How to Web-Enable your Windows Applications

Out and About?

Is there one piece of software that many could no longer do without? It has to be mobile-Web applications publishing software such as our TSplus Web Application Portal .

Indeed, PCs have Microsoft applications for all kinds of tasks we complete, often daily. Windows and other apps exist for purposes such as organisation, email, design, payroll, word-processing, entertainment, planning and more. What about being able to use those remotely? Imagine using your usual PC or applications, but from a café, another workstation in the office, a colleague’s or friend’s home, the campsite, or… just walking down the road?

Web, but Mobile! Why Web-Enable your Windows Applications?

Here is the idea: What about taking all these applications, and making them available on all your other devices and to all your staff members? Now, would you rather make copies of them to be stored and run everywhere else needed? Or would you prefer a solution that uses up less time and memory? What's more without generating CALs or the like?

How about being able to access them from anywhere, at any time, regardless of the bandwidth and connection and regardless of the device and its memory or power? The other hurdle we want to avoid is incompatibility. How can we use that Windows software on Linux or Mac for example?

This is where TSplus comes in, with its remote software and its HTML5 Web Portal. TSplus Remote Access are a first step in that direction. With the TSplus Web Application Portal, there will be no more stopping your business or your users.

Application Publishing: a Time and Money Saver

Indeed, imagine one administrator who has to deploy one application to 50 or 500 PCs dotted around a town or the country. Whether it is an installation or an upgrade, there is little difference. If he had to go to each machine to do it, he would still be working next year. If he could do it online but still had to install it onto each PC, it would take weeks or months. But if he installs it on one PC or server and then makes it available via TSplus software to those 50, 500 or more users, then it’s a matter of moments.

In fact, users could be at work before break using an old version. Then they could pick up after break with an upgraded version of the application. The best being that it would all happen without them noticing the change even took place.

How to Web-Enable Legacy Windows Applications

TSplus has chosen this way of making software available over the Internet for these reasons amongst others. If you needed one more reason, here it is: TSplus can Web-enable even legacy applications. This will prove especially useful to certain industries and specialised fields.

So, how do you get started?

Setting up: How to Web-Enable Microsoft Apps

Downloading the fully featured version of TSplus Remote Access seems like a good place to start. You can try it for free first or buy it before the 15-day trial is over. Moreover, there are very few restrictions on the type or set-up of the Windows server or computer to host the software. Indeed, TSplus Remote Access will individually publish and Web-enable just about any specific Windows application, recent or legacy. Meanwhile, you can configure the software to rather give a remote user secure access to their PC from anywhere over HTML5. In that form, it gives them a seamless experience on their workstation, whether at the office or away.

Once you install TSplus Remote Access, you can open it up and work in either Lite or Expert Mode. In Lite Mode, application publishing commands and shortcuts are now on the console “Home” display. Developers at TSplus have made everything as visual, ergonomic and efficient as possible.

Quick Start Guide to Publish Windows Applications to the Web

All of our products have online user-guides and a Quick Start guide . This is a great place to begin app publication within your new TSplus environment.

Even if you are new to IT, you can follow the steps described there and in our online user guide . Whether you already have experience in the field or not, the Expert Mode is very intuitive and ergonomic. This means you may end up barely needing the guide.

There are actions to be done later like creating users or choosing the most suitable client for your company’s needs and use. The likes of keeping mstsc.exe or opting for a standard TSplus client, seamless or not. That said, since we are talking about Web-Enabling your applications, why not use the HTML5 client over the TSplus Web Portal. Many users privilege the Web Portal for its security and ease of use and not only its high security.

For most basic features, you can use Lite Mode to publish your apps. On our way to publish our applications, we’ll see a few other features and tools on the Remote Access Console with both Expert Mode or Lite.

Publish Windows Applications to the Web Via One Simple Console

As we’ve begun describing, the Lite Mode of the TSplus Remote Access console is succinct. The idea is to leave up front the essentials for a simpler user-experience. The commands available in the Applications quarter of the Lite Mode window are: “Publish & Assign Applications”, “Assign users to Full Desktop” and “Assign users to Floating Panel”.

You will also see “Assign users to …” according to what apps you publish using the software. It also lets you see some paramount information about your TSplus software licence and set-up. These include the status of your licence and how long your support runs or whether you have purchased any add-ons.

How to Web-enable Windows Applications using the TSplus Admin Console

As for Web-enabling apps, you have straight-forwards control over publishing applications for your users to access and use remotely. Two views are available in Lite mode: application-centred or user-centred.

The button on the right lets you switch to the opposite view. In "Publish", you can Add, Edit, Remove, Assign applications and the "Users" button is visible. While in "Users", you can Select a User or Group in order to assign apps or displays. Items are tickable in this option and you can see the button reads "Publish" instead.

Then you can easily navigate back "Home" using the arrow on the top left of the console’s menu bar. For example, in the App Publishing view, the essential actions to be applied to applications (add, edit, remove, organise and assign) figure on this navigation bar. You can also double-click the panel or application icon to directly work on each of them and perform actions such as assign the application to a user or modify how they appear and add company colours.

Overall, very little technical knowledge is needed to publish applications to the Web in Lite Mode and it is very intuitive. You may prefer to use this stripped-down console. Still, switching to Expert Mode puts all of the software’s capabilities at your fingertips. The ease of switching between modes means you will actually enjoy the best of both. What's more, with either view, back and forth navigation is possible on the same basis as in an Internet browser.

A Centralised Console to Publish Apps to Internet and Much More

The Expert Mode "Home" shows additional clickable information like your IP addresses, which version of TSplus Remote Access you are currently using and whether a newer one is available. The side menu is useful to navigate to each aspect of the software you would like to manage.

In this mode, the app management display is near identical but for the side-menu. This makes many more commands directly accessible. You can tune in your servers and application allocations more finely, decide to create groups of users to assign apps globally to this group or that, manage user or group sessions including the timeouts and connection parameters, set Session Prelaunch, one of the software’s recent additional features, and so on.

From the console, you can also create and manage a server farm and design your Web portal so your users get a unified company experience even when logging in from afar.

How to Web-Enable Windows Applications with TSplus Remote Access - App Publication and Assignement

It may be your users are defined and you’ve chosen a Client, or you may come directly here. Anyhow, it’s time to publish apps. You can choose and assign the apps available to each user or group. In either Lite or Expert Mode, the action is as simple as clicking on the “Publish & Assign Applications” button of the "Home" display, followed by the “+ Add Application” icon on the next page. This opens a new window where you can enter the name or file path for the application or browse folders to find it manually.

You can also give the application a display name. Rather than opening the “+ Add App” window, you can click to select one of the apps you’ve added. You can otherwise select what display is needed for specific users or apps. These display modes range from the whole desktop, via taskbar and floating panel to the sole application window and most modes can be visually modified to suit.

Those features are easily accessible in Lite or Expert Mode, yet much more is available in the Expert Mode. In both, there is a “Test” button at the bottom of any “Application” window, whether a new application or one you want to edit.

Note that, to the person using the seamless client, TSplus Remote Access makes remote applications appear and behave as though they were local.

How to Web-Enable Windows Applications - Users, Groups and HTML5

You may have noticed that in Expert Mode, the window remains very similar to Lite Mode. The main difference is you can navigate via the Expert Mode side menu. Weave in and out of the various features developed by the TSplus team as you would on a web page.

Under the System Tools tab, you will find the user management facility where users are created. When you click Users and Groups, you can manage these whereas, in Lite Mode, you can only assign them from any given list.

Your applications added and assigned, the last thing to do is access them remotely, whether using HTML5 over our TSplus Portal or other if you decide, even using the Wi-Fi in your offices. Your users can now click into their work application or a richer setup depending on what their profile allows, and they can do this from anywhere and on any device.

Your Apps are Web-Enabled!

As you see, in a few clicks, you can either access a desktop remotely or publish the individual applications you wish to Web-Enable using TSplus Remote Access. All this TLS encrypted, with none of your data out in the “wild” that is Internet. No training is required to get up and running with this toolkit. There is even no need to tap into the wealth of features the software puts at your fingertips unless you want to, making this a tool both accessible and simple as well as rich and versatile.

So why wait any longer to test or buy? TSplus Remote Access and Web Application Portal is available now.