Reminder: VDI users to see change in how they access Outlook email, effective Friday, Jan. 13

IT & Epic

Effective Friday, Jan. 13, Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) users will no longer be able to access email through the Outlook app. Instead, team members in VDI will use the “Ballad Email” icon that is located in the Start menu.

Please note, this change will only affect team members working in a VDI environment; these are mostly clinical and remote users. Any team members not using VDI will continue to access their email as before.

While the Outlook app will no longer function in VDI starting Jan. 13, the app icon will still be visible to anyone who has pinned it to their taskbar. It is advised that users unpin this “dead” icon from the taskbar using the following steps:

  1. Right click on the Outlook icon in the taskbar
  2. Select “Unpin from Taskbar”

Users can then pin the Ballad Email icon to their taskbar if they want to keep their email readily accessible.

See our list of FAQs below, or click here to see the FAQs in PDF format.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is changing?

As of Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, team members using a Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) session will no longer be able to access email through the Outlook Client App. To access email while in a VDI session after Jan. 13, use the “Ballad Email” icon located under the start menu.

Why is this change necessary?

This change will enhance the users’ experience while accessing email in the VDI environment and will standardize the process.

Who will this impact?

This change will impact any users who access a VDI session. These are mostly clinical and remote users.

When will this take place?

The removal of the Outlook client icon will take place on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.

Will I still be able to access my email at work if I use a VDI session?

Yes, your email will still be available to you while in a VDI session. The “Ballad Email” icon under the start menu will remain active.

Removing the Icon

What happens if I click the old icon listed on the taskbar?

After Jan. 13, the Outlook client will be removed from your computer. You will no longer be able to search for the icon. If you have the Outlook client pinned to your taskbar, it will appear as a dead icon, and it will not open anything when you click it. You will need to unpin this from the taskbar.

How do I unpin Outlook from the Taskbar?

  1. Right click on the Outlook icon in the taskbar
  2. Select “Unpin from Taskbar” to remove the icon

What does the Ballad Email icon look like?

The Ballad Email icon looks like this in the Start menu: