DaDesktop for Participants - Howto

Objective

This guide is for participants (students) who want to join a course running on DaDesktop.

 

Overview of DaDesktop

DaDesktop is a cloud‑based platform built specifically for IT training. Designed for both instructors and learners, it provides virtual desktops powered by the innovative DaDesktop® technology. Each participant gets a full online desktop of their own, so they can work through exercises under the trainer’s supervision.

It has three main parts:

1. Management Console – a web interface for administrating the system, for example starting and stopping cloud desktops.
2. Training Room – a shared environment for remote desktop sharing, audio communication, chat, recording lessons and more.
3. Remote Desktop – a virtual machine (Windows or Linux); one machine per user.
    

Requirements

To join from your home or office, you’ll need:

• A computer (desktop or laptop) with a reliable internet connection (at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload). Windows, Mac and Linux machines are all supported.
• Chrome or Firefox browser
• A good‑quality microphone or headset (a phone can be used but isn’t recommended)
• A quiet spot, free from distractions or background noise (a café won’t work)
   

Recommended:

• Webcam
• A second monitor: follow the trainer on one screen and use your DaDesktop virtual machine for hands‑on labs on the other.
• Turn off any VPN before you join the course
• If possible, disable any security software that might interfere with your network connection
• Whenever possible, use a wired Ethernet connection; if you must use Wi‑Fi, run a speed test first (like speedtest.net) to check your internet speed

You might like to join the course early and try out the DaDesktop virtual classroom before it officially begins. Just be aware that on the days leading up to the course, you can only access the desktop for 15 minutes at a time.

 

Course Access

Please note that access to your course is limited to a 15‑minute window outside of the course days.

On the actual course days, you can access it all day long. In the past, this was only available for about an hour before the session itself.

 

Keep Desktop after Course finishes

A great perk of DaDesktop is that course participants are given the option to continue using their machine after the course ends. 

Check the link above for complete details on how to do this.

Joining a Course

Click the link sent by the coordinator (e.g., dd4t.dadesktop.com/da/join/xxxxx).

 

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If you’re a first‑time user, enter your details under “Account” and click “Sign Up”. You can register using the form or sign up with your Google or LinkedIn account.

If you already have an account, just log in.

That will bring you to the Management Console for your course.

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Using the Management Console

Select the “TRAINING ROOM” tab, then click “Join Training Room”.

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The Virtual Training Room opens in a new browser tab. A pop‑up will ask for permission to copy items to the clipboard – click “Allow”.

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Navigating the Training Room as a Participant

The Training Room displays a tab at the top of the screen with links back to your course.

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Controls available at bottom of the screen

• From here, you can pop the screen out to a second monitor when needed, or maximise the browser window to full screen.
• At the bottom right, a small blue toggle lets you open the DaDesktop support chat.

 

Using the new Clipboard function

To send text – such as web links or code snippets – from your computer to the virtual machine, you’ll use the Clipboard.
 

When you connect to your online course or standalone desktop, you’ll see a pop‑up like the one shown. Click ‘Allow’. Note that images can’t be copied to the clipboard in DaDesktop at the moment.

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Click the little clipboard icon in the address bar to adjust Clipboard settings for this site.

Usage

• On Windows and Linux virtual desktops, use the standard copy‑paste shortcuts from your PC: Ctrl‑C and Ctrl‑V.
• On a Mac, copy as normal and then press Shift + Ctrl + V or middle‑click the mouse to paste.

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If you need more help with this feature, please get in touch with us.
 

Original Clipboard (to be used only for incompatible browsers for new Clipboard) ie IE, or as fallback.

• To move text between your machine and the DaDesktop virtual desktop, type or paste it into the Clipboard area at the bottom‑left of the screen.
• Inside the virtual machine, press the middle mouse button (or scroll wheel) to paste the Clipboard content. This works anywhere text can be entered in DaDesktop, assuming you’re using the standard Linux virtual machine.
  Mac users – use Command‑C or ⌘C (copy) and Command‑V or ⌘V (paste). After pasting into the dd4t Clipboard, inside dd4t the usual Control‑X, Control‑C and Control‑V shortcuts for cut, copy and paste will work.
• On a Windows virtual machine, right‑click to paste from the Clipboard.

Adjust the size of the Clipboard area by clicking the green‑and‑white arrow icon at the bottom‑left of the screen.
 

 

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Using the mouse in a multi-user scenario

A new feature shows the username of whoever is controlling the mouse as a label that follows the cursor whenever multiple users connect to the same desktop. This is especially handy for multi‑user setups or training sessions where different people take turns controlling the mouse.

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When more than one person is connected, their usernames appear at the bottom centre of the screen.

 

 

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You can turn this feature on or off by clicking the ‘Info’ button in green at the bottom of the screen.