Purpose

This guide provides complete setup instructions to enable Citrix USB redirection for Wacom display tablets (DTH and DTU series), allowing full pen and touch functionality inside a virtualized Citrix environment.

It assumes that:

• A functional Citrix infrastructure is already in place.
• USB redirection has not yet been configured.

Citrix uses its own connection application known as the Citrix Workspace (formerly Citrix Receiver). The Citrix Virtual Desktop Assistant (VDA) must be installed on each host system.

Citrix is configured in two different ways:

1. XenDesktop - With a XenDesktop configuration, the user has exclusive access to the host machine. This is basically the same as a Remote Desktop Connection (RDC).
2. XenApp - With a XenApp configuration, the application is allowed to be run on the host OS by the user while the underlying hardware is shared by multiple users.

Requirements

• Citrix Workspace or Citrix Receiver on the client.
• Citrix XenDesktop 7.1+ (USB Redirection).
• Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop 7.6 FP3+ (USB Optimization).
• Citrix VDA (Virtual Desktop Assistant) on host machines.
• A Windows-based VM (Windows 10 or 11).
• Latest supported Wacom tablet driver (depending on device and OS).

Step 1: Citrix Server Configuration

1. Open Citrix Studio on the Citrix server.

2. In the left pane, expand Citrix Studio > Policies.

3. Under Actions, click Create Policy.

4. In the policy editor:

   • Select ‘All Settings’ > USB Devices.

   • Set Client USB device redirection to Allowed.

   • Under Client USB device redirection rules, click Add, and enter redirection values for the target device.

   • Under Client USB device optimization rules, click Add, and enter optimization values for the device.

📌 Note: See the Tablet Configuration Values section below. Some devices require multiple entries (e.g., one for pen, one for touch).

5. Click Next, select ‘All objects in the site’, then Next again.

6. Name the policy, optionally add a description, and check Enable Policy.

7. Click Finish to save the policy.

Verifying Policy

After creating the policy:

• Check the Overview tab for Name, Status, Priority.
• Check the Settings tab for:
  • Client USB device redirection (Allowed).
  • Client USB device redirection rules.
  • Client USB device optimization rules.

Step 2: Client Setup

1. Log in to the client machine as an administrator.
2. Press Win + R, type regedit, and open the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Citrix\ICA Client\GenericUSB
4. Open the DeviceRules Multi-String Value.
5. In the Allow section, add the Client Registry values for your device.
6. Confirm changes and reboot the client machine.

Step 3: Virtual Machine Setup

Inside the Citrix-hosted Virtual Machine, install the latest Wacom tablet driver for the tablet and OS in use.

• Download from: https://www.wacom.com

Tablet Configuration Values

Use these values depending on the tablet model in use:

💡 TIP: To identify USB Vendor/Product IDs (VID/PID), use a USB database such as USBID.

References

- Citrix USB Policies Documentation: https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-policies-article/xad-policies-settings-wrapper/xad-policies-settings-ica/xad-policies-settings-usb.html