blazcode / BgAssist

Small footprint executable triggering desktop background refreshes, helping to improve user experience and accessibility in VDI environments.

BgAssist

BgAssist is designed to complement BgInfo in virtual desktop environments.

BgAssist improves virtual deskop end user experience by maintaining a consistent desktop background appearance and giving users administrator defined customization options. When BgAssist.exe is launched on session creation, it listens for system display changes and triggers BgInfo to update the Desktop Background. The user's desktop background will automatically adjust when the client window resizes/resolution changes. Additionally, administrators can provide multiple BgInfo configuration files, allowing users to choose their background either for color preference, functionality, or accessibility needs. The executable is written to use minimal system resources, consuming only ~12 MB RAM and nearly zero CPU per session.

BgAssist will trigger desktop background refreshes on:

• BgAssist startup
• Display settings changes/screen resize
• User background selection change

Example display change refresh

Example user background change

Identifiable system, platform, client, and user information redacted from BgInfo for examples.

Setup

1. Donwload the latest release, extract files onto gold image i.e. C:\BgAssist

2. Download BgInfo and extract BgInfo64.exe into the same directory as BgAssist

   1. Note: BgAssist is only compatible with BgInfo64.exe

3. Run BgAssist-Config.exe.

   

   1. Set BgInfo64.exe path.
   2. Set default BgInfo configuration file path. If there are multiple .bgi configuration files in the same directory, users will be able to choose a customized default. Important: DO NOT put spaces in .bgi configuration file names.
   3. Set BgInfo switches as desired; reference.
   4. Save BgAssist configuration.

4. Create BgAssist.exe shortcut in %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp or use other method to run executable at user login

5. To persist user selected background configuration, capture the following registry key with the appropriate profile roaming technology: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BgAssist\Config

Using BgAssist

Once BgAssist is triggered to run, the application will read the configuration (BgAssist-Config.exe.config) and fire BgInfo64. If no user selected configuration is found, BgAssist will use the default configuration defined by the administrator. Otherwise, the user selected configuration will be used.

BgAssist will launch silently in the background, leaving an icon in the System Tray that an end user can interact with. Right-clicking the icon will show the menu:

Double clicking the System Tray icon will launch the Desktop Background window where the user can choose a background, manually refresh their background, or view the BgAssist log file.

BgAssist.log is stored at %LocalAppData%\BgAssist\BgAssist.log

Best practices

To achieve optimal user experience, consider the following best practices:

• Use solid colors for seamless background refreshes.
• Non-solid, graphical background images will work and are best set to a 16:9 aspect ratio at 4K resolution. Beware, these types of backgrounds will render distorted on any resolution not running at a matching aspect ratio.
• BgInfo wallpaper bitmap
  • Should contain relevant corporate branding that does not negatively impact accessibility needs of users.
  • Image background color should be solid for ideal use.
  • Wallpaper image should be centered on screen; in testing, a maximum a resolution of 1100x200 has produced the best user experience on many screen resolutions.
  • Wallpaper image should not interfere or decrease the readability of desktop icons.
• Provide multiple configurations to accommodate accessibility needs

Real world use

BgAssist was developed and tested with both VMware Horizon and Citrix virtual desktops based on Windows 10 1909. While no testing has been completed on RDSH or physical workstations, BgAssist would theoretically function.