Computer Workstation FAQs

Primary Users:

Primary users in the Strauss Library Information Commons include faculty, staff, and students of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and University of Colorado Hospital. Access the Strauss Library primary user policy here. CU Anschutz students and employees with their Anschutz campus badge may remain in the library after public closing and also have 24/7 front door admittance. For more information on after-hours access, see our 24/7 Access policy here

Guest Users:

The library is open to the public during specified hours and provides 8 workstations to non-affiliated guest users. Guest passes are for one 3 hour use, per day. Check in at the Service Desk to receive a guest pass. See our public access hours here.

Q: What is the Computer Policy?

A: All users must abide by the Computer Policy of the Strauss Health Sciences Library at Anschutz Medical Campus. Access the Computer Policy here.

Q: How do I save my work?

A: Save your work to a cloud service, such as OneDrive, or on a USB storage device, e.g. thumb drive. Or, email yourself the documents as attachments. Note: the CU Office 365 Email has an attachment size limit of 25MB. 
WARNING: If any files were saved to the computer's hard drive, those files will be LOST when the computer is either turned off or rebooted.

Q: What does "virtual desktop workstations" mean?

A: Virtual Desktop means that the small boxes you see next to the monitors have no moving parts like a hard drive. Instead, they use the VMWare Horizon View software platform, which means you access a "virtual computer" remotely.  When you log in, it takes about 50 to 70 seconds (depending on the complexity of workstation selected) for the virtual desktop to become fully available. The library provides virtual desktops via the VMWare Horizon View thin client model, which allows for a more stable, uniform, secure and up-to-date computing environment.

Q: How do I log in to a virtual desktop?

A: At the login screen:

  1. Select the appropriate DOMAIN from the dropdown menu. 
    • Students, staff, and faculty: select UNIVERSITY. University of Colorado Hospital: select UCH.
  2. Enter your CU Denver short login name (not your email address) and password and click LOGIN.
  3. Select and double click the Windows 10 workstation option that best suits your needs:
    • All options have Chrome, Edge, Firefox
    • Some options have a limited number of “seats” due to software licensing.
    • Options list:
      • A-Office2016 *or* B-Office2016 = Office and Endnote (15 SEATS A, 15 SEATS B)
      • C-Office2016 and Acrobat = Office and Acrobat Pro 17 (4 SEATS)
      • Stats & VH Dissector = SPSS, SAS, VH Dissector and more (1 SEAT)
  4. The desktop takes approximately 50-70 seconds to come up while Windows 10 is creating your profile.
  5. After selecting your workstation, click the OK button at the center of the screen once it appears.

Q: On a virtual desktop, why can't I see my USB drive in the "My Computer" view?

A: Some patrons cannot see their USB in the “My Computer” view along with the other drive letters. After logging on completely, plug in the USB and wait. If you cannot see the top banner, move your mouse to the top of the screen and click the “Connect USB Device” button. If the USB is showing as #1 click that, if it does not show click “auto-connect USB Devices” and see if it will appear.

Q: What happens when I log off?

A: The computer workstations in the library are set to NOT save an individual user's profile or data. This means that when you log off of the workstation, all your C: drive settings and files will be lost. If you save a file to the My Documents folder, it will be eliminated when you log off the public PCs.