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AWS Documentation » Amazon WorkSpaces » User Guide » Amazon WorkSpaces Clients » Amazon WorkSpaces Windows Client Application

Amazon WorkSpaces Windows Client Application

The following information will help you get started with the Amazon WorkSpaces Windows client application.

Requirements

The Amazon WorkSpaces Windows client application requires Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.

Setup and Installation

Download and install the Windows client application from Amazon WorkSpaces Client Downloads.

Connecting to Your WorkSpace

To connect to your WorkSpace, complete the following procedure.

To connect to your WorkSpace

  1. The first time that you run the client application, you are prompted for your registration code, which is contained in your welcome email. The Amazon WorkSpaces client application uses the registration code and username to identify which WorkSpace to connect to. When you launch the client application later, the same registration code is used. You can enter a different registration code by launching the client application and choosing Options, Register on the login screen menu.

  2. Enter your username and password in the login screen and choose Sign In. If your Amazon WorkSpaces administrator has enabled multi-factor authentication for your organization's WorkSpaces, you are prompted for a passcode to complete your login. Your Amazon WorkSpaces administrator will provide more information about how to obtain your passcode.

  3. If your Amazon WorkSpaces administrator has not disabled the "Remember Me" feature, you are prompted to save your credentials securely so that you can connect to your WorkSpace easily while the client application remains running. Your credentials are securely cached up to the maximum lifetime of your Kerberos ticket.

    After the client application connects to your WorkSpace, your WorkSpace desktop is displayed.

  4. (Optional) If your WorkSpace uses an AD Connector directory, you can update the maximum lifetime of the Kerberos ticket by following the steps in Configuring Kerberos Policies in the Microsoft TechNet Library. If you need to disable the "Remember Me" feature, search for help in the Amazon WorkSpaces forum.

An interruption of network connectivity causes an active session to be disconnected. This can be caused by events such as closing the laptop lid, or the loss of your wireless network connection. The Amazon WorkSpaces client application for Windows attempts to reconnect the session automatically if network connectivity is regained within a certain amount of time. The default session resume timeout is 20 minutes, but this timeout may be modified by your network administrator through your domain's Group Policy settings.

Client Views

You can switch to full screen mode by choosing View, Show Fullscreen in the client application menu.

While in full screen mode, you can switch back to window mode by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen. The client application menu is displayed, and you can choose View, Exit Fullscreen in the client application menu.

Client Language

You can select the language displayed by the client by performing the following steps.

Note

In the client, Japanese is available in all regions. However, Japanese is only available in Tokyo for individual WorkSpaces.

To select the client language

  1. In the Amazon WorkSpaces client application, open the Advanced Settings dialog box.

  2. Enter your desired language in the Select a language list and choose Save.

  3. Restart the client.

Display Support

Amazon WorkSpaces supports a maximum of four displays and a maximum resolution of 3840x2160 (ultra-high definition, or UHD). The maximum supported resolution depends on the number of displays, as shown in the following table.

Displays Resolution

2

3840x2160

4

1920x1200

The Amazon WorkSpaces client application extracts the Extended Display Information Data (EDID) of all attached displays and determines the best compatibility match before starting the session. If you have a High DPI display, the client application automatically scales the streaming window according to your local DPI settings.

Proxy Server

If your network requires you to use a proxy server to access the Internet, you can enable the Amazon WorkSpaces client application to use a proxy for HTTPS (port 443) traffic. Proxy with authentication is not currently supported.

Note

The Amazon WorkSpaces client applications use the HTTPS port for updates, registration, and authentication. The desktop streaming connections to the WorkSpace require port 4172 to be enabled, and do not go through the proxy server.

To use a proxy server

  1. In the Amazon WorkSpaces client application, open the Advanced Settings dialog box.

  2. In the Proxy Server Setting area, check Use Proxy Server, enter the proxy server address and port, and choose Save.

Command Shortcuts

The Amazon WorkSpaces Windows client supports the following command shortcuts:

  • Ctrl+Alt+Enter - Toggle fullscreen display

  • Ctrl+Alt+F12 - Disconnect session

Troubleshooting

After logging in, the client application only displays a white page and I cannot connect to my WorkSpace.

This problem can be caused by expired VeriSign/Symantec certificates on your client computer (not your WorkSpace). Remove the expired certificate and launch the client application again.

To find and remove expired VeriSign/Symantec certificates

  1. In the Windows Control Panel, choose Internet Options.

  2. In the Internet Properties dialog box, choose Content, Certificates.

  3. In the Certificates dialog box, choose the Intermediate Certificate Authorities tab. In the list of certificates, select all certificates that were issued by VeriSign or Symantec that are also expired, and choose Remove. Do not remove any certificates that are not expired.

  4. On the Trusted Root Certificate Authorities tab, select all certificates that were issued by VeriSign or Symantec that are also expired, and choose Remove. Do not remove any certificates that are not expired.

  5. Close the Certificates dialog box as well as the Internet Properties dialog box.

Release Notes

The following table describes the changes to each release of the Windows client application.

Release Changes

2.4.9

Minor fixes

2.4.8

  • Adds support for uniform resource identifiers (URIs), which enable login orchestration

  • Minor fixes

2.4.7

  • Resolves an issue with the user interface text not displaying correctly on Microsoft Surface Pro 4 models (Windows only).

  • Adds support for time zone redirection for more regions: America/Indianapolis America/Indiana/Marengo America/Indiana/Vevay America/Indiana/Indianapolis

  • Includes user interface text changes for the Login page

2.4.6

  • Adds support for configuring the logging level to include advanced logging for debug scenarios

  • Minor improvements to session provision handling

2.4.5

Adds a check to ensure that certificates issued by Amazon Trust Services are trusted by Windows during installation. By default, an up-to-date Windows local Root CA list includes Starfield Service Root Certificate Authority - G2, and therefore trusts Amazon Trust Services certificates. If the local Root CA list is outdated, the client installer installs the Starfield Service Root Certificate Authority - G2 certificate to the system. If you do not have administrator access to the client device, you'll be prompted to confirm the installation of the Root CA certificate.

2.4.4

  • Minor fixes

  • Improves copy and paste

2.4.2

Minor fixes

2.4.0

  • New logo

  • Improves the user interface and stability

2.3.7

Addresses a grey screen issue that occurs when displays are in different orientations

2.3.6

Localization enhancements

2.3.5

Minor improvements

2.3.3

  • Improves the support for multiple monitors

  • Localization enhancements

  • Improves security and performance

2.3.2

Installer fixes

2.3.1

Minor fixes

2.3.0

  • Improves support for multiple monitors

  • Improves security and stability

2.2.3

Resolves minor bugs and improves stability

2.2.1

  • Adds support for the German language

  • Resolves time zone mapping issues for some regions

  • Resolves a connection issue on Russian systems

  • Improves the Japanese user interface

  • Improves stability

2.1.3

Closing the client expires the reconnect token. You can easily reconnect to your WorkSpace as long as the client is running.

2.1.1

Minor improvement to protocol handling

2.1.0

  • Adds support for the following new WorkSpace states: STOPPING and STOPPED

  • Resolves minor bugs and improves stability

2.0.8

  • Resolves a conflict with running iTunes or Garmin processes during installation

  • Adds support for a password-free installation experience if installing only for the current user

  • Resolves an issue with Excel formatting when copying and pasting data in BIFF5 format

  • If Remember Me is disabled, the username is not shown on restart

  • Adds a confirmation dialog box when deleting a registration code.

  • Improves stability

2.0.6

Resolves bugs and includes other improvements

2.0.4

  • Adds support for audio in, enabling you to make calls or attend web conferences

  • Adds support for devices with high DPI screens

  • Adds support for saving registration codes, enabling you to switch WorkSpaces without re-entering the registration codes

  • Improves support for Windows 10

  • Improves usability and stability

1.1.80

  • Adds CloudWatch metrics for session latency, session launch time, and session disconnects

  • Improves auto session resume so that you are interrupt less frequently when network conditions are degraded

  • Resolves specific issues and improves stability

1.1.6

  • Adds support for status notifications. The client application notifies you about the state of your WorkSpace when it cannot to the WorkSpace.

  • Improves the reconnect experience. The client automatically redirects to the login screen after 10 hours of inactivity. You can reconnect again if the client fails to launch a session using reconnect.

  • Adds support for auto session resume. The client application automatically attempts to resume your session if network connectivity is lost and then regained within the session resume timeout (default value is 20 minutes).

  • Improves network health checks so they are faster and more reliable

  • Adds client-side validation of registration codes

  • Improves the synchronization of Caps Lock and Num Lock status between the local device and the WorkSpace

1.1.4

  • Adds support for saving your credentials, enabling you to easily reconnect to your WorkSpace

  • Improves advanced connection health checks

  • Improves stability

1.0.8

  • Introduces a full-file installation package

  • Improves network connectivity checks

  • Adds version information to the About window

1.0

Initial release