Collaboration¶

The PCoIP Ultra Collaboration feature enables a PCoIP session user to share their session with a remote guest collaborator using standard PCoIP Soft Clients. While connected the guest collaborator can view the screen output and hear the audio output of the shared PCoIP session.

When discussing this feature, we'll refer to the first user as the host collaborator, and the second user who joins the session as the guest collaborator.

Requirements¶

• The Collaboration feature must be hosted on a Graphics Agent for macOS 22.01 or higher, with Collaboration and PCoIP Ultra CPU Offload enabled

• Both the host and the guest collaborators must connect using a PCoIP Software Client (version 21.03+ of the PCoIP Software Client for Mac, Windows and Linux are supported).

• Both collaborators must connect using PCoIP software clients that support PCoIP Ultra CPU Offload.

• The guest collaborator must be able to connect the host collaborator's machine via a direct connection on UDP port 4173.

Current Limitations¶

• Only one guest collaborator can connect at a time.

• Collaboration sessions support only one screen. The host collaborator should set their PCoIP Software Client to Fullscreen One Monitor mode prior to starting the collaboration session.

• Resolution mismatches are not scaled. If the host and guest screen resolutions are different, the guest's screen will use scrollbars and letterboxing to display the shared content.

  If high performance client mode is enabled, and if the host's resolution is greater than the guest's, the guest's screen will be clipped.

• The guest collaborator's session can only view and listen to the shared session. The guest collaborator has no ability to control the host's keyboard, mouse, microphone, or any other input device in the session.

• The guest collaborator will not see the mouse cursor in the shared session.

• The guest collaborator can only join via a direct connection on port 4173.

• Collaboration session tokens expire after 2 hours. The expiration time is not currently configurable.

• Collaboration session tokens are single use. Once a collaboration guest has connected, a new token must be generated.

Enabling Collaboration¶

The PCoIP Ultra Collaboration feature is disabled by default. To enable this feature, both PCoIP Ultra CPU Offload and Collaboration must be activated on the Graphics Agent for macOS.

1. Open a Terminal window and enter the following commands:

   sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.teradici.pcoip-agent.plist pcoip.enable_collaboration 1
   sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.teradici.pcoip-agent.plist pcoip.ultra 1
   

2. Reboot the Mac.

See Configuration Guide - Configurable Settings for further details.

Hosting a Collaboration Session¶

To host a PCoIP Ultra Collaboration session, the host collaborator starts a PCoIP session, then generates an invitation token that is passed to the guest collaborator:

1. Connect to a PCoIP session with PCoIP Ultra CPU Offload enabled.

2. Open the Collaboration Management Console by pressing ⌘+spacebar and typing PCoIP Collaboration, or by locating PCoIP Collaboration app in the Applications folder.

3. In the Collaboration Management Console, click Request a new invite.

   

4. The Collaboration Management Console provides two pieces of information that are used to invite the guest collaborator:

   • Link: The guest collaborator will use this link to join your session. This URI may be opened on any Mac, Windows or Linux machine with a PCoIP Software Client 21.03 or newer.

     This URI contains a collaboration token which will expire 2 hours after the Host session was established. The generated URI can only be used once. If the token expires, a new URI must be generated.

   • Invite Code: This is a 6-digit code that confirms the identity of the individual connecting to the collaboration session. A new code is generated along with each new token.

   

5. Share the PCoIP URI and the Collaboration Invitation Code with the guest collaborator.

   Security best practice

   Teradici recommends that these two pieces of information be shared with the guest user in separate communications, reducing risk in the event that a message is inadvertently sent, forwarded, or intercepted by a third party.

6. When the guest collaborator attempts to join the session, the Collaboration Management Console will display options to accept or reject the connection.

   

7. Click Accept Connection to start the collaboration session. Click Reject Collaborator to deny the request. Whether you accept the request or not, the tokenized URI has been used and is now disabled. Subsequent attempts will require a new token.

Ending a Collaboration Session¶

The collaboration session will end when the host stops collaborating, or if either the host or guest collaborator disconnects their PCoIP connection.

To stop collaborating with a guest:

In the Collaboration Management Console, click the Stop collaboration button. This ends the collaboration session. Once the session ends, the host can request a new invite and repeat the process above to start a new session.

Joining a Collaboration Session¶

The guest collaborator can join the session once they have received the PCoIP URI and the Collaboration Invitation code.

1. Open a web browser and go to the PCoIP URI shared with you (you may be able to click this link directly, depending on how it was shared with you).

2. The web browser will warn you that the link is attempting to open the PCoIP Client application. Allow the browser to open the PCoIP client.

3. When the PCoIP client opens, it will prompt you for your name and the Collaboration Invitation Code. The value you enter for your name is used to tell the host who is joining; the Collaboration Invitation Code is the six digit number provided by the host. Enter both values and click Submit.

4. Once the host collaborator accepts your connection request, the Collaboaration screen share will start.

5. To leave the collaboration session, select Connection > Disconnect from the PCoIP Client menu.