The Citrix Workspace app is a cloud-based platform application that is leveraged by millions of users for secure access to virtual desktops and apps from any device. The Citrix team knows how important it is to provide users with a clean, fast user experience, a modern look and feel, and a hassle-free start to the day.
Since we released the Citrix Workspace app in 2019, we have continued to innovate and improve the user experience through streamlined management and integrations. As we detailed in our recent Destination: Hybrid event, we are focused on delivering the best possible app and desktop experience for your enterprise deployments and have been working to give users better access and control of their resources.
That’s why we are excited to announce that we are revamping the cloud-based Workspace user interface (UI) into an ultra-sleek user portal to declutter app and desktop options. We are implementing new features within the UI that will improve the utility and usability of Workspace.
Here is a first look at the new user experience!
There are a number of changes built into the functionality of the new Workspace UI. Let’s take a closer look at how we are improving the user experience.
Streamlined app and desktop view
When diving into the capabilities of the new Citrix Workspace UI, it’s important to note that these changes are specific to the cloud-based UI; we are actively working on improvements to our on premises StoreFront experience as well.
The first step we took in improving the Citrix Workspace experience was to listen to users’ pain points when it comes to first-time use. Even though the current Workspace UI offered a favorites page for easy access to frequently used apps, first-time users landed on a blank page. To access their resources, they would commonly go to the “All Apps” page, search for an app and start it from there, oftentimes forgetting to mark the app as a favorite. So the user would continue to land on a blank page every day.
We have solved this problem and are ensuring no more blank landing pages for first-time users. With the new UI, when the user launches their downloaded Citrix Workspace app or accesses Citrix resources from a browser for the first time, they will be prompted with a screen containing a list of relevant apps. These apps can be decided by the admin, and the users just need to press a single button to add all those apps as a favorite. The admin also has the ability to make a few apps mandatory for specific users.
The screenshot below showcases the Citrix Workspace homepage with favorited apps and desktops on the far left in line with other recently used applications.
Additionally, we have improved and modernized the overall look and feel of the landing page experience. Users are now met with a morning, afternoon, or evening greeting depending on local system time. Navigation has also been moved from the left pane to the top bar beneath the greeting. By default, the home page is active for users; there they’ll see three main tabs:
- The Home tab: This is where users will see their favorite and recently used apps, eliminating the need to search for them every time.
- The Apps tab: All apps are listed here alphabetically with favorites pinned at the beginning. The look and feel of the app tiles have been improved for a cleaner view. Users will see several admin-created categories below the navigation bar, and by default ‘ALL’ will be selected. As categories are clicked, apps belonging to that category will be filtered.
- The Desktop tab: Available desktops will be shown here in a similar tile view.
We have also focused on making search a more useful feature with significant improvements to the user experience. Users will now see recent apps and desktops listed before any search string is typed, and search results will begin to populate as the first letter is typed.
We’ve also introduced fuzzy search where the system will try to match the search text with available resources even when there is a spelling mistake or typo with a match threshold. For example, users can search for all Microsoft office apps by searching “office” even if that is not part of the name of the app like Microsoft Excel. We are also looking to include description search, metadata search, and search based on admin defined tags in the near future.
Introducing Activity Manager
We are incredibly excited to introduce a long awaited feature: a new Activity Manager built into the user interface.
Users will now be able to see all of their running app and desktop sessions in a quick access menu within Workspace and will be able to interact with them. Currently, users have been leveraging a microservice interface to perform session and power management of running sessions. This new feature will remove this tedious method and offer an easy-access, simple-to-use drop-down interface right at the top next to profile icon. Users will see a list of running app and desktop sessions, not just from the local device but also those started on other devices. They can also disconnect apps and log off desktop sessions from their mobile devices on the go.
Activity Manager is planned to be available across platforms, operating systems and all form factors including tablets and mobiles. It will help users access running sessions and apps much faster and help achieve sustainability goals by turning off idle sessions and desktops. If you are interested in leveraging this capability in your test environments, please fill out this form.
There’s more to come!
The best part of these announcements is that we are rolling out our tech preview very soon! Keep an eye out for a message in your Citrix Cloud console for how to take advantage of the new UI. Continue to watch the blog for more information about the latest developments. You won’t want to miss it!
Disclaimer: The development, release and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion and are subject to change without notice or consultation. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.
