of the options menu. 

We strive to keep our articles relevant and informative. Please take a moment to leave feedback on the helpfulness of this article.

Print Article