VMware Hands-on Labs Guidance, Controls, and Keyboard Settings and Text entry

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VMWare Hands-on Labs

Issue/Introduction

This document provides general lab guidance and can help you understand the features and functions of the hands-on lab portals and settings. There are many settings an attendee can modify to optimize their experience.

Resolution

Lab Guidance

The Table of Contents can be accessed in the upper right-hand corner of the Lab Manual. Use the Table of Contents to access any module of your choosing.

Lab manuals are available under Lab Resources and can be downloaded as a PDF document using either of the options below:

Click on the Resource icon from a Lab listing on VMware Hands-on Lab

Click on Resources within the Lab console page.

Main Console

The area in the red box is the Main Console. The Lab Manual is available on the tab to the right of the Main Console.
A particular lab may have additional consoles found on separate tabs in the upper right. You will be directed to open another specific console if needed.
Your lab starts with 90 minutes on the timer. The lab cannot be saved. All your work must be done during the lab session. However, you can click the Extend to increase your time. If you are at a VMware event, you can extend your lab time twice, for up to 30 minutes. Each click gives you an additional 15 minutes. Outside of VMware events, you can extend your lab time up to 3 hours. Each click gives you an additional 45 minutes. Lab extensions can vary in duration, sometimes being more or less than three hours, depending on demand and resource availability.

Keyboard Options and Settings

Keyboard Entry

During the lab, you may enter text into the Main Console. Besides directly typing it in, there are two beneficial methods of entering data that make it easier to enter complex data.

Click and drag the Lab Manual Content into the Console Active Window, as demonstrated in the Drag and Drop Text Feature video.
You can also click and drag text and Command Line Interface (CLI) commands directly from the Lab Manual into the active window of the Main Console.

Accessing the Online International Keyboard

You can use the Online International Keyboard found in the Main Console. Click the Keyboard Icon found on the Windows Quick Launch Taskbar.

Modifying the Lab Keyboard Settings

The VMware Lab Platform (the Hands-On Lab portal) automatically detects most settings. However, within the Hands-On Lab portal, additional ANSI-keyboard-related settings are available if modifications are required.

To optimize these settings, hover over the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner and click it. The settings window (shown below) is displayed, and you can change the following settings as required:

Interception of copy/paste
Remapping the macOS Command
Manual Keyboard Shortcut support
Non-ANSI keyboard support
Mouse Scroll Settings

Lab Controls

The following additional controls are available for the lab manual use and placement on the screen. Take a few moments to understand these so that your experience within the VMware Hands-on Labs is optimal.

Clicking the arrows on the left of the slide-out (right-hand side of the screen) shows or hides the lab manual.
The Lab Manual Controls in the upper right allow you to dock, undock, and move the lab manual to fit your screen.
Using the Table of Contents option menu will allow you to jump to any point in the lab manual.
Using the Split Screen option under the three dots menu will allow you to use a tablet as a second screen to view this manual while you work in the Hands-On Lab.
Using the Font Sizer buttons in the upper-right corner will change the text size of the lab manual for better viewing.
Dragging the corners or edges of the lab manual display will allow you to decrease or increase the size of your lab manual.
Clicking on images will show larger pop-out versions of the manuals.

Send Text to Console

In the unlikely event that the local info must be pasted into the Control Center desktop, use the Send Text icon to enable the Send text to Console feature of the VMware Hands-on Labs.
The Send Text icon is directly above the console.

Switching Console

Within your lab, you may be switching between systems using the VMware Lab Platform (VLP) Consoles tab. By default, this is located on the right side of the browser window.

Click the Consoles tab and select from the various systems displayed.

Ending a Hands-On Lab

To end a lab on the VMware Hands-on Labs portal, use the End button located under Finish Lab at the top of the page. Then, click CONFIRM and return to the home page to re-enroll in a new lab.

Completion Calculation

The percent complete is simply the amount of time used divided by the amount of time given. For instance, if you spent 45 minutes out of the initial 90 minutes of lab time, your completion percentage would be 50%. In a typical lab, we do not monitor your progress in the lab manual or the accuracy of your work. Odyssey Labs is a timed competition that verifies the completion of tasks. You are required to complete the tasks without assistance to achieve a score based on the accuracy of your work and the time taken.

Follow these steps to get the lab completion certificate:

On the Home screen, choose the "Complete Labs" tab.
Select the "Email transcript" button to receive a certificate for the lab you completed.

Full Screen not Working

Use the [] symbol on the top left corner of the Lab console. If the full-screen button does not work, you can use the browser's full-screen option.

What is My Password

The Main Console login password for Windows or Linux is from the console; see the image below. Additionally, the README.txt file on the desktop includes the credentials for most machines used in the lab.

To see if your system and browser are compatible, please visit the VMware Hands-On Labs Compatibility Checker.