uDesk is Appalachian's virtual desktop solution.

You can access a custom-built Windows operating environment from any device with which you have an active internet connection. uDesk allows faculty and staff to work from home just as if they were in the office and allows students to access university-licenses software found in campus computers labs.

uDesk creates a virtual Windows instance inside your web browser, allowing you to access a university build at any time. Frequent users can even install the uDesk Horizon Client on their machine to bypass the web browser entirely

To use uDesk, follow the instructions below for each of the options

  • Access the uDesk HTML Portal
    • Navigate to udesk.appstate.edu
    • Select Login to the new uDesk.
    • In the Microsoft login window, enter your full App State email address and the password. NOTE: if you're enrolled in Duo 2FA, you will be prompted to enter your second factor of authentication
    • Choose the appropriate Faculty/Staff or Computer Lab option.
    • Choose the correct operating environment based on your classification
    • When finished, be sure to use the Shut Down power option in the Start Menu
      • Note: Closing your web browser while the uDesk HTML Portal is active or failing to use the Shut Down command could result in data loss

  • Access Mac-specific software 
    • Click on the View Details button for further instructions

  • GPU Based Software for graphic-intensive software
    • Click on the uDesk 1.0 button
    • Select the HTML Access option
    • Login with your App State username and password
    • Select the Computer Lab GPU option


For more information on remote connections, visit our article on Work from Home (Telework) Resources.