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AWS Documentation » NICE Desktop Cloud Visualization » User Guide » Using NICE DCV » Using a Connection File

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

  1. Open the Windows client and connect to the server and session for which to create the file.

  2. Select the NICE DCV server's hostname in the top-right corner and choose Save Connection As.

  3. 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

  1. Create a new .dcv file with the following file name format: file_name.dcv

  2. Open the .dcv file using your preferred text editor.

  3. Add the [version] group and format 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 and format parameter, parsing fails.

  4. Add the required parameter groups using the following format:

    [group_name]

    For more information about the parameter groups, see Supported Parameters

  5. 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

  6. 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 1.0.

If your .dcv file does not include this parameter, parsing fails.

[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.exe path\connection_file_name.dcv

  • Linux and macOS client

    $ dcvviewer path/connection_file_name.dcv