from a java application running in a citrix session, how to know if the client workstation is idle?

Question

we are currently developing java applications that run in a citrix environment. We need to react when the user is idle for a while.

The problem is that if the user is active outside the citrix application, say, for example, in a winword started locally on the client, how could we know it from the application in the citrix session.

We tried jna, that works perfectly if started locally. But in the citrix session, that does not work...

Any idea ?

Answer 1

The short answer is you can't, at least not easily. You would need to have some local program running on the user's local desktop that talks via some communication mechanism to your app on the Citrix Server to tell it when the user is really idle.

How you do this communication is up to you, but if you're really keen you could use the Virtual Channel SDK. This allows you to send your own custom commands over the Citrix HDX channel - this is a pretty low level wire comms mechanism however.

http://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/sdks/virtual-channel-sdk.html