Configure Citrix Receiver for Web sites

Citrix Receiver for Web sites enable users to access stores through a webpage. The tasks below enable you to modify settings for your Citrix Receiver for Web sites. Some advanced settings can only be changed by editing the site configuration files. For more information, see Configure Citrix Receiver for Web sites using the configuration files.

Important: In multiple server deployments, use only one server at a time to make changes to the configuration of the server group. Ensure that the Citrix StoreFront management console is not running on any of the other servers in the deployment. Once complete, propagate your configuration changes to the server group so that the other servers in the deployment are updated.

Choose authentication methods

Use the Authentication Methods task to assign authentication methods for users connecting to the Citrix Receiver for Web site. This action allows you to specify a subset of authentication methods for each Receiver for Web site.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.

2. Select the Stores node in the left pane of the Citrix StoreFront management console and select the relevant store that you want to modify from the results pane.

3. In the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure, and choose Authentication Methods to specify the access methods that you want to enable for your users.

   Note:

   † Citrix Receiver for Web site authentication methods marked † are not defined by settings in the store’s authentication methods. Configure these authentication methods independently for each Citrix Receiver for Web site. The other authentication methods described here are defined by the store’s authentication methods. (That is, a selection or deselection made here for the Citrix Receiver for Web site is replaced by the setting for the store described in Create a new deployment.)

   • Select the User name and password check box to enable explicit authentication. Users enter their credentials when they access their stores.
   • Select the SAML Authentication check box to enable integration with a SAML Identity Provider. Users authenticate to an Identity Provider and are automatically logged on when they access their stores. From the Settings drop-down menu:
     • Select Identity Provider to configure the trust to the Identity Provider.
     • Select Service Provider to configure the trust for the Service Provider. This information is required by the Identity Provider.
   • Select the Domain pass-through† check box to enable pass-through of Active Directory domain credentials from users’ devices. Users authenticate to their domain-joined Windows computers and are automatically logged on when they access their stores. In order to use this option, pass-through authentication must be enabled when Citrix Receiver for Windows is installed on users’ devices. Domain pass-through for Citrix Receiver for Web is limited to Windows operating systems using Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, and the browsers rely on successful client detection to communicate with native Citrix Workspace apps. It’s a prerequisite for domain pass-through authentication to function.
   • Select the Smart card† check box to enable smart card authentication. Users authenticate using smart cards and PINs when they access their stores.
   • Select the Pass-through from NetScaler Gateway check box to enable pass-through authentication from NetScaler Gateway. Users authenticate to NetScaler Gateway and are automatically logged on when they access their stores.

4. Once the authentication method has been selected, click OK.

   For more information about modifying settings for authentication methods, see Configure the authentication service.

Add resource shortcuts to other websites

Use the Add Shortcuts to Websites task to provide users with rapid access to desktops and applications from trusted websites hosted on the internal network. You generate URLs for resources available through the Citrix Receiver for Web site and embed these links on your websites. Users click on a link and are redirected to the Receiver for Web site, where they log on if they have not already done so. The Receiver for Web site automatically starts the resource. In the case of applications, users are also subscribed to the application if they have not subscribed previously.

Before you can generate resource shortcuts, you must add the URLs of host websites to the “trusted URLs” list, using the Citrix StoreFront management console or using PowerShell. Trusted URLs are listed in the <trustedUrls> section of the web.config file for the Citrix Receiver for Web site. web.config is typically located in the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\storenameWeb\ directory, where storename is the name specified for the store when it was created.

By default, StoreFront warns users if they attempt to launch resource shortcuts from untrusted websites, but users can still choose to launch the resource. To stop these warnings appearing, in the Stores pane click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure, choose Advanced Settings, and clear the option Prompt for untrusted shortcuts.

Add trusted websites using the management console

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane of the Citrix StoreFront management console and select the site from the results pane.
3. In the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure, and choose Website Shortcuts.
4. Click Add to enter the URL for a website on which you plan to host shortcuts. URLs must be specified in the form http[s]://hostname[:port], where hostname is the fully qualified domain name of the website host and port is the port used for communication with the host if the default port for the protocol is not available. Paths to specific pages on the website are not required. To modify a URL, select the entry in the Websites list and click Edit. Select an entry in the list and click Remove to delete the URL for a website on which you no longer want to host shortcuts to resources available through the Citrix Receiver for Web site.
5. Click Get shortcuts and then click Save when you are prompted to save your configuration changes.
6. Log on to the Citrix Receiver for Web site and copy the URLs you require to your website.

Add trusted websites using PowerShell

You can add ‘trusted’ URLs using the Set-STFWebReceiverApplicationShortcuts PowerShell cmdlet described in https://developer-docs.citrix.com/projects/storefront-powershell-sdk/en/latest/Citrix.StoreFront.SubscriptionsStore/.

Set session timeout

By default, user sessions on Citrix Receiver for Web sites time out after 20 minutes of inactivity. When a session times out, users can continue to use any desktops or applications that are already running but must log on again to access Citrix Receiver for Web site functions such as subscribing to applications.

Use the Session Timeout task in the Manage Receiver for Web Sites to change the session timeout value.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane and in the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure, choose Session Settings. You can specify minutes and hours for Session timeout. The minimum value for all time intervals is 1. The maximum equates to 1 year for each time interval.

Specify different views for applications and desktops

Use the Application and Desktops view on Receiver for Web task in the Manage Receiver for Web Sites to change the session timeout value.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane and in the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure, and choose Client Interface Settings.
3. From the Select view and Default view drop-down menus, select the views you want displayed.

To enable folder view:

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane and in the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites and click Configure.
3. Select Advanced Settings and check Enable folder view.

Stop offering provisioning files to users

By default, Citrix Receiver for Web sites offer provisioning files that enable users to configure Citrix Receiver automatically for the associated store. The provisioning files contain connection details for the store that provides the resources on the site, including details of any NetScaler Gateway deployments and beacons configured for the store.

Use the Enable Receiver configuration task in the Manage Receiver for Web Sites to change the session timeout value.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane and in the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure, and choose Client Interface Settings.
3. Select Enable Receiver configuration.

Configure site behavior for users without Citrix Receiver

Use the Deploy Citrix Receiver task to configure the behavior of a Citrix Receiver for Web site when a Windows or Mac OS X user without Citrix Receiver installed accesses the site. By default, Citrix Receiver for Web sites automatically attempt to determine whether Citrix Receiver is installed when accessed from computers running Windows or Mac OS X.

If Citrix Receiver cannot be detected, the user is prompted to download and install the appropriate Citrix Receiver for their platform. The default download location is the Citrix website, but you can also copy the installation files to the StoreFront server and provide users with these local files instead.

For users who cannot install Citrix Receiver, you can enable Citrix Receiver for HTML5 on your Citrix Receiver for Web sites. Citrix Receiver for HTML5 enables users to access desktops and applications directly within HTML5-compatible web browsers without needing to install Citrix Receiver. Both internal network connections and connections through NetScaler Gateway are supported. However, for connections from the internal network, Citrix Receiver for HTML5 only enables access to resources provided by specific products. Additionally, specific versions of NetScaler Gateway are required to enable connections from outside the corporate network. For more information, see Infrastructure requirements.

For local users on the internal network, access through Citrix Receiver for HTML5 to resources provided by XenDesktop and XenApp is disabled by default. To enable local access to desktops and applications using Citrix Receiver for HTML5, you must enable the ICA WebSockets connections policy on your XenDesktop and XenApp servers. XenDesktop and XenApp use port 8008 for Citrix Receiver for HTML5 connections. Ensure your firewalls and other network devices permit access to this port. For more information, see WebSockets policy settings.

Citrix Receiver for HTML5 can only be used with Internet Explorer over HTTP connections. To use Citrix Receiver for HTML5 with Mozilla Firefox over HTTPS connections, users must type about:config in the Firefox address bar and set the network.websocket.allowInsecureFromHTTPS preference to true.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane of the Citrix StoreFront management console and, in the results pane, select a site. In the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites and click Configure.
3. Choose Deploy Citrix Receiver and specify the response of the Citrix Receiver for Web site if Citrix Receiver cannot be detected on a user’s device.

• If you want the site to prompt the user to download and install the appropriate Citrix Receiver for their platform, select Install locally. Users must install Citrix Receiver to access desktops and applications through the site.
  • If you select Allow users to download HDX engine (plug in), the Citrix Receiver for Web allows the user to download and install Citrix Receiver on the end user client if the Citrix Receiver is not available.
  • If you select Upgrade plug-in at logon, the Citrix Receiver for Web upgrades the Citrix Receiver client when the user logs on. To enable this feature, ensure the Citrix Receiver files are available on the StoreFront server.
  • Select a source from the drop-down menu.
• If you want the site to prompt the user to download and install Citrix Receiver but fall back to Citrix Receiver for HTML5 if Citrix Receiver cannot be installed, select Use Receiver for HTML5 if local Receiver is unavailable. Users without Citrix Receiver are prompted to download and install Citrix Receiver every time they log on to the site.
• If you want the site to enable access to resources through Citrix Receiver for HTML5 without prompting the user to download and install Citrix Receiver, select Always use Receiver for HTML5. With that option selected, users always access desktops and applications on the site through Citrix Receiver for HTML5, provided they use an HTML5-compatible browser. Users without an HTML5-compatible browser have to install the native Citrix Receiver.

Make Citrix Receiver installation files available on the server

By default, when a user accesses a Citrix Receiver for Web site from a computer running Windows or Mac OS X, the site attempts to determine whether Citrix Receiver is installed on the user’s device. If Citrix Receiver cannot be detected, the user is prompted to download and install the appropriate Citrix Receiver for their platform from the Citrix website.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane of the Citrix StoreFront management console and, in the results pane, select a site. In the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites and click Configure.
3. Choose Deploy Citrix Receiver and Source for Receivers, and then browse to the installation files.

Run the prompt to install Citrix Receiver after logon

Before logging on to StoreFront, Citrix Receiver for Web prompts a user to install the latest Citrix Receiver if Citrix Receiver is not already installed on the user’s computer (for Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari users) or the first time that the user visits the site (for Chrome users). Depending on the configuration, the prompt might also display if the user’s installation of Citrix Receiver can be upgraded.

You can configure Citrix Receiver for Web to display the prompt after logging on to StoreFront.

1. On the Windows Start screen or Apps screen, locate and click the Citrix StoreFront tile.
2. Select the Stores node in the left pane of the Citrix StoreFront management console and select the site from the results pane.
3. In the Actions pane, click Manage Receiver for Web Sites, click Configure.
4. Select Advanced Settings and check Prompt to install Citrix Receiver after logon.

Remove Citrix Receiver for Web sites

Use the Manage Receiver for Web Sites in the Actions pane to delete a Citrix Receiver for Web site. When you remove a site, users can no longer use that webpage to access the store.