BISD IT Service Desk

How to Use VDI to Open Google Drive, Word & Excel

1. Overview

   This article provides a step-by-step guide for Bastrop ISD students on how to log in to the Horizon portal, access Google Drive, sign in with their school account, and open Microsoft Word or Excel to work on their documents.
   
   

2. Purpose

   The purpose of this article is to provide clear instructions for students to effectively use the Horizon portal for accessing Google Drive, Word, and Excel.

   
   

3. Scope

   This article is intended for Bastrop ISD students who need to access and work with Google Drive, Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel through the Horizon portal.
    

4. Instructions

   
   

   What you’ll learn:

   • How to log in to Horizon
   • How to open Google Drive
   • How to sign in with your school account
   • How to open Microsoft Word or Excel to work on your documents
     
     Step 1: Go to the Horizon Portal
     1. Open Google Chrome.
     2. In the address bar at the top, type: https://horizon.bisdtx.org
     3. Check the Dot to skip this screen and always use the Web Client
     4. Select Omnissa Horizon Web Client
        
   • Step 2. Sign In to the Horizon Portal
     1. A login screen will appear.
     2. Enter your student username – this is your student ID, the first part of your email (before the @).
        • Example: If your email is [email protected], your username is 8675309
     3. Enter your student password.
     4. Click Login.
        
   • Step 3. Open Your Apps
     Once you’re in, you’ll see a list of apps you can use.

     
     First, open Google Drive:

     1. Look for the icon called Google Drive.
     2. Click it once to open and wait for it to load. (This takes roughly 1 minute to load, all other apps once this is loaded will be much quicker)
     
     
     
   • Step 4. Sign In to Google Drive
     1. A window will pop up asking you to sign in and get started. Select Get Started then Select Sign In.
        
        
     2. A browser will open, you will need to select Sign In
        
     3. Type your full school email address: [email protected] | Then Click Next
        
        
     4. Another browser window will open and direct you to classlink. You will need to enter your school ID and password | Then click Sign In
        
     5. You should see a Success Notification
        
     6. Click Next and Next again | Then Click Skip | Then Click Got It 
        
     7. Click Open Drive | You’re now in your Google Drive!
        
   • Step 5: Open Microsoft Word or Excel
     1. Go back to the Horizon Apps screen (you can click the browser tab that says “Horizon”). Or use the Side Panel
        
     2. Click on Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel and wait for the application to Launch. 
        • Word is for writing papers, stories, or reports.
        • Excel is for working with numbers and charts.
          
   • Step 6: Save Your Work to Google Drive
     When you finish your work in Word or Excel:
     1. Click File > Save As.
     2. Choose Browse and then go to Google Drive (G:). Select the location in your drive to save the file.
     3. Give your file a name | Click Save
        
        Your file is now saved safely in Google Drive!