Connecting with PrivX Web UI
Use the PrivX Web UI to connect to remote hosts and websites from your browser. During a connection, you can copy and paste text, transfer files, and adjust session settings. Available controls depend on the connection type:
If keyboard input does not match the keys you press, see Troubleshooting Keyboard Layouts.
Starting Connections
Sign in to the PrivX Web UI with your PrivX account, then connect to a target using one of the following methods:
- Search for a target: On Home, under New Connection, enter the target host address and select a target from the suggestions.
- Browse accessible hosts: Go to Connections → Hosts and select a target.
- Reconnect to a recent target: On Home, select an entry under Recent Activity, or go to Connections → Connection History and select an entry.
- Specify a target manually: Go to Connections → Manual Connection and enter the target details. This method requires the
connections-manualpermission. To grant this permission, see Managing Roles.
Using SSH Connections
Managing SSH Terminals
Use the following keyboard shortcuts to manage SSH terminals:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch focus between the Web UI and the SSH terminal | Alt+Shift+Up or Alt+Shift+Down |
| Open a terminal | Alt+Shift+N |
| Close the current terminal | Alt+Shift+W |
| Switch terminals | Alt+Shift+Left or Alt+Shift+Right |
To open a terminal, you can also click + next to the terminal tabs.
The left Alt key (Option on macOS) also functions as the Meta key, for example, in Emacs.
Copying and Pasting Text in SSH Sessions
To copy text, select it in the terminal and use the appropriate shortcut for your operating system:
| OS | Copy | Paste |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | Command+C | Command+V |
| Windows or Linux | Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert | Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert |
Alternatively, right-click and use the context menu to copy or paste text.
In Chrome and Edge, you can also press Ctrl+Shift+C to copy and Ctrl+Shift+V to paste.
If a terminal application requires Ctrl+V for an action other than pasting, enable Send Ctrl-V to server under Settings. This sends the key combination to the server and disables pasting with Ctrl+V.
Searching Content in Terminal
Use the following commands to activate terminal-specific search:
- On macOS, press Command+F.
- On Windows or Linux, press Ctrl+Shift+F.
Use the arrow keys to move between matches. Press Esc or X to close the terminal search.
Transferring Files in SSH Sessions
Use the Files tab to browse files on the target host, upload and download files, and manage files and directories.
To open a directory, click it. To move to the parent directory, click 
.
| Action | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Download a file | Double-click the file, or open its ☰ menu and select Download. |
| Upload a file | Drag the file from your local computer into the file transfer view. Alternatively, click Upload next to the view and select the file. |
| Delete a file | Open the file's ☰ menu and select the delete action. |
| Create a directory | Open the ☰ menu in the Current Directory field and select the action for creating a directory. PrivX creates the directory inside the current directory. |
| Move, rename, or delete a directory | Open the directory's ☰ menu and select the required action. |
Configuring Terminal Appearance and Locale
In Settings, you can configure the font size, character encoding, and locale for the connection. You can also switch between a dark and a light theme.
Changing Terminal Type (TERM)
Some devices support only specific terminal types. After selecting a host to connect to, change the terminal type as follows:
- Go to Settings → Advanced and modify Declared Terminal Type.
- Reload the page to apply the change.
Opening Links
To open an HTTP or HTTPS link in a new browser tab:
| OS | Action |
|---|---|
| Windows or Linux | Hold Ctrl and double-click the link. |
| macOS | Hold Command and double-click the link. |
Enabling Screen Reader Support
In Settings, under Advanced, enable Screen reader mode to make terminal content available to screen readers.
Using RDP Connections
Copying and Pasting Text in RDP Sessions
When clipboard synchronization is enabled, you can copy and paste text directly between your local computer and the target host.
Clipboard synchronization is available only in Edge, Safari, and Chrome. Open Settings to check whether clipboard synchronization is supported and to enable or disable it.
If clipboard synchronization is unavailable or disabled, paste the text into the Clipboard tab, then paste it on the target host. Text copied from the target host appears automatically in the Clipboard tab.
Secrets from the RDP tab are copied automatically to the target host, regardless of whether clipboard synchronization is supported.
Transferring Files in RDP Sessions
When an RDP connection starts, PrivX automatically mounts a network drive named Transfers on PrivX on the target host. Use this drive to transfer files between your local computer and the target host.
You can copy files from the target host to Transfers on PrivX, then download them from the Files tab. Similarly, you can upload files by placing them to Transfers on PrivX on the Files tab, then move the file to another location on the target host.
- To download a file: Double-click the file, or perform a Download action via its ☰ menu.
- To upload a file: Drag-and-drop the file to the file-transfer view. Alternatively, click Upload next to the file-transfer view and select the local file to upload.
- To create a new directory, click ☰ in the Current Directory field. The directory is created under the current directory.
- To move, rename, or delete directories, click ☰ next to the target directory.
Setting Keyboard Layout in RDP Sessions
In the Settings tab, select the keyboard layout configured on the target server. Restart the connection to apply the change. This setting should match the keyboard layout defined for the server (not the client-side layout).
Using Full-Screen Mode
To enter or exit full-screen mode, click 
.
If needed, reconnect to the target host after changing the screen size.
Changing RDP Resolution
When RDPGFX is enabled, regular RDP desktop connections support display resizing during an active session. For RDP RemoteApp connections, the display size is set during the initial connection and cannot be changed during the session. For information on configuring RDPGFX and its resource requirements, see Planning Resources for RDPGFX Connections.
You can set the RDP resolution by adding the width and height parameters to the connection URL.
For example, if the connection URL is:
https://privx.example.com/privx/connections/rdp?account=alice&target=192.0.2.100
To set the resolution to 800 × 600 pixels, use:
https://privx.example.com/privx/connections/rdp?account=alice&target=192.0.2.100&width=800&height=600
Sending Special Key Combinations
To send a special key combination, such as Ctrl+Alt+Del, click Send Keys and select the required combination.
Switching Between Web UI and RDP Display
Press Alt+Shift+Up or Alt+Shift+Down to switch between the Web UI and the RDP display.
Using VNC Connections
Resizing Display
VNC connections support display resizing during an active session.
To resize the remote desktop during an active VNC connection, resize the browser window. The remote desktop automatically adjusts to the available display area without restarting the connection.
Using Web Connections
Copying and Pasting Text in Web Sessions
When clipboard synchronization is enabled, you can copy and paste text directly between your local computer and the target host.
Clipboard synchronization is available only in Edge, Safari, and Chrome. Open Settings to check whether clipboard synchronization is supported and to enable or disable it.
If clipboard synchronization is unavailable or disabled, paste the text into the Clipboard tab, then paste it on the target host. Text copied from the target host appears automatically in the Clipboard tab.
Secrets from the RDP tab are copied automatically to the target host, regardless of whether clipboard synchronization is supported.
Transferring Files in Web Sessions
When a web connection starts, PrivX automatically synchronizes files between the Files tab and the Download folder of the remote browser running on PrivX Carrier.
To download a file to your local computer:
- Download the file using the remote browser. Wait for the download to finish.
- Open the Files tab, locate the file, and download it to your local computer.
To upload a file to a website:
- Open the Files tab and upload the file from your local computer to the PrivX files folder.
- In the remote browser, click the website's file upload link.
- In the file selection dialog, select the uploaded file to upload it to the web server.
Files in the remote browser's Download folder are stored on the PrivX Web Carrier host. Monitor disk usage on that host.
Setting Keyboard Layout in Web Sessions
In the Settings tab, select the keyboard layout and then restart the connection to apply the change. This setting should match the keyboard layout defined for the server (not the client-side layout).
Using Full-Screen Mode
To enter or exit full-screen mode, click .
Troubleshooting Keyboard Layouts
If keyboard input in an RDP or web connection does not match the keys you press, check the following settings:
- For RDP connections, ensure that the target server uses the correct language and keyboard layout.
- To use the keyboard layout of your local computer, open the Settings tab in the PrivX Web UI and set the language to General Unicode.
- On macOS, set the keyboard on your local computer to Unicode and select the target language in the PrivX Web UI. The keyboard generally follows the corresponding layout in the List of QWERTY keyboard language variants.
- On Linux, configure the correct keyboard layout on your local computer and select General Unicode in the PrivX Web UI. Selecting the target language in the Web UI may also work, but some modifier key combinations may not work correctly.