Section – About

Part : What is FDU Anywhere?

What is FDU Anywhere?

FDU provides remote access to many of the software applications typically found in university computer labs. This new Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) gives users access to a Windows desktop environment without requiring downloading and installing programs on a user’s personal equipment. The service, called FDU Anywhere, is powered by Apporto and can be found at anywhere.fdu.edu.

Using FDU Anywhere is like walking into one of FDU’s computer labs. Upon logging in with your FDU NetID and password, you will have access to the virtual platform’s software applications. To find a list of currently available software on FDU Anywhere, use the FDU Software Catalog. A listing of available Free and Open Source software can also be found by visiting the FDU Software Catalog.

The FDU Software Catalog provides an up to date catalog of software available to Faculty, Staff, and Students at the university:

FDU Anywhere App Store

The FDU Anywhere App Store gives you access to FDU Anywhere’s software. Many programs including Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, SPSS, and Matlab are available to everyone. Other programs such as Adobe Creative Cloud and the Autodesk suite are available based on course requirements.

Presently, there are two environments that offer a select set of applications. These environments are:

NJ Lab Desktop

Software available in NJ Desktop Environment

Software	Available Date
Google Chrome browser	August 17, 2020
SAS (NJ Campus Only)	August 17, 2020
SPSS	August 17, 2020
Microsoft Office Pro Plus	August 17, 2020
MatLab	August 17, 2020
Microsoft Visual Studio Code	August 17, 2020
7-Zip File Manager	August 17, 2020

Vancouver Lab Desktop

Software Available in Vancouver Lab Desktop Environment

Software	Available Date
Google Chrome browser	August 17, 2020
SPSS	August 17, 2020
Microsoft Office Pro Plus	August 17, 2020
MatLab	August 17, 2020
Microsoft Visual Studio Code	August 17, 2020
7-Zip File Manager	August 17, 2020

Graphics Lab Desktop

Software available in Graphics Lab Desktop Environment

Software	Available Date
Adobe Creative Cloud (per class assignment)	August 17, 2020
Microsoft Office Pro Plus	August 17, 2020
Maple	August 17, 2020
Autodesk Suite • 3DS Max • Motion • Mudbox • Sketchbook	August 17, ,2020
Google Chrome Browser	August 17, 2020
Microsoft Visual Studio Code	August 17, 2020
7-Zip File Manager	August 17, 2020

Part : System & Network Requirements

System & Network Requirements

System Requirements

FDU Anywhere is a powerful resource with a lightweight footprint. In order to utilize FDU Anywhere, you must have the following:

• Any device that has an HTML 5 supporting browser will do. Nearly all standard and mobile browsers – including Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox support HTML 5
• An internet connection
• FDU NetID credentials

Network Requirements

For the best experience while using FDU Anywhere, your network should:

• Have a download speed of at least 5Mb/s or more
• If your download speed falls below 5Mb/s, the connection could become unstable and cause issues with your stream
• Have an upload speed of 5Mb/s or higher
• An upload speed of 5Mb/s is enough to use a basic mouse, keyboard, and controller. More bandwidth-heavy devices such as webcams, microphones, and external storage devices can use up to 100Mb/s
• Wired network connections are preferred over Wi-Fi network connections whenever possible
• Wired network connections are more stable and offer more bandwidth over Wi-Fi

For graphics-intensive applications, like Adobe Creative Cloud and Autodesk, we recommend using a wired network connection instead of Wi-Fi, ideally with a bandwidth of 5 Mbp/s.

Wi-Fi networks with 5Ghz rated wireless connections are preferred over 2.4Ghz wireless routers and provide better performance.

VPN Applications and Connections

Testing your Connection

Your experience with FDU Anywhere greatly depends on your internet connection. Testing your connection can help you identify and correct most issues.

To test your Internet connection speed, you can use the Google Speed Test:

Section – Basics

Part : Using FDU Anywhere

Using FDU Anywhere

FDU Anywhere is available to all students and accessible by following the instructions below:

Accessing FDU Anywhere

1. From any web browser, visit anywhere.fdu.edu

2. Use your FDU Credentials (NetID and associated password) to complete the login to the FDU Anywhere App Store

NJ Lab Desktop

Vancouver Lab Desktop

Graphics Desktop

Searching and Sorting the FDU Anywhere App Store

Searching FDU Anywhere

When you search for an application, the system will:

• read the word(s) in your search term as a string of characters (rather than as separate words)
• search for occurrences of the text string anywhere in the application name or the developer/publisher name

1. Enter the term you wish to search for in the Search box, then press “Enter“

The App Store refreshes to display only those applications that contain your search term.

Sorting FDU Anywhere Apps Alphabetically

When you log into FDU Anywhere for the first time, apps are sorted alphabetically by default. For subsequent logins, apps will be sorted by frequency of use.

1. To sort alphabetically, simply click “Sort Alphabetically“

Sort Most Used

After your first login, apps are sorted by frequency of use by default. The most-used apps appear first. You may also click “Sort Most Used” to sort by frequency.

Launching FDU Anywhere

To launch an app directly from the FDU Anywhere App Store, simply follow the instructions:

1. Locate the desired app or desktop and click “Launch”

2. The selected app or desktop opens in a new browser tab

Log Out of FDU Anywhere

Logging out is a critical step in making sure others continue to be able to easily access FDU Anywhere services. To log out of FDU Anywhere, follow these steps:

1. Single left-click the Windows Start Button
2. Single left-click the power button
3. Single left-click on “Disconnect“

5. On the upper right-hand side, click your account
6. Single left-click on “LOGOUT“

4. You have now been logged out of FDU Anywhere

Automatic Session Logout Policy

In order to help make FDU Anywhere as available as possible to all students, accounts that have been inactive (or idle) for 15 minutes will automatically be logged out.

Part : Accessing and Using OneDrive

Accessing and Using OneDrive

There are many ways in which you can access and save files within FDU Anywhere. Fairleigh Dickinson University highly recommends saving all files on your FDU Microsoft 365 OneDrive which can be mounted within FDU Anywhere.

Accessing and Using Cloud Drives

Accessing your Microsoft 365 OneDrive account is done easily by following these instructions:

1. From the FDU Anywhere Graphics Lab or NJ Lab desktop, Double click “Cloud Mounter” shortcut

2. Click the “OneDrive” button, and then click “Connect Now“

3. Enter your FDU NetID and click “Next“. Follow the FDU standard single sign-on prompts to complete the login process

4. The Mounting process is now complete and your mounted OneDrive folder will now open

Using the Mounted OneDrive Volume

The Mounted Microsoft 365 cloud volume will mount the folder as a network drive. Typically “OneDrive (O:)“. Every folder and file listed will be everything that not only resides in your Microsoft 365 OneDrive folder but everything that has ever been shared with you either through OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, OneNote notebooks, and/or many other Microsoft 365 products.

NOTE: Files and folders can be saved, but not deleted as of a precautionary measure. If you delete a file, it will resync during the next sync interval.

To access or save files directly to and from the mounted volume, simply navigate to the OneDrive volume.

Part : Working With Files

Working with Files

For most projects, you should be saving and working with files on the Mounted OneDrive volume. For instructions, please refer to the link at the bottom of the page for “FDU Anywhere – Accessing and Using OneDrive“. However, most video editing software (Adobe Premier Pro, Motion Builder for example), will require the user to save those files locally within FDU Anywhere.

The following locations are considered local to FDU Anywhere:

• “Documents“
• “Desktop“
• “DFS-MyDocuments (U:) Drive“

Moving Files Locally in FDU Anywhere

Some projects require you to move your files locally so they may properly be rendered using the FDU Anywhere hardware. If you need to work on files locally, please follow these instructions.

1. Find your Project Folder
2. Copy your folder and save it to a local folder by navigating to the location and pasting it.

Zipping Files

if you need to zip files in order to submit to Webcampus, please follow these instructions:

1. Single right-click the file or folder

2. right click on 7-zip then click “Add to Archive“

3. Change Archive Format to “zip” like in the picture below then click “OK” to zip your files

The zip archiving process could take some time depending on the size of the file. Once completed, the file will be in the same location as the folder is. You can then email or upload your file to your professor.

Alternate Way to Zip Files

1. Click ‘START’ on the taskbar on the left-hand side
2. Type “7zip” and 7-zip File Manager will appear, Single Click on “7-zip File Manager“

3. Single click on 7-Zip File Manager
4. Navigate to the location of your saved file/folder and single click to highlight, then click the Add button at the top

5. Change Archive Format to zip and then click “Ok” to zip your files

The file will now be zipped and you will find your file in the same folder as the project folder or file you wanted to zip

Submitting Files to WebCampus

In order to successfully submit your coursework to WebCampus, it is best to use the google chrome browser located on the desktop of FDU Anywhere. Using Internet Explorer may not function properly.

In order to submit your coursework to Webcampus, you can log on from within FDU Anywhere. For more information on Webcampus, please visit:

Part : FDU Anywhere Workshop Video

FDU Anywhere Workshop Video

Section – Advanced Features

Part : Screen Sharing

Screen Sharing

When running a streamed app or desktop, you can share your screen with other users and collaborate in the current session. Screen sharing enables you to collaborate with other users without providing access to your chats, analytics, or other private data. This short guide will show you step-by-step how to:

1. Share your screen with other users
2. Stop sharing your screen with others

Share Screen with Others

1. Click the share screen icon in the top panel in FDU Anywhere

2. The “Screen Sharing” popup will display the following window:

3. There are three sharing options, Select the method that you want with the radio buttons, then click Copy Link, and close the Screen Sharing dialog:
   • View only: The viewer can only see what is being worked on in the FDU Anywhere environment
   • View and draw: The viewer can View and Draw or make annotations on the screen by clicking or dragging
   • Full control: The viewer shares control of the FDU Anywhere Environment
4. Share the copied link to the person you wish to view your FDU Anywhere Streamed session

Stop Sharing your Screen with Others

Once you wish to stop sharing your screen, simply perform the following steps:

1. To stop sharing your screen with other users, click the Share Screen icon on the top panel

2. Click the “Stop Sharing” button, then close the ‘Screen Sharing’ dialog box. Other users will see a “Disconnected” popup and will be unable to reconnect

3. Your Screen Sharing access is no longer active and any connected users are now disconnected

Part : Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Sometimes you may want to copy and paste content to or from your own computer and an FDU Anywhere cloud desktop or application. You can do this using the copy-and-paste menus or keyboard shortcuts, for example, “Ctrl+C” and “Ctrl+V“.

If you are unable to copy and paste for any reason, we recommend using our FDU OneDrive service to access any files not found in FDU Anywhere.

Windows OS Copy/Paste Methods

Windows OS to FDU Anywhere

1. Highlight the text you want to copy from your computer
2. Press CTRL+C to copy the selected text
3. Move the cursor to the paste location in FDU Anywhere
4. Press CTRL+V to paste the text

FDU Anywhere to Windows OS

1. Highlight the text you want to copy from FDU Anywhere
2. Press CTRL+C to copy the selected text
3. Move the cursor to the paste location on your computer.
4. Press CTRL+V to paste the text

macOS Copy/Paste Methods

Your macOS to FDU Anywhere

1. Highlight the text you want to copy from your computer
2. Press COMMAND+C to copy the selected text
3. macOS also supports CTRL+C

4. Move the cursor to the paste location in FDU Anywhere
5. Press CTRL+V to paste the text

FDU Anywhere to macOS

1. Highlight the text you want to copy from FDU Anywhere
2. Press CTRL+C to copy the selected text
3. Move the cursor to the paste location on your macOS
4. Press COMMAND+V (macOS also supports CTRL+V) to paste the text

Section – Support

Part : Getting Support

Getting Support

Part : Network Optimization

Network Optimization

If you are experiencing issues while using FDU Anywhere, please use the following tips as guidelines to help improve your experience.

Power-cycle your Modem / Router

Power cycling your modem and router allows them to reset and re-establish a connection to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Shut down your computer and unplug your modem/router. Plug them back in after 60 seconds and watch the lights on your modem/router. Once the lights are on and steady, start your computer.

Keep all your Local Components Up-to-date

Check that your modem/router and your local computer are totally up to date. This includes the operating system, driver, and browser updates.

Disconnect / Turn off any Devices that are not in use

Some devices could be using bandwidth while on standby. Gaming consoles, for example, might download and install updates. Turn off these devices to keep your bandwidth free.

Use an Ethernet Cable

Using a wired Ethernet connection will make your connection more stable and eliminate additional latency compared to a wireless connection.

Change your Wi-Fi Configuration

If a wired Ethernet connection is not possible or your device requires a wireless connection:

• Connect to a 5GHz wireless network. Some routers offer both 2.4GHz connections and 5GHz
• Place your devices (such as a computer or smartphone) and your router closer to each other