Use keyboard, mouse, touch, and pen in Windows App

Once you're connected to your devices and apps using Windows App, it's important to know how to use its features and configure settings. This article shows you how to user different input methods, such as keyboard, mouse, touch, and pen in Windows App.

Prerequisites

Before you can configure display settings, you need:

• Windows App installed on your local device, or access to Windows App in a web browser, with at least one device or app added. To learn more, see Get started with Windows App

Input methods

Select a tab for the platform you're using.

Windows

Here's how to use the different input methods in Windows App for Windows. You can use a built-in or external PC keyboard, mouse, and trackpad to control devices or apps.

Keyboard shortcuts

There are several keyboard shortcuts you can use with your devices and apps. These shortcuts are divided into two categories: those shortcuts to control the session window, and those shortcuts to use in the remote session.

Here are the keyboard shortcuts you can use to control the session window:

Key combination	Description
CTRL+ALT+HOME	Activates the connection bar when in full-screen mode and the connection bar isn't pinned.
CTRL+ALT+PAUSE	Switches the client between full-screen mode and window mode.

Most common Windows keyboard shortcuts, such as CTRL+C for copy and CTRL+Z for undo, are the same in a remote session. When you're using a device or app in windowed mode, there are some keyboard shortcuts that are different so that Windows knows when to use them in a remote session or on your local device. These keyboard shortcuts are:

Windows shortcut	Windows App shortcut	Description
CTRL+ALT+DELETE	CTRL+ALT+END	Shows the Windows Security dialog box. Also applicable in fullscreen mode.
ALT+TAB	ALT+PAGE UP	Switches between programs from left to right.
ALT+SHIFT+TAB	ALT+PAGE DOWN	Switches between programs from right to left.
WINDOWS key or CTRL+ESC	ALT+HOME	Shows the Start menu.
ALT+SPACE BAR	ALT+DELETE	Shows the system menu.
PRINT SCREEN	CTRL+ALT++ (plus sign)	Takes a snapshot of the entire remote session, and places it in the clipboard.
ALT+PRINT SCREEN	CTRL+ALT+- (minus sign)	Takes a snapshot of the active window in the remote session, and places it in the clipboard.

Note

Keyboard shortcuts don't work when using device or app sessions that are nested.

Keyboard language

By default, devices and apps use the same keyboard language, also known as locale, as your Windows PC. For example, if your Windows PC uses en-GB for English (United Kingdom), the same is also used by Windows in the remote session.

You can manually set which keyboard language to use in the remote session by following the steps at Managing display language settings in Windows. You might need to close and restart the application you're currently using for the keyboard changes to take effect.

Use touch gestures

You can use touch gestures to replicate mouse actions in your remote session. If you connect to a device or app running Windows 10 or later, native Windows touch and multi-touch gestures are supported.

The following table shows which mouse operations map to which gestures:

Mouse operation	Gesture
Left-click	Tap with one finger
Right-click	Tap and hold with one finger
Left-click and drag	Double-tap and hold with one finger, then drag
Right-click	Tap with two fingers
Right-click and drag	Double-tap and hold with two fingers, then drag
Mouse wheel	Tap and hold with two fingers, then drag up or down
Zoom	With two fingers, pinch to zoom out and move fingers apart to zoom in

macOS

Here's how to use the different input methods in Windows App for macOS. You can use a built-in or external Mac keyboard, mouse, and trackpad to control devices or apps.

Keyboard shortcuts

Mac and Windows keyboard layouts differ slightly; for example, the Command key on a Mac keyboard equals the Windows key on a Windows keyboard. To help with the differences the different layouts makes when using keyboard shortcuts, Windows App automatically maps common shortcuts found in macOS so they work in Windows. These shortcuts are:

Key combination	Function
Command+C	Copy
Command+X	Cut
Command+V	Paste
Command+A	Select all
Command+Z	Undo
Command+F	Find
Command+W	Close

In addition, the Option key to the right of the space bar on a Mac keyboard equals the Alt Gr key in Windows.

Keyboard language

By default, devices and apps use the same keyboard language, also known as locale, as your Mac. For example, if your Mac uses en-GB for English (United Kingdom), the same is also used by Windows in the remote session.

There are some Mac-specific layouts or custom layouts for which an exact match might not be available on the Windows device you're connecting to. Your Mac keyboard is matched to the best available on the remote session. If your keyboard layout is set to a variation of a language, such as Canadian-French, and if the remote session can't map you to that exact variation, it maps the closest available language instead. For example, if you choose the Canadian-French locale and it isn't available, but French is, French is chosen as the closest language. In this case, some of the Mac keyboard shortcuts you're used to using on your Mac might not work as expected in the remote session.

There are some scenarios where characters in the remote session don't match the characters you typed on the Mac keyboard:

• If you're using a keyboard that the remote session doesn't recognize. When Windows in the remote session doesn't recognize the keyboard, it defaults to the language last used with the remote session.
• Connecting to a previously disconnected remote session where that session uses a different keyboard language than the language you're currently trying to use.
• Switching keyboard modes between unicode and scancode. To learn more, see Keyboard modes.

You can manually set which keyboard language to use in the remote session by following the steps at Managing display language settings in Windows. You might need to disconnect from your remote session and reconnect for the keyboard changes to take effect.

Keyboard modes

There are two different modes you can use that control how keyboard input is interpreted in a remote session: scancode and unicode.

With scancode, user input is redirected by sending key press up and down information to the remote session. Each key is identified by its physical position on the keyboard and uses the keyboard layout of the remote session, not the keyboard of the local device. For example, scancode 31 is the key next to Caps Lock. On a US keyboard this key would produce the character 'A', while on a French keyboard this key would produce the character 'Q'.

With unicode, user input is redirected by sending each character to the remote session. When a key is pressed, the locale of the user is used to translate this input to a character. This translation can be the character 'a' by pressing the 'a' key, but you can enable an Input Method Editor (IME), allowing you to input multiple keystrokes to create more complex characters, such as for Chinese and Japanese input sources. Here are some examples of when to use each mode.

When to use scancode:

• Dealing with characters that aren't printable, such as Arrow Up or shortcut combinations.

• Using certain applications that don't accept scancode input for characters such as: Hyper-V VMConnect (for example, when trying to enter a BitLocker password), VMware Remote Console, all applications written using the Qt framework (for example R Studio, TortoiseHg, QtCreator).

• Using applications that utilize scancode input for actions, such as Space bar to check/uncheck a checkbox, or individual keys as shortcuts, for example applications in browser.

When to use unicode:

• To avoid a mismatch in expectations. If you expect the keyboard to behave like a Mac keyboard and not like a PC keyboard, you can run into issues where Mac and PC have differences for the same locale/region layout.

• When the keyboard layout used on the local device might not be available in the remote session.

To switch between keyboard modes:

1. Open Windows App.

2. From the macOS menu bar, select Connections, then select Keyboard Mode.

3. Choose Scancode or Unicode.

Alternatively, you can use the following keyboard shortcut to select each mode:

• Scancode: Control+Command+K
• Unicode: Control+Command+U

Input Method Editor

Windows App supports Input Method Editor (IME) in a remote session for input sources. The local macOS IME experience is accessible in the remote session.

Important

For an IME to work, the input mode needs to be in unicode mode. To learn more, see Keyboard modes.

Use trackpad gestures in a remote session

You can use native trackpad gestures in a remote session. The following table shows which trackpad operations when compared to mouse operations are supported:

Mouse operation	Gesture
Left-click	Tap with one finger
Right-click	Tap with two fingers, click in bottom-right corner, or click in bottom-left corner (mirrors your macOS setting)
Left-click and drag	Tap and hold with one finger, then drag
Right-click drag	Tap and hold with two fingers, then drag
Mouse wheel	Drag up or down with two fingers

Mouse and trackpad device support

You can use a separate mouse or trackpad with Windows App. In order to use right-click or secondary-click, you might need to configure macOS to enable right-click, or you can plug in a standard PC two-button USB mouse. For more information on how to configure right-click on macOS, see Right-click on Mac.

iOS/iPadOS

Here's how to use the different input methods in Windows App for iOS/iPadOS. You can use native touch gestures, or keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and pen to control and interact with devices or apps.

Keyboard shortcuts

You can use familiar keyboard shortcuts when using a keyboard with your iPad or iPhone and Windows App. Mac and Windows keyboard layouts differ slightly - for example, the Command key on a Mac keyboard equals the Windows key on a Windows keyboard. To help with the differences when using keyboard shortcuts, Windows App automatically maps common shortcuts found in iOS and iPadOS so they work in Windows. These shortcuts are:

Key combination	Function
Command+C	Copy
Command+X	Cut
Command+V	Paste
Command+A	Select all
Command+Z	Undo
Command+F	Find
Command++	Zoom in
Command+-	Zoom out

In addition, here are some other keyboard shortcuts to be aware of when using Windows App on iOS and iPadOS:

• The Option key to the right of the space bar on an Apple keyboard equals the Alt Gr in Windows.

• On some European versions of the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad, there can be a conflict when using the Option key for shortcuts in Windows compared to the character input you're expecting in iPadOS. The following table shows an example from a German keyboard layout:

  Key combination	Windows	iPadOS
  Option+L	Application specific shortcut	Enters @
  Option+E	Application specific shortcut	Enters €

  You can use the keyboard shortcut Option+Command+9 to toggle between the Windows and iPadOS behavior.

Note

We only support Apple first-party keyboards in Windows App on iOS and iPadOS. Third-party hardware or software keyboards aren't supported.

Use touch gestures and mouse modes in a remote session

You can use touch gestures to replicate mouse actions in your remote session. Two mouse modes are available:

• Direct touch: where you tap on the screen is the equivalent to clicking a mouse in that position. The mouse pointer isn't shown on screen.

• Mouse pointer: The mouse pointer is shown on screen. When you tap the screen and move your finger, the mouse pointer moves.

Native Windows touch and multi-touch gestures are supported in direct touch mode. The following table shows which mouse operations and trackpad gestures map to which gestures in specific mouse modes:

Mode	Mouse operation	Touch gesture	Touch gesture sent to remote session¹
Direct touch	Left-click	Tap with one finger	Yes
Direct touch	Right-click	Tap and hold with one finger	Yes
Mouse pointer	Cursor movement	Tap and hold with one finger, drag	Yes
Mouse pointer	Left-click	Tap with one finger	Yes
Mouse pointer	Left-click and drag	Double-tap and hold with one finger, then drag	Yes
Mouse pointer	Right-click	Tap with two fingers, or tap and hold with one finger	Yes
Mouse pointer	Right-click drag	Double-tap and hold with two fingers, then drag	Yes
Mouse pointer	Mouse wheel/scrolling	Tap and hold with two fingers, then drag up or down	Yes
Mouse pointer	Zoom	With two fingers, pinch to zoom out and spread fingers apart to zoom in	No

1. Yes means the touch gesture is sent to the remote session. No means the touch gesture happens on the local device. You can also include SHIFT and ALT modifiers with touch gestures that are sent to a remote session.

Mouse and trackpad device support

You can use a separate mouse or trackpad with Windows App. However, support for these devices depends on whether you're using iOS or iPadOS. iPadOS natively supports a mouse and trackpad as an input method; for more information, see Connect a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad to your iPad.

On iOS, the only native support for a mouse and trackpad is through AssistiveTouch. AssistiveTouch provides a cursor emulating touch input, so it doesn't support right-click actions or external monitor support, so we don't recommend using it with Windows App. For iPhone users projecting a remote session to a larger external monitor, we recommend the following options:

1. Use Windows App as trackpad, where the iPhone itself can serve as a trackpad for the remote session. The app will automatically convert to a trackpad once connected to external monitor.

2. Use a bluetooth mouse from the SwiftPoint PenGrip Models, which are compatible with Windows App. The following models are supported:

   • Swiftpoint ProPoint
   • Swiftpoint PadPoint
   • SwiftPoint GT

   In order to benefit from the Swiftpoint integration, you must connect a Swiftpoint mouse to your iPhone and in Windows App:

   1. Put the mouse in pairing mode for bluetooth.

   2. Open the Settings app on your iPhone, then select Bluetooth.

   3. The mouse should be listed under Other devices. Tap the name of the mouse to pair it.

   4. Open the RD Client application on your device.

   5. In the top left-hand corner, tap the menu icon (the circle with three dots inside), then tap Settings.

   6. Tap Input Devices, then in the list of the devices, tap the name of the Swiftpoint mouse you want to use.

   7. Tap the back arrow (<), then tap the X mark. You're ready to connect to a remote session and use the Swiftpoint mouse.

Android/Chrome OS

Here's how to use the different input methods in Windows App for Android/Chrome OS. You can use native touch gestures, or keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and pen to control and interact with devices or apps.

Use touch gestures and mouse modes in a remote session

You can use touch gestures to replicate mouse actions in your remote session. Two mouse modes are available:

• Direct touch: where you tap on the screen is the equivalent to clicking a mouse in that position. The mouse pointer isn't shown on screen.

• Mouse pointer: The mouse pointer is shown on screen. When you tap the screen and move your finger, the mouse pointer moves.

Native Windows touch and multi-touch gestures are supported in direct touch mode. The following table shows which mouse operations map to which gestures in specific mouse modes:

Mouse mode	Mouse operation	Gesture
Direct touch	Left-click	Tap with one finger
Direct touch	Right-click	Tap and hold with one finger
Mouse pointer	Left-click	Tap with one finger
Mouse pointer	Left-click and drag	Double-tap and hold with one finger, then drag
Mouse pointer	Right-click	Tap with two fingers, or tap and hold with one finger
Mouse pointer	Right-click drag	Double-tap and hold with two fingers, then drag
Mouse pointer	Mouse wheel	Tap and hold with two fingers, then drag up or down
Mouse pointer	Zoom	With two fingers, pinch to zoom out and spread fingers apart to zoom in

Keyboard and keyboard shortcuts

You can use a physical keyboard that you use on your local device automatically when you connect to a remote session. If you don't have a physical keyboard, you can use the on-screen keyboard in Windows App. Once you're connected to a remote session, tap the keyboard icon in the connection bar to show or hide the on-screen keyboard.

You can also use familiar keyboard shortcuts for Windows when using a keyboard with your local device and Windows App.

Keyboard modes

There are two different modes you can use that control how keyboard input is interpreted in a remote session: scancode and unicode.

With scancode, user input is redirected by sending key press up and down information to the remote session. Each key is identified by its physical position on the keyboard and uses the keyboard layout of the remote session, not the keyboard of the local device. For example, scancode 31 is the key next to Caps Lock. On a US keyboard this key would produce the character 'A', while on a French keyboard this key would produce the character 'Q'.

With unicode, user input is redirected by sending each character to the remote session. When a key is pressed, the locale of the user is used to translate this input to a character. This translation can be the character 'a' by pressing the 'a' key, but you can enable an Input Method Editor (IME), allowing you to input multiple keystrokes to create more complex characters, such as for Chinese and Japanese input sources. Here are some examples of when to use each mode.

When to use scancode:

• Dealing with characters that aren't printable, such as Arrow Up or shortcut combinations.

• Using certain applications that don't accept scancode input for characters such as: Hyper-V VMConnect (for example, when trying to enter a BitLocker password), VMware Remote Console, all applications written using the Qt framework (for example R Studio, TortoiseHg, QtCreator).

• Using applications that utilize scancode input for actions, such as Space bar to check/uncheck a checkbox, or individual keys as shortcuts, for example applications in browser.

When to use unicode:

• To avoid a mismatch in expectations.

• When the keyboard layout used on the local device might not be available in the remote session.

To switch between keyboard modes:

1. Open Windows App.

2. Tap the user profile icon to open the settings pane.

3. Tap General.

4. Toggle Use scancode input when available to on to use scancode, or off to use unicode.

Web browser

Here's how to use the different input methods in Windows App in a web browser. You can use a built-in or external PC keyboard, trackpad, and mouse to control devices or apps.

Keyboard shortcuts

There are several keyboard shortcuts you can use with your devices and apps. Most common Windows keyboard shortcuts, such as CTRL+C for copy and CTRL+Z for undo, are the same in a remote session. There are some keyboard shortcuts that are different so Windows knows when to use them in a remote session or on your local device. These keyboard shortcuts are:

Windows shortcut	Windows App shortcut (Windows)	Windows App shortcut (macOS)	Description
CTRL+ALT+DELETE	CTRL+ALT+END	Fn+Control+Option+Backspace	Shows the Windows Security dialog box.
Windows key or CTRL+ESC	ALT+F3	Option+F3	Shows the Start menu.
ALT+TAB	ALT+PAGE UP	Fn+Option+Arrow Up	Switches between programs from left to right.
ALT+SHIFT+TAB	ALT+PAGE DOWN	Fn+Option+Arrow Down	Switches between programs from right to left.

Note

You can copy and paste text only. Files can't be copied or pasted to and from the remote session when using a web browser.

You can also configure Windows App so that all keyboard shortcuts behave the same as they would natively on a Windows device. When keyboard shortcuts are enabled, the remote session opens full-screen as it doesn't work windowed. You must enter full-screen mode to use keyboard shortcuts. For a full list of shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts in Windows.

To enable keyboard shortcuts:

1. Sign in to Windows App using your web browser.

2. Connect to a device or app.

3. On the toolbar of the session, select the cog icon for In session configuration.

4. Check the box for Keyboard shortcuts (preview).

5. Select Update.

6. Enter full screen from the toolbar, or if you're prompted about keyboard shortcuts, select Enter full screen.

Alternative keyboard layout

You can use an Input Method Editor (IME) in the remote session to enter complex characters. Before you can use an IME in a remote session, the language pack for the keyboard you want to use must be installed on the remote device you want to connect to.

To enable an alternative keyboard layout:

1. Sign in to Windows App using your web browser.

2. Connect to a device or app.

3. On the toolbar of the session, select the cog icon for In session configuration.

4. Toggle Enable alternative keyboard layout to on.

5. Select the remote keyboard layout you want to use from the drop-down list.

6. Select Update.

7. You need to disconnect from your remote session and reconnect for the settings to take effect. For Disconnect to update settings, select Now or Before next session from the drop-down list, then select Continue.

Note

• If the language pack isn't installed on the session host, the keyboard in the remote session will default to English (United States).

• Standard keyboard input may not work as expected when using an IME.

Related content

Learn more about how to use Windows App:

• Device actions
• Configure display settings
• Manage user accounts
• Redirect local devices, audio, and folders