Citrix Storefront KEYWORDS explained

While designing a Citrix XenDesktop 7.5 environment I ran across the Citrix Storefront 2.x KEYWORDS feature. For reference I want to explain and share a summary of the KEYWORDS values known to me.

Citrix Storefront keywords are a way to enhance the user experience in a Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop environment. They enable the admin to steer the behavior of the published apps or desktops visible to the user in the different Citrix Receivers or through the Citrix Worx app in a XenMobile implementation. This, for example, enables the organisation to automatically make an app or desktop visible to a user when they open the receiver for the first time.

1. Auto
   Automatic subscription to an app or desktop for a user. The app or desktop will have an automatic subscription in the Citrix Receiver of a user. F.e. If we publish a desktop and want that desktop to be visible to a new end user without requiring any action on the user side. If you want the app or desktop to be sticky please read this blog by Citrix.
2. Featured
   This option enables the admin to put certain apps or desktops in a feature list which will be visible in the Citrix Receiver. Especially  when you have many apps and you want to highlight certain apps this is a convenient feature.
3. Prefer
   Prefer is used to specify that the locally installed version of an application should be used in preference to the equivalent delivered instance (published application)
   if both are available. So the locally installed app will be started instead off the published application
4. TreatAsApp
    This will force the Citrix Receiver to treat a published desktop as an application. This means that in the Receiver for Web the Desktop is treated as an app and there is no need to switch views (Apps or Desktops)
   

   After an before using KEYWORDS: TreatAsApp

5. Primary
   This keyword cooperates with the next keyword “Secondary”. This keyword is useful when using a dual site setup. F.e. you have an application published in both sites and published using the same name but you want the users of that app to stay in site A. Only when Site A is not able to delivery the app from Site a the App displayed will be from site B. This is completely transparent to the end user.A nice read for an active-active datacenter is the link to this Citrix blog “Active/Active GSLB for XenDesktop – A Practical Approach (Part 1)“
6. Secondary
   Opposite to the keyword Primary.
7. Mandatory
   Similar to Auto but with the difference that this application cannot be unsubscribed by the user. The user cannot remove the mandatory application from the receiver main screen.

It is possible to use multiple KEYWORDS per Desktop or Application. This is done by specifying more than one keyword in the published application or desktop. Just below you will find a quick HOWTO add KEYWORDS to a Citrix Published Desktop or a Citrix published app on XenApp or XenDesktop.

1. Open Citrix Studio
2. Go to the Delivery Groups and select the delivery group you want to set the KEYWORDS to. Or go to the Applications tab, select the app you want and select edit
3. Select User Settings and add the desired key words to the description box as depicted in the screenshot below
   

   Citrix XenDesktop Studio Edit delivery group

   Add multiple keywords separating them by a single space: KEYWORDS:Auto Featured

4. Click OK to finish the configuration of the delivery group
5. And you’re done

For more information please look at the Citrix Product Documentation (Configure Application Delivery and Optimize the user experience)