Mass Deploy 3CX PWA App for Terminal Server Users

Introduction

We’ve put together a detailed guide on how to mass deploy the 3CX progressive web app (PWA) for terminal server users covering the steps you need to take depending on whether your users browse with Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Follow the steps to prepare and deploy your installation.

Step 1: Add Group Admin Template

1. Install Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome for all terminal server users.
2. Add the “Group Administrative template” for Edge or Chrome.

Step 2: Configure your Group Policy

Next you must enable and configure the following templates for Edge / Chrome. To do so:

1. Open the ‘Local Group Policy Editor’
2. Go to “User Configuration > Administrative Templates” and select the browser folder.
3. Select the template “Configure list of force-installed Web AppsCheck” and check “Enable”. Click “Apply”.
4. Go to the “Options > Configure Variables for your PWA”. Make sure the following string is a single line:

[{"create_desktop_shortcut": true, "default_launch_container": "window", "url": "https://yourfqdn:port/webclient/"}]

Where “URL” is the URL from where the PWA will be installed from. For example, if you’re using https (443), the URL will be “https://yourfqdn/webclient/”. If you’re using the port 5001, the URL will be “https://yourfqdn:5001/webclient/”.

5. Select the template “Continue running background apps after Microsoft Edge closes / when Google Chrome is closed” and check “Enable”. Click “Apply”.
6. To receive push notifications on Edge: go to “Microsoft Edge > Performance” and select the template “Enable Startup Boost ”. Check "Enable” and “Apply”.
7. To enable Chrome PWA auto start go to “Google Chrome”, select the template “Web App management settings” and check “Enabled”.
8. In the ‘Options’ field add the following parameter:

[ {  "manifest_id": "https://yourefqdn:port/057A49AF721E6DA924BF41B07FCC75820642AC7A2DA28631A1B4DC271CBC602B",  "run_on_os_login": "run_windowed" }]

Where “manifest_id” is your PBX’s domain followed by the app’s unique identifier. If you’re using the port 5001, the URL will be “https://yourfqdn:5001/057A49AF…..”. If you’re using https (443), then this should be “https://yourfqdn/057A49AF…..”.

9. Click “Apply”.

Step 3: Apply your Group Policy

1. Update your group policies using the “Group Policy Update” command or restart your RDS server. Users may need to sign out and sign in for all policies to apply.
2. Check if the settings have been applied by logging into a TS-user session, opening Edge / Chrome and typing in the address path: edge://policy or chrome://policy.
3. Once your terminal Server users connect to their TS sessions they will need to start their browser once. After that, they should be able to see the PWA on their desktop named “3CX”.  
4. As users open the PWA app for the first time they will need to log in with their extension credentials.
5. Once logged in users should allow notifications.
6. PWA is now set up and the TS users can proceed to use it for their sessions.

See also

• PWA: Auto starting Chrome / Edge to get Push Notifications
• The 3CX Web Client

Last Updated

This document was last updated on 20 April 2023

https://www.3cx.com/docs/pwa-terminal-server-deployment/