Application Launching and Embedding
Citrix provides two ways of accessing a Web-enabled application: either by launching the application in a separate window or by embedding it within the confines of the Web page. Collectively, this is known as Application Launching and Embedding (ALE), as mentioned earlier. The type of ICA client being used determines whether launching or embedding is supported.
Application Launching
When an application is launched from a Web page, it appears as a separate window on the client's desktop and functions just as a regular published application. Figure 15.2 demonstrates Microsoft Word being launched from a link on a Web page.
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Figure
15.2
Microsoft Word being launched from a Web page.
Application launching utilizes the helper application that's available with the latest version of most ICA clients and doesn't rely on the special ICA Web clients (also known as ALE clients). The features available to the launched application depend on what's supported by the ICA client in use. For example, if you're using the Linux ICA client, a launched application will support the features available to that client.
When application launching is employed on the Win32 platform, you can also utilize the seamless windows feature. This allows the program to appear as if it were running locally. For more information on the seamless windows feature, refer to the "ICA Client Features" section of Chapter 3, "Citrix MetaFrame."
Application Embedding
When an application is embedded, it's placed within the confines of the Web page itself. This is used most often when the published application is directly related to the content of a Web page. Figure 15.3 demonstrates Microsoft Word embedded in a Web page.
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Figure
15.3
Microsoft Word embedded in a Web page.
To embed an application, the user must be using one of the Citrix ALE clients. Currently, three such clients exist:
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An ActiveX control for Internet Explorer 3.0x or higher running on 32-bit Windows
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A Netscape plug-in for Netscape Navigator 2.2 or higher and Communicator 4.x or higher, running on either 16- or 32-bit Windows
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A Java applet that will run within any browser that supports the Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.1
The features available to an embedded client are restricted to those that are supported by the ALE client in use. For a complete list of supported features by ICA client, see Chapter 6, "Client Planning."