Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Robert C Elmer

Clark David Nicholson

David Jaroslav Sebesta

Jack Creasey

Robert Wilhelm Schmieder

Neil Scott Fishman

Nelamangal Krishnaswamy Srinivas

Jay Beavers

Kentaro Toyama

Jai Srinivasan

Garrett R Vargas

Kanchan Mitra

Gregory Marshall Burgess

Steven Andrew Cover

Richard P Lewis

Kaushik Barat

Michael Thomas Gahrns

Tadd H Giles

Embodiments are directed to providing direct access to graphical user interface (GUI) frame buffers and to associating input hardware with a login session. In one scenario, a computer system registers a plug-in software module with a remote desktop client. The registering includes requesting one or more frame buffers rendered for display on a computer system display. The computer system determines that a session has been established between a computer system user and the remote desktop client. The computer system then receives the requested frame buffers and displays the frame buffers on the computer system display and/or sends the received frame buffers to various registered third parties.

Implementing previously rendered frame buffer information in a customized GUI display

A multi-user computer system may distribute user windows across multiple monitors. Some of the user windows may span two or more monitors. Some user windows may share a monitor. Each user window may be associated with a set of user input devices for each user. The user window configuration may be changed on the fly by an administrative user, who may reposition, rotate, scale, or perform other changes to the windows.

Dynamic distribution of client windows on multiple monitors

A method includes determining if a server supporting an application and a client having remote desktop access to the server are on a same physical computing device. Upon determining that the server and the client are on the same physical computing device, graphics data related to the application is stored from the server to shared memory that is accessible by the server and by the client. Information to enable the client to retrieve the graphics data stored by the server in the shared memory is communicated from the server to the client.

Selective use of shared memory for remote desktop application

Described herein are various techniques and principles for determining how to assign control of peripherals and assigning control of peripherals. In some embodiments, determining how to assign control of peripherals comprises reviewing connections of peripherals to the computing device and evaluating rules to determine management points in the connections. In some cases, the connections of peripherals to the computing device may be organized into a hierarchy corresponding to a hierarchy of physical connections of the peripherals, including physical connections of peripherals located remote from the computing device and possibly connected through another computing device. When management points are identified among the connections, control of peripherals associated with the management points may be assigned in the same way. For example, access rights to each of the peripherals may be assigned to a same user session.

Rule-based assignment of control of peripherals of a computing device

Architecture that provides programmatic association of a device (e.g., removable) to a currently logged-in user, and restricts access to the drive only to that particular logged-in user. When active, the architecture detects when devices are added to the system, determines which logged-in user a given device (or devices) should be assigned, modifies the security settings for the device(s), and makes a per-user drive letter mapping to that device such that only the logged-in user can see the mapped device. In the context of serially attachable peripheral devices such as USB (universal serial bus) devices (and IEEE 1394 devices), for example, access can be restricted to a user based on the USB hub into which the device is connected. This prevents the operating system from assigning a global drive letter to a device or device volume (for drives) when the device is added.

Restricting access to volumes

Architecture that allows programmatic association of devices to sessions and redirects input to the desired session. When the solution is active, input from the devices is not realized by the standard operating system input stack, thereby allowing even reserved key sequences such as Ctrl-Alt-Del to be intercepted and redirected to a desired session. Moreover, in addition to redirecting input to a specific session, the architecture facilitates the filtering of input from unwanted/unmapped devices, the interception and filtering or redirection of reserved key sequences such as Ctrl-Alt-Del, and the maintenance of input state for each session.

Assigning input devices to specific sessions

Described is a system and method for filtering messages received by a message-handling program, that leverage the existing message-handling architecture of computer devices to trigger events and perform other actions instead of (or in addition to) displaying the messages to users. One or more rule clients, e.g., COM objects, register for processing messages. When an appropriate message is received, the message-handling mechanism passes the message to a rule client. Depending on how that rule client responds, the message-handling mechanism determines what to do with the message, e.g., discontinue the message. Messages that are not discontinued are passed to another rule client, if any, or displayed in the user interface, if not. Rule clients may be read only, or may have write access, to modify messages. Messages may be hidden from a user by a rule client, modified before being display to a user, or left intact.

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Robert C Elmer