9.9.8. Citrix Graphics & 3D Design

Use this guide as a baseline for tuning GPU-backed Citrix desktops where users run graphically demanding applications. It covers Citrix HDX policies, browser GPU acceleration, Windows desktop behaviour, NVIDIA GPU settings, application-level graphics settings, AutoCAD / Advance Steel database handling, multi-user access constraints, and file naming standards.

Google Maps and Google Earth should be tuned for smooth full-screen motion and video-style rendering. AutoCAD, Advance Steel and similar 3D design tools should be tuned for sharp line work, crisp text, low input latency, stable GPU acceleration, reliable standards database access, and clean file naming.

Citrix HDX Policy Profile

Browser GPU Settings — Chrome / Edge

Windows Desktop Settings — Citrix VDA

NVIDIA GPU Settings — VDA Host / VM

Application-Level Graphics Settings

AutoCAD and related 3D design applications require a different tuning approach from general video or browser-based graphics. The priority is stable GPU acceleration, sharp line work, responsive mouse movement, fast local access to standards data, and avoiding shared-file conflicts in multi-user environments.

Requirement	Recommended Approach
Central source of truth	Store approved standards databases in a central controlled share, organised by region, country, software version or project type.
Local working copy	Copy required standards databases to a local or user-specific path at logon or application launch.
Version control	Only update the local copy when the central version is newer or approved for release.
Regional profiles	Use AutoCAD profiles or application configuration to point each user or region to the correct local standards path.
Performance objective	Reduce network dependency, avoid file locking, and provide consistent standards data to all users.

# Define paths
  $NetworkPath = “\\NetworkShare\Standards\AU_Steel_Database.db”
  $LocalPath   = “C:\AutoCAD\Standards\AU_Steel_Database.db”

  # Ensure local folder exists
  $LocalFolder = Split-Path $LocalPath
  if (!(Test-Path -Path $LocalFolder)) {
      New-Item -Path $LocalFolder -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
  }

  # Copy if missing or if network copy is newer
  if (Test-Path -Path $LocalPath) {
      $NetworkDate = (Get-Item $NetworkPath).LastWriteTime
      $LocalDate   = (Get-Item $LocalPath).LastWriteTime

      if ($NetworkDate -gt $LocalDate) {
          Copy-Item -Path $NetworkPath -Destination $LocalPath -Force
          Write-Output “Updated local standards database.”
      }
  }
  else {
      Copy-Item -Path $NetworkPath -Destination $LocalPath -Force
      Write-Output “Copied standards database to local path.”
  }

Rule	Recommended Standard
Path length	Keep full paths short. Avoid deeply nested project folders and very long drawing names.
Allowed characters	Use letters, numbers, hyphens - and underscores _.
Avoid characters	Avoid < > : " / \ | ? * and avoid spaces where possible.
Case consistency	Use a consistent naming convention. Windows treats file names as case-insensitive, but consistent casing avoids confusion.
Extensions	Use correct extensions such as .DWG for AutoCAD drawings and keep template, standards and database extensions unchanged.

Profile Selection — Google Earth vs AutoCAD

Final Validation Checklist

Confirm the Citrix session is using UDP / EDT where available, hardware encoding is active, the NVIDIA GPU is visible inside the VDA, browser GPU acceleration is active, and the application itself is using hardware acceleration.