As remote work remains prevalent, Microsoft Teams usage continues to grow. To support our users, Citrix is continuously working toward improving their experience. With that in mind, we are proud to announce that Microsoft Teams Optimization in Citrix Workspace app for Chrome OS 2105.5 and later is now available!
From the 2105.5 release forward, customers can get the complete native Microsoft Teams experience with any published session from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1906 and later. With optimized media and device handling, the audio-video communication is handled entirely on the client, ensuring low server scalability while providing the users with the best experience.
Let’s look at what this feature offers for Citrix Workspace app for Chrome OS users:
- Audio call support: Citrix Workspace app for Chrome OS now offers complete support to 1-on-1 calls and conference calls in single monitor and multi-monitor scenarios.
- Video call support: We support 1-on-1 video calls, and, for group calls, we support the gallery view, large gallery view, and the together mode. The call will start off in gallery mode initially where a maximum of four participant videos can be seen. But once there are more participants, users can switch to the large gallery or together mode to view all the participant videos. Currently video calling support is limited to a single monitor only. In a multi-monitor scenario, Microsoft Teams can be used only within the built-in monitor. If the Microsoft Teams window is moved to the second monitor, video will not be available. However, the audio call will continue to be in progress.
- Screen sharing support: In the current implementation, screen sharing via Microsoft Teams would also allow sharing of the local device contents. Currently, screen sharing is disabled by default to prevent unintended data exposure. Admins can enable this for users within their organization by setting the following configuration in the Google Admin console:
Users with bring-your-own-device (BYOD) deployments can enable screen sharing for on premises StoreFronts by modifying the web.config file as mentioned in our Get started – Using webconfig documentation and set the chromeAppPreferences value as follows:
chromeAppPreferences = ‘{“features”:{“msTeamsOptimization”:{“screenSharing”:true }}}’
The animation below showcases an optimized Microsoft Teams video call running seamlessly within a virtual session on a Chrome OS device:
Sometimes issues arise where performance isn’t as expected, so we wanted to equip you with a few tools to help you with troubleshooting.
First, we need to make sure the optimization state is reflected correctly on the Microsoft Teams application. When you go to About → Version from the menu on the top right corner of Microsoft Teams application, the banner that appears on the top can provide the information you need to understand what’s happening.
When Microsoft Teams is optimized successfully, a “Citrix HDX Optimized” message appear on the banner.
If you get a banner containing just the version number or it says “Citrix HDX Not Connected,” as shown below, it means that optimization was not successful.
When this happens, restart Microsoft Teams to solve the issue. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to share logs with Citrix for additional troubleshooting. Check out this article for more information on collecting logs for troubleshooting.
We can’t wait for you to try it out. Get the latest version of Citrix Workspace app for Chrome OS, which also includes many more exciting updates that are covered in our product documentation.
