Each month, the Lucidity Support Team will be providing quick wins and tips that you may find useful to ensure that you are getting a good user experience from the services that we provide. Whilst preparing user training this week, I refreshed myself on the tools that are available to all users on the Managed Desktop which can help you work more effectively.
Pinning Applications to your Task Bar
I regularly use the Search tool to look for the application that I want to open and have completely overlooked the Pin to function that is available when right clicking on an application. Applications can be pinned to the Start Menu as a medium size icon or a small icon in the Task bar at the bottom of the screen. I have pinned my applications to the task bar as I personally find the icons “disappear” within the Start Menu when you have lots of Desktop Shortcuts in the background. In the Task Bar, the icon is always available to click on whatever application or programme you are working in.
How to Pin an Application to your Task Menu
Right click on the application
Click on More >
Click on Pin to taskbar
Task View Icon
I have neglected this “hero” icon until this week.
Working on Support and Projects often leads to multiple applications and programs open all at the same time. I have always used Alt and Tab to navigate between the applications and frequently stop on an application that I did not want to navigate to. Clicking on the Task View icon in the Task bar, which appears next to Search, will display all open applications on the screen and I am only one click away from navigating to the correct application that I want to work on.
New Desktop Function
I have also started to use the New Desktop function on the Task View. This allows me to create a second desktop, which has become handy when I am multi-tasking. I setup my first Desktop with the applications that allow me to work on the Support Desk and the second Desktop is set up with my project-related applications. It has taken some time to get the hang of multiple Desktops but it has helped me to manage and organise my work more effectively. Just hit the + New Desktop button on the Task View window and try it for yourself!
Logging out of your Managed Desktop
It is very simple to exit out of your Managed Desktop session via the X on the Remote Desktop Connection Bar. This method keeps the applications or programs that you are working on open and when you log back on, you do not need to re-open your documents or files. This provides a good user experience when you need to go to a meeting or pop out for lunch.
At the end of each working day, it is best practice to log out of your Desktop via the Start Menu. This ensures that you close all your applications and programmes cleanly and clear all cached resources that are stored in your desktop’s memory. We often receive helpdesk calls where users are experiencing performance issues but have been logged onto the same remote desktop session for 3+ days. Some applications, such as Chrome, will start consuming more of your desktop memory as its cached memory continues to grow over a longer period of time.
If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact Support@lucidity.co.nz
Jocelyn Brittain
