DaDesktop for Participants - Howto

Objective

This guide is meant for participants (students) looking to join a course run on DaDesktop.

 

Overview of DaDesktop

DaDesktop is a cloud platform built specifically for IT training. It serves both IT instructors and learners by providing virtual desktops powered by the groundbreaking DaDesktop® technology. During these sessions, every participant gets their own complete online desktop where they can work through exercises under the trainer's supervision.

Its three core components are:

1. Management Console -- a web interface for handling system administration, like launching and shutting down cloud desktops.
2. Training Room -- a communal area for remote desktop sharing, audio, chat, and recording lessons.
3. Remote Desktop -- a virtual machine (Windows or Linux); one machine per person.
    

Requirements

If you plan to connect from your workplace or home, you'll need:

• A computer (PC or laptop) with a dependable internet connection (at least 10Mbit/s download and 1Mbit/s upload). Windows, Mac, or Linux machines are all supported.
• Chrome or Firefox as your web browser
• A decent quality microphone or headset (a telephone is a last option, though not ideal)
• A quiet spot, away from interruptions and background noise (a café won't cut it)
   

Recommended:

• Webcam
• A second monitor; dedicate one screen to watching the Trainer and the other to using your DaDesktop Virtual Machine for hands-on labs.
• Turn off any VPN before joining the course
• If possible, disable any security software that might interfere with your network connection
• Try to use a wired Ethernet connection, or if you're on WiFi, run a speed test beforehand, like at speedtest.net, to check your internet performance

You might want to test joining your course and exploring your DaDesktop virtual classroom before the course kicks off. If you do, keep in mind that you'll only be able to access the Desktop itself for 15 minutes on days prior to the course start time.

 

Course Access

Please be aware that access to your Course is limited to a 15-minute window outside of the scheduled course days.

On the actual course days, access is available throughout the entire day. Previously, this was only allowed for about an hour before the course began.

 

Keep Desktop after Course finishes

A standout feature of using DaDesktop is that course participants have the option to keep using their machine after the course wraps up. 

Please check the link above for complete details on how to arrange this.

Joining a Course

Open the link sent to you by the coordinator (for example, dd4t.dadesktop.com/da/join/xxxxx).

 

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If you're a first-time user, fill in your details under "Account" and click "Sign Up". You can join using the form or, alternatively, sign up with your Google or LinkedIn account.

If you already have an account, just log in.

This will bring you to the Management Console for your course.

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Using the Management Console

Select the "TRAINING ROOM" tab.

Click the "Join Training Room" button.

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The Virtual Training Room will launch in a new browser window. A pop-up will appear asking you to permit clipboard access. Click "Allow".

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Navigating the Training Room as a Participant

The Training Room displays a tab at the top of the screen with links back to the course.

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Controls available at bottom of the screen

• From here you can 'pop out' the screen to another monitor if you need to, and you can also maximize the browser window to full screen.
• Similarly, at the bottom right there's a small blue toggle that appears if you want to access the DaDesktop support chat.

 

Using the new Clipboard function

To transfer text—like web links, functions, etc.—from your own machine into the Virtual Machine, we use the 'Clipboard'.
 

When you connect to your Online Course or Stand-alone Desktop, a pop-up similar to the one shown will appear. Click 'Allow'. Note that images cannot currently be copied to the clipboard when using DaDesktop.

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If you click the small clipboard icon on the address bar, you can adjust the clipboard settings for this website.

Usage

• On Windows and Linux VM Desktops, use clipboard copy and paste as normal from your PC, i.e., Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V.
• On a Mac host, copy as usual and press Shift + Ctrl + V, or mouse middle click, to paste.

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Please get in touch with us if you need further assistance using this feature.
 

Original Clipboard (only to be used for browsers incompatible with the new Clipboard), e.g., IE, or as a fallback.

• To copy text between your machine and the virtual DaDesktop machine, type or paste it into the clipboard area at the bottom left of the screen.
• On the virtual machine, click the middle mouse button (or mouse wheel) to paste the clipboard's contents onto the desktop. This works anywhere in DaDesktop where text can be entered. This assumes you are using the standard Linux DaDesktop virtual machine.
  Mac users - Use Command c or ⌘ c (copy) Command v or ⌘ v (paste). Once pasted into the dd4t clipboard, inside dd4t it becomes Control X, C and Control V for cut, copy, and paste.
• If using the Windows virtual machine, right-click to paste from the clipboard.

To resize the clipboard area, click the green and white arrow icon at the bottom left of the screen.
 

 

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Using the mouse in a multi-user scenario

This feature shows the username of whoever is controlling the mouse right next to the cursor when more than one user connects to the same desktop. It's particularly handy for multi-user setups and for training activities where different people might take charge of the mouse at different times.

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If more than one user is connected to the desktop, their usernames will appear in the centre of the bottom part of the screen.

 

 

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You can enable or disable this feature whenever you like by clicking the green 'Info' button at the bottom of the screen.