Princeton Virtual Desktops - Overview


What are Princeton Virtual Desktops?

Princeton Virtual Desktops (PVD) offers anytime, anywhere access to academic software from your personal computer or other device, rather than having to use a campus cluster computer. The service also facilitates group work by putting collaboration and productivity tools at your fingertips. 

Note that a number of departments have also added course-specific resources to the platform; you will be able to access these as part of your coursework.

Who can use PVD?

Undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and casual-hourly users have access to PVD Student Labs through their Princeton netID. 

Users with sponsored accounts, however, do not have access to PVD. If your department would like one of these users to have access to PVD, please submit the "Request Microsoft Office 365 for existing Sponsored Affiliate Accounts" form.

What do you need to use PVD?

All you need is a modern web browser and a 5-15 Mbps internet connection. 

Not sure what your internet connection speed is? You can check your connection, find tips to optimize it, and troubleshoot network issues at tigerspeed.princeton.edu.

What software is available within PVD? 

The collection of software licensed by Princeton or your department  — previously provided on the physical computers on campus — is now available virtually through PVD. It includes:

Student Labs

  • Inkscape
  • ChemDraw
  • Mathematica
  • MATLAB
  • Mendeley Desktop
  • MiKTeX Console
  • MobaXterm
  • Perl
  • PuTTY
  • R x64 4.4.1
  • RStudio*
  • Sublime Text 3
  • TeXworks
  • Zotero
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • StataSE 17

* PVD allows users to install their own R packages when using R or RStudio.

Must-knows when working in PVD

When using PVD, keep these important considerations in mind:

Important! All PVD Profiles and any data stored in PVD will be deleted 30 days after the end of final exams for the current term. Please confirm any data you want to keep long-term is on your Princeton OneDrive. Follow the links below for configuring on your local computer:

Working with files

OneDrive is the default cloud storage location. Files saved to the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders will automatically be redirected to OneDrive using OneDrive Files On Demand.

Important! All data should be stored in the Desktop, Documents or Pictures folders to prevent data loss.

Printing

To print to your local printer, you must first save the file in PDF format and then download it to your computer — you cannot print directly from PVD. (To save as a PDF, use the Print to PDF or Save as PDF options within your application.)

For instructions on printing to OIT public printers see Campus Public Printing: Printing to public printers

Ending your session

When you are finished working in Princeton Virtual Desktops, you should always end your session — and be sure to save any work first.

To end your session:

  1. Click the Start (Windows icon) menu in the Windows taskbar within PVD.
  2. Select the Power icon.
  3. Click Disconnect.

 

Connecting to Princeton Virtual Desktops

Using a Web Browser

For Information on connecting to PVD using a web browser see KB0013394 - Connecting to Princeton Virtual Desktops - Using a Web Browser

Using the Windows Microsoft Remote Desktop Client

For Information on connecting to PVD using Windows see KB0013396 - Connecting to Princeton Virtual Desktops - Using the Windows Microsoft Remote Desktop Client

Using the MacOS Microsoft Remote Desktop Client

For Information on connecting to PVD using MacOS see KB0013397 - Connecting to Princeton Virtual Desktops - Using the MacOS Microsoft Remote Desktop Client

Using the iOS Microsoft Remote Desktop App

For Information on connecting to PVD using iOS see KB0013398 - Connecting to Princeton Virtual Desktops - Using the iOS Microsoft Remote Desktop App

Using the Android Microsoft Remote Desktop App

For Information on connecting to PVD using Android see KB0013399 - Connecting to Princeton Virtual Desktops - Using the Android Microsoft Remote Desktop App