Using DaDesktop as a Participant: A How-To Guide

Objective

This guide is intended for participants (students) who want to join a course hosted on DaDesktop.

 

Overview of DaDesktop

DaDesktop is a purpose-built cloud platform for IT training, created for both instructors and learners. It leverages the cutting-edge DaDesktop® technology to deliver virtual desktops, giving each participant a complete online desktop of their own. During sessions, they can work through exercises while the trainer supervises.

Its three main parts are:

1. Management Console – a web-based interface for managing the system, such as starting and stopping cloud desktops.
2. Training Room – a shared environment that supports remote desktop sharing, audio, chat, lesson recording, and more.
3. Remote Desktop – a virtual machine (either Windows or Linux), with each user getting their own machine.
    

Requirements

To join from home or the office, you’ll need the following:

• A computer (PC or laptop) with a steady internet connection (at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload). Windows, Mac, and Linux are all supported.
• The Chrome or Firefox web browser
• A decent quality microphone or headset (using a telephone is a last resort and not recommended)
• A quiet space, free from outside distractions and noise (a coffee shop won’t cut it)
   

Recommended:

• A webcam
• A second monitor – you can use one display to keep an eye on the trainer, and the other to run your DaDesktop Virtual Machine for hands-on labs.
• Turn off any VPN before joining the course
• If at all possible, disable any security software that might interfere with your network connection
• If you can, use an Ethernet connection. If you must use Wi-Fi, test your internet speed beforehand (e.g., at speedtest.net)

You might want to try joining your course and exploring the DaDesktop virtual classroom before the official start day. Just keep in mind that, on pre-course days, you can only access the desktop itself for 15 minutes.

 

Course Access

Bear in mind that, outside of the actual course days, access to your course is limited to a 15-minute window.

On course days, you can access it all day long. In the past, access was only available an hour or so before the course started.

 

Keep Desktop after Course finishes

A great perk of DaDesktop is that participants can keep using their machine after the course ends. 

Check the link above for complete instructions.

Joining a Course

Click the link provided by the coordinator (for example, dd4t.dadesktop.com/da/join/xxxxx).

 

Image 01

If you’re a first-time user, fill in your details under “Account” and hit “Sign Up”. You can sign up using the form or by connecting your Google or LinkedIn account.

If you already have an account, just log in.

This will bring you to the Management Console for your course.

Image 02

Using the Management Console

Go to the “TRAINING ROOM” tab.

Hit the “Join Training Room” button.

Image 03

The Virtual Training Room opens in a new browser window. You’ll see a pop-up asking if you want to let items be copied to the clipboard – just click “Allow”.

Image 04

Navigating the Training Room as a Participant

The Training Room appears with a tab at the top that gives you links to go back to the course.

Image 05

Controls available at bottom of the screen

• From here, you can pop the screen out onto a second monitor if needed, and you can also maximize the browser to fill the screen.
• There’s also a small blue toggle at the bottom right that opens the DaDesktop support chat if you need it.

 

Using the new Clipboard function

To transfer text—like web links, code snippets, etc.—from your own computer to the Virtual Machine, we rely on the Clipboard.
 

When you log into your Online Course or a stand-alone Desktop, you’ll see a pop-up similar to the one shown here. Choose ‘Allow’. For now, images can’t be copied via the clipboard in DaDesktop.

Image 06

 

Clicking the small clipboard icon in the address bar lets you adjust the clipboard permissions for this site.

Usage

• On Windows and Linux VM desktops, use the standard copy and paste shortcuts from your PC: Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.
• On a Mac, copy normally and then press Shift+Ctrl+V (or click the middle mouse button) to paste.

Image 07

Feel free to reach out to us if you need extra help with this feature..
 

Original Clipboard (only for browsers that don’t support the new Clipboard – like IE – or as a fallback)

• To move text from your own computer to the virtual DaDesktop machine, type or paste it into the clipboard area at the bottom left of the screen.
• On the virtual machine, click the middle mouse button (or scroll wheel) to paste the clipboard contents onto the desktop. This works anywhere in DaDesktop where you can type text—assuming you’re using the standard Linux DaDesktop virtual machine.
  Mac users: use Command+C or ⌘+C to copy, and Command+V or ⌘+V to paste. Once the text is in the dd4t clipboard, inside dd4t, use Control+X, Control+C, and Control+V for cut, copy, and paste.
• If you’re using the Windows virtual machine, right-click to paste from the clipboard.

To adjust the size of the clipboard area, click the green-and-white arrow icon at the bottom left of the screen.
 

 

Image 08

Using the mouse in a multi-user scenario

A new feature now displays the username of whoever is controlling the mouse right next to the cursor when multiple users are connected to the same desktop. This comes in handy in multi-user setups and during training exercises where different people take turns controlling the mouse.

Image 09

 

If more than one user is connected to the same desktop, their usernames appear at the centre bottom of the screen.

 

 

Image 10

You can turn this feature on or off anytime by clicking the green ‘Info’ button at the bottom of the screen.