Using a Connection File
The Windows, Linux, and macOS native clients enable you to create a connection file that you can use to instantly connect to a NICE DCV session.
Creating the Connection File
The connection file is a text-based file with a .dcv
file extension. The
format of the .dcv
file is similar to that of a typical
.ini
file, where the file includes [groups]
followed
by the parameters and their values. The groups and parameters take the following
format:
[
group_name
]parameter_name
=parameter_value
For example:
[
options
]fullscreen
=true
For the Windows client, you can create a connection file for a specific NICE DCV session directly from the client, or you can create a new connection file from scratch using a text editor. For the Linux and macOS clients, you can only create a connection file from scratch using a text editor.
Note
The procedure for creating a connection file from scratch using a text editor is the same for the Windows, Linux, and macOS clients.
To create a connection file from the Windows client
-
Open the Windows client and connect to the server and session for which to create the file.
-
Select the NICE DCV server's hostname in the top-right corner and choose Save Connection As.
-
In the Save As window, provide a file name and destination folder, and choose Save.
By default, when you create a connection file using the Windows client, the file includes
the format
, host
, port
, user
,
and proxytype
parameters. These parameters are required to connect to
the session from which the file was created. You can manually customize or add
parameters at any time by editing the file using a text editor.
To create a connection file from scratch using a text editor
-
Create a new
.dcv
file with the following file name format:file_name
.dcv -
Open the
.dcv
file using your preferred text editor. -
Add the
[version]
group andformat
parameter to the top of the file in the following format:[version] format=1.0
Important
If the
.dcv
file does not include the[version]
group andformat
parameter, parsing fails. -
Add the required parameter groups using the following format:
[
group_name
]For more information about the parameter groups, see Supported Parameters
-
Add the parameters and parameter values below the groups using the following format:
parameter_name
=parameter_value
Note
-
Parameter names are case-sensitive.
-
Do not enclose string parameter values in quotes.
For more information about the parameters and parameter values, see Supported Parameters
-
-
Save the changes and close the
.dcv
file.
You can also follow this procedure to add additional parameters to an existing connection file at any time.
Supported Parameters
Currently, the .dcv
file supports parameters in three parameter groups—[version]
,
[connect]
, and [options]
. The following tables list the groups and their available
parameters.
[version]
Parameters
Important
This is a compulsory group. If your .dcv
file does not include this group, parsing fails.
The following table lists the parameters that can be specified in the [version]
group.
Parameter | Type | Default value | Description |
---|---|---|---|
format | string |
Important This is a compulsory parameter. The parameter value must be If your |
[connect]
Parameters
The following table lists the parameters that can be specified in the [connect]
group.
Parameter | Type | Default value | Description |
---|---|---|---|
host | String | The hostname of the NICE DCV server hosting the session. | |
port | Integer | 8443 | The port to use when connecting to the NICE DCV server. |
weburlpath | String | A custom path on the NICE DCV server to which to connect. For example, if you
specify customPath , the client attempts to connect
to host:port/customPath .
|
|
sessionid | String | The ID of the NICE DCV session to which to connect. | |
authtoken | String | The authentication token to be used for the connection. If you specify an authtoken then
you must also specify a sessionid . When using authtoken , you can omit the
user and password parameters.
|
|
user | String | The user name to use when connecting to the NICE DCV server. | |
password | String | The password to use when connecting to the NICE DCV server. The password is not encrypted. | |
proxytype | String | SYSTEM | The proxy type to be used. Valid values include: HTTPS , HTTP ,
SOCKS5|SOCKS , SYSTEM , or NONE|DIRECT . If you specify
SYSTEM , your computer's proxy settings are used.
|
proxyhost | String | The address of the proxy server to be used if connecting through a proxy server. | |
proxyport | Integer | The port to be used if connecting through a proxy server. | |
proxyuser | String | The user name to be used for proxy authentication. | |
proxypassword | String | The password to be used for proxy authentication. The password is not encrypted. |
[options]
Parameters
The following table lists the parameters that can be specified in the [options]
group.
Parameter | Type | Default value | Description |
---|---|---|---|
fullscreen | Boolean | false | Indicates whether the client should start in full screen mode. |
useallmonitors | Boolean | false | Indicates whether the client should use all monitors when starting full screen mode. |
promptreconnect | Boolean | true | Indicates whether the client should prompt you to reconnect after you disconnect from
a session. If
the parameter is set to true , you are redirected to the log in screen when
you disconnect. If the parameter is set to false , the client closes when
you disconnect.
|
Executing the Connection File
To execute a .dcv
connection file, navigate to the file and double-click it.
Alternatively, specify the file path as an argument for the dcvviewer
command. For example:
-
Windows client
C:\>
dcvviewer.exepath
\connection_file_name
.dcv -
Linux and macOS client
$
dcvviewerpath
/connection_file_name
.dcv