Using VNC® Viewer for iPad
When connected to a computer using VNC Viewer, your finger moves the mouse cursor rather than pans the screen, as in Safari. This means you can tap anywhere to perform an operation at the point the cursor is positioned; you don't have to tap precisely. Note the cursor is offset from under your finger so you can always see it.
» Perform mouse operations using gestures
» Perform operations in mouse button mode
» Enter international characters
» Perform keyboard operations (ie. Ctrl-Alt-Del)
» Transfer text between computer and device
Navigating the desktop
Move a finger up and down or from side to side to move the mouse cursor in the direction you want to pan. The desktop automatically scrolls as the cursor nears an edge.
Zooming the desktop
Pinch fingers apart to zoom in and see more detail. Pinch fingers together to zoom out and see more desktop. Note you cannot double-tap to zoom fully out as you can a web page in Safari.
Using gestures
A gesture is a finger movement (one or more) that emulates a mouse operation in a touchscreen environment. As an alternative, you can use mouse button mode.
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Navigate the desktop | Move a finger in the direction you want to pan. More... |
| Zoom in | Pinch fingers apart. More... |
| Zoom out | Pinch fingers together. More... |
| Move the mouse cursor | Place one finger on the screen and drag. More... |
| Click the left mouse button | Tap the screen. More... |
| Double-click the left mouse button | Double-tap the screen. More... |
| Click the right mouse button | Tap two fingers on the screen. More... |
| Click the middle mouse button | Tap three fingers on the screen. |
| Scroll the mouse wheel | Place two fingers on the screen and slowly drag up or down. More... |
| Drag an object or select text | Double-tap the screen, hold the second tap, and drag. More... |
Place a finger on the screen and drag to move the mouse cursor. The cursor is offset from under your finger so you can always see it. Note all operations are performed where the cursor is positioned, not your finger.
Tap anywhere on the screen to click the left mouse button once. Depending on the position of the cursor, an operation might be performed, such as pressing a dialog button or giving an application focus.
Double-tap anywhere on the screen to click the left mouse button twice. Depending on the position of the cursor, an operation might be performed, such as starting an application or selecting a line or word of text.
Tap two fingers anywhere on the screen simultaneously to click the right mouse button. Depending on the position of the cursor, a shortcut menu might open.
Place two fingers on the screen in an application window and move both up or down to scroll the window. You may need to experiment with the distance between fingers to find the spacing that gives you the best result.
Double-tap anywhere on the screen, hold the second tap, and move your finger to drag a desktop object such as a dialog or icon, or select a body of text. Note that the cursor must be appropriately positioned for this operation to succeed, for example on the title bar of a dialog.
Using mouse button mode
In mouse button mode, virtual mouse buttons and an imaginary scroll wheel are superimposed on your view of the desktop (see the explanation in the picture below). This gives you even more precise control over operations.
To enter mouse button mode, tap 
. To quit, tap 
. Note you can still move the mouse cursor around the desktop using your finger in the standard way.
Entering text
You can use the on-screen keyboard to enter text in a suitable application or field.
Tap 
to bring up the on-screen keyboard. You can enter any available character (that is, lower case and upper case letters, numbers, and a wide range of symbols) and, in addition, emulate the computer Backspace, Space bar, and Enter keys. You cannot, however, enter characters that are not available on the on-screen keyboard.
Note that text you type is previewed above the keyboard. To obscure sensitive text (for example, passwords), tap the padlock button.
To dismiss the keyboard use the on-screen keyboard dismiss button.
Entering international characters
You can enter international characters providing:
- They are not from pictographic scripts (such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean).
- The computer you want to control is running VNC Enterprise Edition or VNC Personal Edition 4.5 or later.
- The operating system of the computer supports the language in which you want to type. Under Mac OS X, it must also be the currently-selected language.
To access international characters, add the appropriate keyboard(s) to your iPad before you connect (Settings > General > Keyboard > International Keyboards). You can switch between multiple keyboards while typing using the 
on-screen keyboard key.
Performing keyboard operations
Computer keyboards have numerous non-character keys that, when pressed, and sometimes in combination, perform useful operations. For example, holding down the Control and Alt keys and pressing Delete enables you to reboot a Windows computer.
VNC Viewer has a scrolling key bar containing buttons representing the following keys:
- Function keys (F1 through F12).
- Modifier keys (Shift, Control, Alt, and Windows (PC keyboard) or Command (Mac keyboard)).
- Navigation keys (Cursor keys, Page Up, Page Down, Home, End).
- Editing keys (Delete, Insert, Tab).
- Miscellaneous keys such as Escape.
Note that some other keys (such as Backspace, Space bar, and Enter) can be accessed via the on-screen keyboard. Other keys (such as Print Screen and Num Lock) are not available.
To open the key bar, tap either or . To see more buttons, pan the bar to the left.
Note that:
- The Page Up
and Page Down 
buttons are distinguished from the Home 
and End 
buttons. - The Windows and Command keys share the same button
. - You can tap a modifier button (Shift, Control, Alt, Windows/Command) once to emulate holding that key down for the next key press only. The button turns grey
and, if the keyboard is open, an operation symbol appears to the left of the text preview. - You can tap a modifier button twice in quick succession to emulate holding that key down permanently. The button turns blue
. Tap again to release it.
For example, you might tap the 
button (to emulate holding down the Control key) and then 
on the on-screen keyboard to copy the current selection to the computer's Clipboard. The button automatically releases once the operation has been performed.
Using hardware keyboards
To use the Wireless Keyboard or the Keyboard Dock, it is necessary to tap the button before you are able to type.
Note: It is not currently possible to input non-character keys (including directional keys, modifier keys and functional keys) to the remote desktop from a hardware keyboard. We are working with Apple to resolve this issue.
Transfering text
You can copy text from your computer and paste it to a suitable application on your iPad, such as Mail or Safari, and vice versa.
To transfer text from computer to device, use VNC Viewer to select and copy text in the expected way for the computer, for example by emulating the Control-C key combination. Close VNC Viewer (you will be disconnected), open the appropriate application, and paste text in the expected way for the device.
To transfer text from device to computer, open an appropriate application, and select and copy text in the expected way for the device. Close the application, open VNC Viewer, connect to a computer, and paste text in the expected way for its operating system, for example by emulating the Control-V key combination.
Tweaking performance
You can trade picture quality for speed and vice versa while the connection is in progress.
To do this, tap 
to bring up the Picture Quality popover.
You can either choose to make the connection faster but see potentially less detail, or have full color at a potential cost in speed.
If you retain the default Automatic option, VNC Viewer optimizes performance automatically according to the speed of your network.
Viewing connection information
Tap 
to bring up information about the current connection.
Note the padlock symbol in the picture above is closed. This means that the current connection is encrypted. If the padlock is open 
then the current connection is not encrypted but future connections can be. You will need to turn encryption on for VNC Server, and then reconnect. See the VNC Enterprise Edition User Guide for more information.
If the padlock is struck out 
then the connection cannot be encrypted. You will need to upgrade your computer to VNC Enterprise Edition or VNC Personal Edition in order to encrypt connections.
Closing the connection
Tap 
to close the connection.
For your security, the connection is also closed automatically if you press the device's Home button.