Apple OSX users sometimes experience an incorrect keyboard layout loaded within their Citrix session. As a result, special characters are often located in different places. The cause of this issue is that Apple has a different keyboard layout compared to Windows, leading to an Apple US-international keyboard being recognized as a Dutch keyboard in Windows.
How to identify your Apple keyboard layout by country or region
Some time ago, we conducted extensive research together with Citrix Support to investigate the cause of this issue and whether there are possibilities to change this behavior. Unfortunately, it has been found that this behavior cannot be changed through a central solution. This behavior can only be altered by making adjustments on a per OSX system basis. This guide provides detailed instructions on what needs to be adjusted.
Depending on the software version of the Citrix Receiver or the Workspace App, the required configuration file is located in different places.
After starting the Citrix Receiver App on the Mac, you can find the version number via the taskbar > Citrix Receiver > About Citrix Receiver.
On Macs with a version of the Citrix Receiver application, the configuration files are located at:
~/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver/
On Macs with a version of the Citrix Workspace App, the configuration files are located at:
~/Library/Application Support/Citrix Workspace/
Note! There is an exception. If the Mac was initially equipped with the Citrix Receiver and then upgraded to the Workspace App, the configuration files are still located in the folder: ~/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver/
To ensure that the correct keyboard layout is applied in the Citrix session, a configuration file must be manually adjusted. Depending on the installed version of the Citrix Receiver/Workspace App, the ‘config’ file is located in the locations mentioned above.
Open the Finder
Select the ‘Go to Folder’ option from the taskbar.
This can also be done using the following keyboard shortcut: Command (or Cmd) ⌘ + Shift ⇧ + G. Then, enter the path to the configuration folder.
Next, double-click on the ‘Config’ file to open it.
In the opened ‘Config’ file, search for the line ‘KeyboardLayout’=(Default).
Then, adjust the line ‘KeyboardLayout’ to your desired keyboard layout. In the example below, I have used US-International:
- Old: KeyboardLayout=(Default)
- New: KeyboardLayout=US-International
Afterward, save the ‘Config’ file and close it. Then, start a new Citrix session and verify if the keyboard layout is indeed correctly set.