Is it possible to embed a Citrix XenApp in a webpage and pass it parameters dynamically?

Question

So, I know nothing about the Citrix applications, so maybe I can be pointed in the right direction or even be given examples.

I need to be able to run an desktop application (which is installed on servers), but have it embedded in a web application (ASP.NET).

We need it to feel like it is pretty integrated, so We were going to pass a session token to the Citrix application, so that it can connect to the web database and "share" the same session.

Also, when we open a Citrix connection to that application, we wanted to use command-line parameters, or some other way of communicating to the Citrix hosted app from the website, to tell it which screen to bring up.

Is any of this easily do-able with Citrix? Can it be done better with something else Windows 2008 Terminal Services?

Answer 1

The link in Vadym Tyemirov's answer is no longer current. This is from the updated link:

To pass parameters to published applications

Use the Location page of the Publish Application wizard to enter the command line and pass parameters to published applications. To modify the setting, from the Action menu, select Application properties and then select Location.

When you associate a published application with file types, the symbols “%*” (percent and star symbols enclosed in double quotation marks) are appended to the end of the command line for the application. These symbols act as a placeholder for parameters passed to user devices.

If a published application does not launch when expected, verify that its command line contains the correct symbols. By default, XenApp validates parameters supplied by user devices when the symbols “%*” are appended. For published applications that use customized parameters supplied by the user device, the symbols “%**” are appended to the command line to bypass command-line validation. If you do not see these symbols in a command line for the application, add them manually.

If the path to the executable file includes directory names with spaces (such as “C:\Program Files”), you must enclose the command line for the application in double quotation marks to indicate that the space belongs in the command line. To do this, follow the instructions below for adding quotation marks around the %* symbols and then add a double quotation mark at the beginning and the end of the command line. Be sure to include a space between the closing quotation mark for the command line and the opening quotation mark for the %* symbols.

For example, change the command line for the published application Windows Media Player to the following:

    “C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\mplayer1.exe” “%*”

Full page: http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/xenapp-6-5/xenapp65-w2k8-wrapper/ps-publishing-landing-page/ps-pub-prop-name-v2/ps-pub-pass-parameters.html

Answer 2

Use ApplicationParam parameter passed to launch.ica, e.g

launch.ica?ApplicationID=Citrix.MPS.App.PublishedApp&ApplicationParam=/f%20/v:slashedParameter&UniqueID=1049713915

For the published app to get the parameters its command line shall end with “%*”

PublishedApp.exe “%*”

Here is a link to the documentation: http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenapp6-w2k8-admin/ps-pub-pass-parameters.html