Navigating your Frame Account¶
Now that you’ve taken the time to review the Getting Started Guide, it’s time to move on to the main event: Navigating your Frame account. While there are many variables you can encounter with your Frame account, there are some universal basics that need to be understood first. In this guide we will review how you may access your session, basic session characteristics, basic account management, how to understand session performance, and much more.
Use the links below to jump to different sections of this guide, if needed.
Launch your Session¶
As we defined it in the glossary of the previous guide, the Launchpad refers to the end-user-facing part of the Frame interface where users can go to launch and manipulate applications. There are a couple of different ways your administrator may have given you to access your Frame environment. After signing in, you will likely be taken to your Application or Desktop Launchpad.
An Application Launchpad¶
A Desktop Launchpad¶
To start a session, simply click on the application you would like to launch. If your Launchpad shows only the “Desktop” icon, you will launch the entire desktop environment and can access all of your apps within the session. If you see individual applications, simply click on the app you would like to run. Application Launchpads only allow end users to run the application selected from the Launchpad. For Application Launchpad users, closing the application window within the Frame session will disconnect you and take you back to your Launchpad. When a session is disconnected, it will still be running and accessible from the Launchpad.
System Indicators¶
The system status indicator is located in the bottom right corner of your Launchpad. The indicator color and status lets you know the state of your session:
Status Indicator Color |
Meaning |
|---|---|
Green |
Green indicates that your session is available and will launch in seconds, as the resources have already been made available. |
Yellow |
Yellow indicates that your session is available, but will take a couple of minutes to allocate resources first. |
Red |
Red indicates that there are no available sessions. If you cannot access your Frame environment, you will need to contact your account administrator. |
Multiple Launchpads¶
Your administrator may have provided you with access to multiple Launchpads. Switching between Launchpads is simple. Click on the Launchpad icon in the top center of your browser window.
Your Launchpad selector displays the account name, IaaS provider, and Launchpad name for each Launchpad.¶
You can verify you are using the correct Launchpad by referencing the breadcrumbs in the upper left corner of your window.
As shown here, we’re using the “Applications” Launchpad of our test account.¶
Switch your System Type¶
If your administrator has set up your account with more than one type of system (instance), you can switch the system based on the needs of your application. For example, you may normally work on text-based applications like Word and Excel, but occasionally need access to 3D design apps like Autodesk Maya. Text-based applications will do well with an Air 4GB instance type, however, if users need access to a GPU to run a graphically-intensive app, they can switch to a Pro 16GB system with 4 CPU cores and an NVIDIA GRID GPU.
To switch your system type from your Launchpad, click on the arrow next to your current system type in the bottom right portion of your screen.
A list of available system types will appear, select the desired system type.
Whether you are launching to a desktop environment or launching an app, your session will start with the most recently selected system type.
Note
If your Launchpad appears “grayed out” (see below) and the system status is listed as “unavailable” after switching, your administrator may not have set up capacity for that system type. Contact your administrator if you feel this is an error.
Session Basics¶
In this section we’ll outline how to perform basic actions and how to interpret the UI elements in your session. You will likely see some additional details not covered here. Don’t worry! The next guide will go into more detail about some of the session settings and features that your administrator may have enabled for your account. For now, we’ll start with the basics.
Start your Session¶
As mentioned in the section above, launching a session is as simple as clicking on an icon on your Launchpad. Once you have selected your application/desktop session, your session will launch in a couple of minutes or a couple of seconds, depending on your system status.
Our session is “powering on” which means that backend resources are powering on to create a session for us.¶
For this example, we launched Chrome from our application Launchpad. After a minute or two, we can now use Chrome in our Frame session.
A browser within a browser window!¶
Gear Menu¶
In the bottom left corner of your Frame Status Bar, you will see a gear icon 
. Click on the icon to see what actions are available to you.
Applications: Any apps available to you will be displayed on the top of your Gear menu as shown above. Bold application titles with a dot to the left of the icon are currently running and active.
- Show/hide stats: This action toggles the display of session statistics. When enabled, you will see the current bitrate of your session in the bottom right corner of the status bar. Clicking on the “Show/hide stats” option will display additional details, as shown below.
Regarding Session Performance
While Frame applications run on virtually any combination of browser, OS, and device, some perform better than others. Here’s a quick reference that you can use to compare to the performance on your system:
Chrome: when possible, we use hardware acceleration called PNaCL (this is Google’s proprietary technology). Expected decode time per frame on a mid-range PC, Mac, or Chromebook is <10 ms. On a faster machine (e.g., high-end PC or MacBook Pro), the decoding time per frame can drop to < 2ms. When PNaCL is not available (e.g., on AndroidOS), we fall back to pure JavaScript decoding, which is still very fast in Chrome.
Firefox: Frame takes advantage of Firefox’s support for asm.js, an optimizable, low-level subset of JavaScript. Video decode times per frame are in the 5-10 ms range on most modern desktop/laptop platforms (PCs, Macs). Decoding performance is great on a large range of devices – most computers sold in the last 5-6 years should have no problem running apps on Frame with great performance.
Safari: While there’s no equivalent of Google’s PNaCL or Firefox’s asm.js, Apple’s javascript engine is very fast. Expected video decoding time is <10ms on a MacBook Air and < 5ms on MacBook Pro.
Edge: Native JavaScript performance in Edge (for the purpose of decoding an incoming Frame stream) is OK, but lags behind other mainstream browsers, especially on underpowered devices. If you see video decode times in excess of 100 ms per frame, the Frame Protocol will adjust the frame rate, which might be reported as an increased network latency as well (as some frames are dropped during the adjustment).
Change resolution: Allows you to select the desired resolution for your Frame session. “Dynamic” is the default and will adjust the resolution based on the size of your browser window.
Settings: Clicking on “Settings” will launch a new window within your session where you can manipulate streaming variables for your session.
Disconnect: As mentioned in the glossary, “Disconnecting” a session will take you back to your Launchpad but leave the session running in the background. It is the equivalent to turning off your monitor while your computer is running in a local environment.
Close session: Closing a session will close and end the session (notice the power icon next to the action). Only close your session after you have saved your work and are ready to completely exit.
Frame Status Bar¶
The Frame Status bar displays an abundance of useful information to help you navigate and use your session. Here are the default icons you will see on your Frame Status bar and how to interpret them.
Session Element |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
The amount and color of indicator dots reflects the strength and health of your connection. Click on the dots to recheck the bandwidth at any time. |
|
Displays how many milliseconds of time it takes for a packet of data to travel from your browser to the virtual machine and back again. This affects the responsiveness of your session inputs. |
|
Reflects the percentage of the window that the session display area is utilizing. |
|
The first value displays the amount of time you have been using your session. The second value (after the slash) displays the total amount of time your administrator has allotted for your session. |
|
Clicking on the input language listed on your status bar will display a new dialog where you can select your desired input language. Multiple languages are configured by your administrator. Frame Terminal will remember your last input language setting. |
|
Toggles the on-screen keyboard. |
|
Toggles output audio from the session. |
|
Toggles full screen/windowed mode. |
Note
See some icons on your Frame status bar that are missing here? We’ll cover the additional Frame features that may be enabled for your account in the next guide.
End your Session¶
Similar to using your home computer, there are a couple of ways to end your session. Before you move forward with disconnecting from or closing your session, you should save your work (if necessary) using the method given to you by your administrator. We will discuss data storage in the next guide, since not all Frame end users are given the option to save their data depending on the use case.
Disconnect¶
Using the “Disconnect” option will keep the instance running in the background and return you back to your Launchpad. You can resume your session at any time as long as it is within your “idle timeout” window. The idle timeout setting refers to the amount of time (in minutes) that a session will remain active after an authenticated user disconnects from the session. The default duration for this setting is 10 minutes, although your administrator may have specified a different value.
If you are accessing your session from an application Launchpad, closing the application within the session will disconnect you. The instance will remain active in case you decide you would like to launch another application from your Launchpad.
Select “Quit now” or “Resume”¶
You can resume your session by clicking the “Resume” button at the bottom of your Launchpad.
Warning
If you close your browser window or quit Frame App while you’re in a session, your session will continue to run. You can resume the session by following the instructions listed above. If you would like to completely close the session, please see the section below.
Close Session¶
“Close session” will end your session. This is the equivalent to using the “Shut Down” option in Windows. Any unsaved data will be deleted and the instance will be returned to a “known good state” or the same state it was in when you first started the session.
When you’re ready, click on the Gear menu in the bottom left corner of your window:
Click “Close session” to terminate your session.¶
User Profile¶
The user profile section of the Xi Frame UI consists of multiple components that allow you to view and manage your account preferences, storage provider options, and Personal Drive backups (if enabled). This page can be found by clicking on your user name in the upper right corner of your Launchpad and clicking “Edit.”
General¶
You will be taken to the “General” tab of your user profile page. Here you can edit your name and change your password, if desired. This page also provides pertinent account details such as your IdP and accounts/roles.
Hover over the Launchpad name under “Roles” for more details.¶
Preferences¶
The next tab down is the “Preferences” tab where you can toggle certain account preferences.
Desktop Auto Launch: If enabled, the Desktop Auto Launch feature sends users directly into their desktop session, skipping the Launchpad completely. This eliminates the requirement for the user to have to click on the sole “Desktop” icon of their desktop-only Launchpad.
Terminal Shortcuts: Terminal shortcuts can be used in the session to perform various actions.
Windows key combo |
Mac key combo |
Action |
|---|---|---|
Alt + R |
Option + R |
Displays resolution menu |
Alt + S |
Option + S |
Displays settings menu |
Alt + Q |
Option + Q |
Brings up dialog to disconnect session |
Alt + C |
Option + C |
Brings up dialog to quit session |
Alt + ~ |
Option + ~ |
Toggles active application windows within the session |
Note
Terminal shortcuts are intended for those using Frame via browser. These shortcuts are not available for Frame App at this time.
Quick Launch: Quick Launch allows users to create their own custom Launchpad to easily access multiple apps across different accounts from a single location. Check out our Quick Launch documentation for more information on how this Early Access feature works.
Storage Providers¶
The Xi Frame platform integrates with four major cloud storage providers: Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box. Users have the option (if enabled by their administrator) to log in to their cloud storage accounts while in the session.
If you wish to attach any of your cloud storage accounts to your session automatically upon session startup, you can do so by navigating to the “Storage providers” tab of your profile page. Simply click the plus symbol next to the desired cloud storage provider, as shown below.
You will immediately be prompted to log in to your cloud storage account. Once you have successfully logged in, your cloud storage service will be automatically attached to any Xi Frame session you access from this account.
Note
Cloud storage provider integrations must be enabled by your administrator for your account in order to be accessible from your Frame session. If you do not see your preferred cloud storage provider from your session after enabling it for your profile, your account administrator may have chosen to install your cloud storage provider driver directly within the VMs or disabled the cloud storage provider integrations. Please contact your account administrator.
You can disconnect your cloud storage from your profile at any time by clicking on the minus symbol listed next to your provider.
Your Frame session will now launch with your cloud storage account already connected. You can access it from the session by going to your file explorer and clicking on the drive (just as you would with any other attached drive).
Advanced¶
The “Advanced” tab provides detailed information about your authentication assertions. Your administrator may ask you to access this page for debugging or assessing validation problems with your account.
Notification Center¶
Lastly, the “Notification center” tab allows you to check on and subscribe to account activities. If you are an administrator for any of your accounts and would like to know more, you can check out our Notification Center documentation for more information.
Logout¶
If you would like to log out of your Frame account, simply click on your name in the upper right corner of the page and select “Logout”
Troubleshooting¶
General¶
As an end user, you will likely need to reach out to your organization’s IT help desk for any issues you may run into with your Frame account. If you are presented with an “Oops!” error, please copy the “Event ID” provided to you in the dialog:
Note
To ensure the highest efficiency, please report the time the issue occurred and the Event ID to your organization’s IT help desk representative along with the description of the problem.
Ready to learn about some of the optional features that may be enabled for your Frame account? Continue on to the next guide to see what neat things you can do!
Network¶
If you notice network performance issues in your Frame sessions, the Frame Support team recommends evaluating a few things before creating a support case. While connected to a session, there are a couple of data points that can help diagnose connection issues: the bandwidth indicator and network latency data.
Bandwidth Indicator¶
The Bandwidth Indicator (5 dots next to the gear menu of the Frame status bar) represents how much bandwidth is being used by your connection to the Frame session. Network bandwidth is the volume of data per unit of time that an internet connection can handle. For Frame, your “downstream” bandwidth is most important, especially if you are working with apps that have a lot of graphical motion and changes and/or you are using a large monitor with a high resolution (which results in more data needing to be streamed). Upstream bandwidth, however, also affects performance - and while it does not need to be as much as your downstream bandwidth, being as close to a “balanced” connection as possible is best. In general, we recommend a downstream bandwidth of at least 3 Mbps and at least 1 Mbps up.
If your connection’s bandwidth is adequate, you should see four or five green dots. If the bandwidth is less than desirable, the dots will reflect this with fewer dots and turn orange, and ultimately red (one dot, which is a very poor connection). The dots translate to Mbps per below:
1 dot: less than 1Mbps
2 dots: 1 - 2 Mbps
3 dots: 2 - 4 Mbps
4 dots: 4 - 8 Mbps
5 dots: more than 8 Mbps
You can initiate a new bandwidth measurement any time by clicking on the Bandwidth Indicator.
If you would like to see your local network’s bandwidth, you can visit SpeedTest.net to see what you have to work with.
Network Latency¶
The Network Latency indicator shows how many milliseconds of time it takes for a packet of data to travel one way from one point to another. In our case, this affects the responsiveness of your session to your inputs. For example, when you click your mouse - that information is sent to our remote servers, the movement is interpreted, and the change in the screen is sent back to you. Lower is better; if you experience high latency, there may be something affecting the routing of the packets to the server. Here are a few possible issues you may consider:
Network congestion: Network congestion can happen on under-powered shared Wi-Fi connections or networks that are shared by too many users at a time (schools, coffee shops, airports, etc.). Network congestion can also be caused by excessive data usage (i.e. large file uploads/downloads or multiple users streaming videos at once).
Poor network routing: On occasion, ISPs or networks will have rules that cause the physical route of the data to travel farther than desired which can result in excess network latency.
Connectivity Issues¶
If you find that you are unable to connect to a Frame session at all, we recommend you visit WebSocketsTest.com to ensure that your network and browser supports HTML5 WebSockets. Your browser and network must pass each test in order to be compatible with the Frame service.
If you continue to have issues, please reach out to us by creating a support case.