Installing and Running Lens in Virtual Andrew

Virtual Andrew is a virtual Windows desktop that you can use to run Lens.
First, visit

	https://virtual.andrew.cmu.edu

You'll be asked whether you want to "Download and Install" (a VMware Horizon
client) or "Access via Browser".  Either is fine.  If you choose to install
the client, follow the instructions for either Windows or MacOS.  You'll need
to add virtual.andrew.cmu.edu as a server.

When you connect with either the client or via a web browser, you'll have to
login under your Andrew account, and then you'll be shown a couple icons, one
of which is "General Use".  Clicking on this starts the virtual Windows
desktop. 


Installing Lens (only do once)

1) Within the virtual desktop, open a web browser (e.g., Edge), go to
https://ni.cmu.edu/~plaut/Lens, download Lens-windows.zip, and unzip (extract)
it. Inside is a "Lens" folder.  Move/drag this folder into the OneDrive folder
(there should be a link on your desktop).  Do NOT put it into the Sandbox
folder, as this doesn't persist across logins.

2) Search for "Edit environment variables for your account" and select the
result.  Do the following two steps in the top panel (User variables):

a) add a new Environment variable 
  name:  LENSDIR
  value: C:\Users\plaut\OneDrive\Lens		(replacing "plaut")

b) edit "Path" variable and add a new line:
  %LENSDIR%\Bin


Running Lens

You can run Lens by double-clicking the executable in the OneDrive\Lens\Bin
folder.  Alternatively, you can open a Command Prompt window, cd to any folder
you want (e.g., one containing a particular network script), and run "lens" in
the window.

You can put folders for homeworks and such in the OneDrive folder and they will
also persist across login sessions.


Transfering Files to/from Virtual Andrew

If you're using the VMware Horizon client, the easiest way to transfer files is
to use the shared drive option in the client. By default, your local folders
are typically shared without having to set anything up.  To access files and
folders that are on your computer while using Virtual Andrew, open Explorer and
click on "This PC" in the left frame.  Check for any drives under the Network
Locations section. Your local folders are typically shown as the Z: drive, with
the name "Network Location".

If you're accessing Virtual Andrew via the browser interface, the best way to
transfer files is to open a browser inside the virtual desktop (e.g., Edge),
log into a cloud storage service (e.g., Box or Google Drive), and use that to
upload/download files.  The browser interface has a side tab that includes a
"File Transfer panel" that can be used to upload files into your Documents
folder of the virtual desktop directly, although it doesn't seem to enable
downloading from the virtual desktop to your local machine.

David Plaut
19 Jan 2023