1912 LTSR and Microsoft Teams Missing Screen Sharing

[Gary Chan1709160142]

We've recently upgraded our environment to 1912LTSR and our MS Teams pilot users noticed the screen sharing function has disappeared from chat.

 

Teams is showing it's running in Citrix Optimized mode.

 

If I turn off Citrix Optimized mode by editing this registry Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport to 0 and relaunch Teams, screensharing comes back.

 

Anyone else seeing this issue?

 

The Teams version is 1.3.00.3564

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

1 hour ago, Gary Chan1709160142 said:

@fernadok

 

Which known limitation are you referring too that says screen sharing is an issue?

 

Gallery view - Active speaker only.

HID buttons - Answer and end call not supported. Volume up and down are supported.

When switching the peripheral input or output in Settings > Devices in the middle of the call, you might experience a one second audio glitch.

When doing screen sharing in multi-monitor setups, only the main monitor is shared.

Interoperability with Skype for Business is limited to audio calls, no video modality.

We don’t support Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) interaction with telephony systems.

Incoming and outgoing video stream maximum resolution is 720p.

We support only one video stream from an incoming camera or screen share stream. When there’s an incoming screen share, that screen share is shown it instead of the video of the dominant speaker.

Outgoing screen sharing: Application sharing is not supported.

Give control and take control:

Not supported during a screen sharing or application sharing session.

Supported during a PowerPoint sharing session.

 

 

From the link :

 

 

"Screen sharing in Microsoft Teams

 

Microsoft Teams relies on video-based screen sharing (VBSS), effectively encoding the desktop being shared with video codecs like H264 and creating a high-definition stream. With HDX optimization, incoming screen sharing is treated as a video stream. Therefore, if you are in the middle of a video call and the other peer starts to share the desktop, that original camera video feed is paused and instead, the screen sharing video feed displays. The peer must then manually resume the camera sharing.

 

IMPORTANT:

You can use screen sharing only when you have an audio or video call active, and not directly from a chat window that doesn’t have audio or video.

 

Outgoing screen sharing is also optimized and offloaded to Citrix Workspace app (version 1907 or higher). In this case, HdxTeams.exe captures and transmits only the Citrix Desktop Viewer (CDViewer.exe) window. If you want to share a local application running in your client machine, you can overlay it on top of CDViewer and it is also captured.

Multi-monitor: In cases where CDViewer is in full screen mode and spanning across multi-monitor setups, only the primary monitor is shared. Users must drag the application of interest inside the virtual desktop to the primary monitor for the other peer on the call to see it."

 

 

[Tyd Ros]

On 4/14/2020 at 1:51 PM, Andrew Gresbach1709152664 said:

Well sort of.......in our tests with windows clients and setting that key to a 0 brings back the sharing button but it only shares in a teams call sort of way (no give take).     If i do the same on my mac client (same session). i get the normal sharing and give take options.   however if i share with someone on a windows client w/ workspace i'm unable to use the dropdown to give them control.....if i do the same w/ a person using an html5 session all works fine

 

so it seems something isolated to just windows clients for some reason w/ the 1912 vda (not 100% is the 1912 is playing a part but given how this thread started i'm betting it does)

 

and even stranger is on a windows client if i have that key set to 1 the desktop sharing is gone completely .....is that specific behavior the microsoft bug that was referenced? just so i'm keeping track of whats "expected" now and what isnt

 

Its not a bug and not a 1912 issue, this is expected. I think you may be missing the point made above. 

 

In your test with the reg key you are enabling and disabling HDX.  When you disable HDX you are disabling optimizations and removing the browser limitations that HDX uses. Because of that it shows the screenshare.

 

When you enable HDX optimization you are optimizing but adhering to the limitations of the browser.  Think of it as turning the teams full app into a browser under the hood and then letting citrix redirect it with browser protocols.

 

That's why the MAC machine and HTML5 show the share (there is no HDX support) , and why windows with the workspace app shows the share if you disable HDX.

 

Your inconsistent results for windows clients in the beginning were probably due to teams not starting HDX optimized. I find the HDX optimization flakey. Sometimes it will optimize some times it wont. (Whole other problem)

 

 

[Muralidharan Shanmugam]

@Gary Chan1709160142 please provide more information like OS platforms of DDC and VDA, we will check on this.

[Gary Chan1709160142]

DDC's are running Windows 2016

VDA's are running Windows 10 1803

VDA version is 1912 LTSR

 

Teams version 1.3.00.3564

 

We are also using PVS.

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops/multimedia/opt-ms-teams.html#screen-sharing-in-microsoft-teams

 

Known limitation. 

Microsoft is fixing this in the short term.

[Gary Chan1709160142]

@fernadok

 

Which known limitation are you referring too that says screen sharing is an issue?

 

Gallery view - Active speaker only.

HID buttons - Answer and end call not supported. Volume up and down are supported.

When switching the peripheral input or output in Settings > Devices in the middle of the call, you might experience a one second audio glitch.

When doing screen sharing in multi-monitor setups, only the main monitor is shared.

Interoperability with Skype for Business is limited to audio calls, no video modality.

We don’t support Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) interaction with telephony systems.

Incoming and outgoing video stream maximum resolution is 720p.

We support only one video stream from an incoming camera or screen share stream. When there’s an incoming screen share, that screen share is shown it instead of the video of the dominant speaker.

Outgoing screen sharing: Application sharing is not supported.

Give control and take control:

Not supported during a screen sharing or application sharing session.

Supported during a PowerPoint sharing session.

[Gary Chan1709160142]

Also do you know when the webcam redirection for the 64bit client will work?  We have users on Mac's and they cannot webcam unless I install the 32bit Teams Client.

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

1 hour ago, Gary Chan1709160142 said:

Also do you know when the webcam redirection for the 64bit client will work?  We have users on Mac's and they cannot webcam unless I install the 32bit Teams Client.

 

We currently dont have that feature (webcam redirection support for 64-bit apps) in the MAC roadmap.

We plan, however, to support Teams optimization on MAC, just like we are doing now for Windows. 
If you need more info on ETA's please ask your Citrix Sales rep to get in touch with me.

 

[Andrew Gresbach1709152664]

Has anyone had any luck w/ this?  we cannot get any rhyme or reason to screen sharing to actually work consistently.   Some days its there, some days its gone ......in some cases if we delete the Teams folder under appdata\roaming it helps for a little while.     even weirder now more often when some of us try it will give the option to share but when we try it it almost acts like a Teams call and not just sharing so we are unable to give control (that toolbar is flat out missing).   so we are stumped

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

6 minutes ago, Andrew Gresbach1709152664 said:

Has anyone had any luck w/ this?  we cannot get any rhyme or reason to screen sharing to actually work consistently.   Some days its there, some days its gone ......in some cases if we delete the Teams folder under appdata\roaming it helps for a little while.     even weirder now more often when some of us try it will give the option to share but when we try it it almost acts like a Teams call and not just sharing so we are unable to give control (that toolbar is flat out missing).   so we are stumped

 

Give/Take Control is not currently supported. This is a Microsoft limitation and we would encourage you to contact your Microsoft sales-rep to increase the priority.

Screen-sharing can only be done if you have an active call. This is also a Microsoft limitation. They are working on enabling screen-sharing from a chat window, removing the requirement to have an active audio call.

 

In short, these two items are limitations of Teams in Chrome. Citrix stack is aligned with Chrome, so whenever Microsoft releases these two features for their web client, you will get them in VDI too.

 

 

[Andrew Gresbach1709152664]

are you we talking about teams web here or the full client?  the issue that we're seeing w/ this is the full Windows Client for reference.   and we HAVE been able to use the share screen and give/take control option pretty regularly until recently  (i want to say it was around when we started using 1912 but cant say for certain)

 

and when you say microsoft limitation do you mean limitation when working with Citrix?

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

The Citrix stack that optimizes Teams desktop app uses WebRTC for its media engine.

The Teams web client (in Chrome for example) also uses WebRTC.

The native Teams desktop app uses a proprietary media engine.

 

What I was trying to say is that whenever there is a limitation in Teams web client, it will also be a limitation in Citrix.

 

Give Take Control is not supported in Chrome, hence it is not supported in Citrix optimization.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/limits-specifications-teams#browsers

(See comment 1 at the bottom of that link)

 

The only scenario where that could have worked is if you were unoptimized. At that point, Teams uses its proprietary media engine and the feature is supported. But Audio/Video would not be optimized.

[Andrew Gresbach1709152664]

fair enough.......so here's what i'm seeing:

 

 Windows Client:

          -Current Workspace for Windows client

          -1912 LTSR VDA on Windows 10 x64 1903

          - Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport  Set to "1" =. Screen Share button completely missing

          - Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport  Set to "0" =. Screen Share button is there but sharing acts like a Teams call where  it DOES share but w/no give/take options

 

Mac Client:

          -Current Workspace for Mac client

          -1912 LTSR VDA on Windows 10 x64 1903

          -Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport  Set to "1" or "0" =. Screen Share button is there and screen sharing appears to function normally (i can share and see the give/take option.....however clicking the "give control" dropdown now does nothing if i share with someone on a Windows client on the other end.......if i share w/ someone using an HTML5 based connection on the other end works fine)

 

I have not tested yet on a Linux client but i'd imagine it will do similar to the Mac (being a client that does not currently support Teams optimization

 

Odd thing is this all used to work just fine on my Mac so not sure what changed here

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

On 2/26/2020 at 4:45 PM, Gary Chan1709160142 said:

We've recently upgraded our environment to 1912LTSR and our MS Teams pilot users noticed the screen sharing function has disappeared from chat.

 

Teams is showing it's running in Citrix Optimized mode.

 

If I turn off Citrix Optimized mode by editing this registry Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport to 0 and relaunch Teams, screensharing comes back.

 

Anyone else seeing this issue?

 

The Teams version is 1.3.00.3564

 

Known limitation. Microsoft is working on this fix. It will not require any Workspace app or VDA upgrade.

 

 

 

Screen sharing in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams relies on video-based screen sharing (VBSS), effectively encoding the desktop being shared with video codecs like H264 and creating a high-definition stream. With HDX optimization, incoming screen sharing is treated as a video stream. Therefore, if you are in the middle of a video call and the other peer starts to share the desktop, that original camera video feed is paused and instead, the screen sharing video feed displays. The peer must then manually resume the camera sharing.

 

IMPORTANT:

You can use screen sharing only when you have an audio or video call active, and not directly from a chat window that doesn’t have audio or video.

 

Outgoing screen sharing is also optimized and offloaded to Citrix Workspace app (version 1907 or higher). In this case, HdxTeams.exe captures and transmits only the Citrix Desktop Viewer (CDViewer.exe) window. If you want to share a local application running in your client machine, you can overlay it on top of CDViewer and it is also captured.

Multi-monitor: In cases where CDViewer is in full screen mode and spanning across multi-monitor setups, only the primary monitor is shared. Users must drag the application of interest inside the virtual desktop to the primary monitor for the other peer on the call to see it.

[Fernando Klurfan1709153904]

24 minutes ago, Andrew Gresbach1709152664 said:

fair enough.......so here's what i'm seeing:

 

 Windows Client:

          -Current Workspace for Windows client

          -1912 LTSR VDA on Windows 10 x64 1903

          - Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport  Set to "1" =. Screen Share button completely missing

          - Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport  Set to "0" =. Screen Share button is there but sharing acts like a Teams call where  it DOES share but w/no give/take options

 

Mac Client:

          -Current Workspace for Mac client

          -1912 LTSR VDA on Windows 10 x64 1903

          -Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\HDXMediaStream\MSTeamsRedirSupport  Set to "1" or "0" =. Screen Share button is there and screen sharing appears to function normally (i can share and see the give/take option.....however clicking the "give control" dropdown now does nothing if i share with someone on a Windows client on the other end.......if i share w/ someone using an HTML5 based connection on the other end works fine)

 

I have not tested yet on a Linux client but i'd imagine it will do similar to the Mac (being a client that does not currently support Teams optimization

 

Odd thing is this all used to work just fine on my Mac so not sure what changed here

 

MSTeamsRedirSupport   controls the optimization. if = 1 , we will load the Citrix optimization stack, which as i mentioned is equivalent (in terms of feature support) to Chrome. Therefore, screen sharing from chat wont work. Give take control wont work.

Set that key to 0, and we do not load the optimization stack. Teams loads un-optimized. In other words, the 'native Teams' is what you get. 

Screen sharing from chat will work. Give take control will work. BUT AUDIO VIDEO WILL NOT BE OPTIMIZED.

 

MAC does not support optimization. it will always be unoptimized.

 

Linux Workspace app supports optimization, currently in tech preview for audio optimization only.

[Andrew Gresbach1709152664]

Well sort of.......in our tests with windows clients and setting that key to a 0 brings back the sharing button but it only shares in a teams call sort of way (no give take).     If i do the same on my mac client (same session). i get the normal sharing and give take options.   however if i share with someone on a windows client w/ workspace i'm unable to use the dropdown to give them control.....if i do the same w/ a person using an html5 session all works fine

 

so it seems something isolated to just windows clients for some reason w/ the 1912 vda (not 100% is the 1912 is playing a part but given how this thread started i'm betting it does)

 

and even stranger is on a windows client if i have that key set to 1 the desktop sharing is gone completely .....is that specific behavior the microsoft bug that was referenced? just so i'm keeping track of whats "expected" now and what isnt

[Evan Ashdown]

On 4/14/2020 at 10:03 AM, Fernando Klurfan1709153904 said:

 

Known limitation. Microsoft is working on this fix. It will not require any Workspace app or VDA upgrade.

 

 

 

Screen sharing in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams relies on video-based screen sharing (VBSS), effectively encoding the desktop being shared with video codecs like H264 and creating a high-definition stream. With HDX optimization, incoming screen sharing is treated as a video stream. Therefore, if you are in the middle of a video call and the other peer starts to share the desktop, that original camera video feed is paused and instead, the screen sharing video feed displays. The peer must then manually resume the camera sharing.

 

IMPORTANT:

You can use screen sharing only when you have an audio or video call active, and not directly from a chat window that doesn’t have audio or video.

 

Outgoing screen sharing is also optimized and offloaded to Citrix Workspace app (version 1907 or higher). In this case, HdxTeams.exe captures and transmits only the Citrix Desktop Viewer (CDViewer.exe) window. If you want to share a local application running in your client machine, you can overlay it on top of CDViewer and it is also captured.

Multi-monitor: In cases where CDViewer is in full screen mode and spanning across multi-monitor setups, only the primary monitor is shared. Users must drag the application of interest inside the virtual desktop to the primary monitor for the other peer on the call to see it.

 

Do we know if there was ever a fix for this issued by Microsoft?

 

I'm running into the same issues now with the exact same situation but on the newest Teams MSI release. 

[Mike_B]

I can see a 'Share' button from within a Chat in Teams that has no active call, if that's what you're asking.   So I suspect that answer is yes, it was fixed.

 

I'm running Teams machine-wide install version 1.3.00.28779, HDX Optimization is definitely in use, and Workspace 2006 for Linux on my machine (it's a thin client, so I can't update until the vendor does).   I am also registered for Public Preview features in Teams Admin (within O365) which might make a difference - I honestly can't remember when it appeared as it's not that obvious unless you're looking for it.

 

What are you seeing, compared to my screenshot?

[Evan Ashdown]

I see the "Share" button as well. But if we try to use it with no active call, all we get is a black box. No video feed actually comes unless there's an existing active call (video or audio).

 

We're running Teams Machine-Wide version 1.3.00.21759 (64-bit), HDX optimization, and a mix of Workspace 2002-2012 for Windows. No Public Preview is enabled. VDA's are all on 1912 LTSR. Desktops are Windows 2016. 

 

I've tried talking to Microsoft about this and they keep pointing the finger at Citrix.

[Mike_B]

I just tested a screenshare from a Teams chat, with no call in place, with two separate colleagues - both worked fine, albeit with a delay of maybe 10 seconds each time before they could see it.  I'm using a Linux-based Wyse thin client (running 2006 Workspace for Linux), HDX Optimization in use, Windows 10 VDI running 1912LTSR CU2, and the Teams version in the screenshot above.

 

So it can work, definitely.   Whether it does so consistently is always the tricky part with Teams!

[Justin Annand]

On 4/15/2020 at 2:03 AM, Fernando Klurfan1709153904 said:

Multi-monitor: In cases where CDViewer is in full screen mode and spanning across multi-monitor setups, only the primary monitor is shared. Users must drag the application of interest inside the virtual desktop to the primary monitor for the other peer on the call to see it.

This is listed as a Citrix workspace app limitation.

 

Is it on a roadmap at all to be addressed?. Mainly focusing on Windows endpoints and to a lesser extent MAC.

 

Out of all the changes and differences from skype for business to teams, this seems to be one of the larger talking points from users.

[JensStr74]

We're running in the same issue. Where can I download the MSI-package:

 

Teams world wide installer 1.3.00.3564

 

The only MSI-package with 1.3 I've found is 1.3.0.34662

 

Thanx so far.

[Mike_B]

Teams for VDI can be downloaded from here:   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-for-vdi

 

BTW it's now offering 1.400.2879, although as there is no change log published you can't see exactly what's changed.

[JensStr74]

We've fixed our issue with removing onetime the whole regkey under:

 

HKCU\Software\Citrix

 

Which keyset exactly caused the issue is not known. But deleting it once per logoff, fixed the screen-sharing issue for us.