Switching Mouse Modes On Rd Client For Mac

the most seasoned Mac users sometimes need to access Windows applications to get their work done. While the two ecosystems were at odds with each other for most of their early days in the enterprise, there are now many options for Mac users who need to access a Windows app or server.

24 time-saving Hotkeys for Windows Remote Desktop. Extensive, exportable, wiki-style reference lists for Keyboard Shortcuts/Hotkeys.

Tools like Parallels and Virtualbox are popular among users but, for years, one of the standard applications for connecting the two systems is the Microsoft Remote Desktop connection. And, fortunately, the process for downloading and using the Microsoft Remote Desktop on macOS Sierra is fairly straightforward. Here's how.

Note: If you want to access Microsoft Remote Desktop on an older version of Mac OS X, check out this article instead.

As with most modern Mac applications, Microsoft Remote Desktop is available for download through the Mac App Store. Go to the icon Dock on your desktop and click the blue 'App Store' icon to open it.

Inside the Mac App Store, type 'Microsoft Remote Desktop' into the search bar at the top right hand portion of the window. The option you want is an orange icon with a computer monitor on it. It should be the first option listed.

To begin downloading Microsoft Remote Desktop, click the blue 'Get' button. This app is free, so no price will be listed.Once you click on 'Get,' the button will turn green and say 'Install app.' Click the button again.

For here, you can close out the App Store. To access the newly downloaded app, click the the grey 'Launchpad' icon in the Dock. Click the Microsoft Remote Desktop app icon to open the app. If you can't seem to find the icon (it will look the same as it did in the App Store), try swiping left. If you have many application, the Launchpad will have multiple pages.

Another way to find the app is by using the Spotlight Search feature, which you can access by clicking the looking glass at the top right of your home screen, or by using the shortcut Command + Spacebar. Once you have Spotlight open, type 'Microsoft Remote Desktop' and hit enter.

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Once open, the app should look like this:

Remote Desktop Client

When you first open the application, you may be presented with a pop up window alerting you to what is new in Microsoft Remote Desktop. Feel free to close that window and continue on.

If you want to be able to quickly return to this application in the future, you should set it in your dock. To do so, right click (control + click) on the icon, mouse over 'Options,' and click 'Keep in Dock.' This will keep you from having to look for the icon every time you need to use it.

At this point you'll need to enable remote access on your target PC. For a Windows 10 machine, head to the start button on the bottom left of your desktop. Click the start button and then click 'File Explorer.' In the next window, on the left side of the screen, right-click the option that says 'This PC' and then click 'Properties' at the bottom of the following pop up window.

In the system properties window, click on 'Remote settings' on the left-hand side. Make sure the radio button next to 'Allow remote connections to this computer' is clicked. Also make sure the box next to 'Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication' is checked if you have that authentication.

If you want to get to this part faster, simply type 'Remote Settings' in Cortana from your Windows desktop and and click the search result that says 'Allow remote access to your computer.'

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You'll also need your full PC name if you don't already have it, which will be used to set up the connection. Click on the start button and then click 'Settings' and the 'System.' At the bottom of the next window click 'About' and the PC name should be available at the top.

Enabling a Windows 7, Windows 8, or Vista machine is a little different, but you can find out how to do that here.

Once you have enabled remote access and have the PC name, go to your Mac and click the 'New' button at the top left of the Microsoft Remote Desktop screen. You'll be prompted to fill in a few fields.

First, you'll input the connection name. This is just an arbitrary name and has no real bearing on the connection itself. For example, you could call it 'Sarah's work PC.'

Next, you'll need to input the PC name (the one you wrote down from earlier), or the IP address so your Mac knows where to find the PC. The next line down allows you to configure a Gateway, which would allow a connection to virtual desktops or session-based desktops available on your company's network. Be sure to check with your network administrator to see if there is a gateway you are supposed to use.

Credentials is where you will type in the domain, username, and password for the target PC so you can log in through the remote connection. Once again, check with your IT admin, but these should be your standard username and password for your target machine.

Resolution, colors, and full screen mode are all personal preferences for how you want the remote desktop to launch on your machine. If you're not sure, start with the standard settings and go from there.

In the same window, click the 'Session' tab in the middle to configure peripheral devices for your remote desktop. With the 'Sound' drop-down, for example, you can choose where you want any sound to play.

Clicking the box next to 'Connect to admin session' will allow you to connect to an administrator session on a Windows server, and 'Forward printing devices' will make your local printers available during your remote desktop session. 'Swap mouse buttons' will allow you to use left click commands with a right-click Mac mouse.

The third tap at the top of this window is 'Redirection.' Here, you can choose a local folder to be made available during your remote session. Click the '+' button, choose a name for the folder, and input the folder's path to have it available.

When you are finished configuring your remote desktop, click the red close button at the top left of the dialog box and your new remote desktop will be added. To start a session with that desktop, simply double-click it to begin.

If you want to edit, duplicate, export, or delete that remote connection, right-click (control + click) on the desktop name to access those options.

What do you think?

Is there a better way to access your Windows applications? Tell us in the comments.

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Also see

  • How to create a bootable USB installer for macOS Sierra (TechRepublic)
  • Get your Mac ready for macOS Sierra (ZDNet)
  • How to create a bootable USB to install OS X Mavericks (TechRepublic)
  • The good and bad of Apple macOS Sierra (ZDNet)
  • How to create a Windows-based USB installer (TechRepublic)

Asset Management

Remote Spotlight search

  • Search a remote computer, its startup disk, or a specific folder, qualified using one or more of these metadata keywords: Kind, Last Opened, Last Modified, Created, Keywords, Color, Label, Name, Contents, and Size — and filtered for specific text
  • Results can be copied back to the administrator’s computer, opened on remote computers, or deleted

User History report

  • Lists who has logged in to a computer, how and where they accessed it, and when they logged in and out

Application Usage report

  • Shows which applications have been used on remote systems, the number of launches, duration of the launch, and who executed the launch

File Search report

  • Search for files on groups of OS X computers using name, parent path, full path, extension, date modified, date created, actual size, size on disk, kind, invisible, version number, version string, owner, group, permissions, and locked status file attributes

Software Version report

  • Selects up to 10 applications and compares versions installed on Administrator computer with a group of OS X computers

Software Difference report

  • Compares applications, fonts, and installed packages on Administrator computer with a group of OS X computers

System Overview

  • Computer: Active Processors, Available User Memory, Boot ROM, Bus Clock Speed, Bus Data Size, CPU Speed, Serial Number, Vector Processor, L2 Cache Size, L3 Cache Size, Machine Model, Memory, Empty RAM Slots, PCI Slots Used, Processor Count, CPU Type, Sales Order Number, VM Size, Total RAM Slots
  • Software: Kernel Version, System Version
  • Storage: Free Disk Space, Total Disk Space, Trash Size
  • AirPort: AirPort Active, AirPort Firmware Version, AirPort Hardware Address, AirPort Locale, AirPort Type, AirPort Installed, AirPort Network Channel, AirPort Network in Range, Computer to Computer, AirPort Network Name
  • Modem: Modem Country, Modem Driver, Modem Firmware Version, Modem Installed, Modem Interface, Modem Model
  • Network: First Ethernet Address, NetBooted, Primary IP Address, Primary Network Collisions, Primary Network Flags, Primary Network Hardware Address, Primary Network Input Errors, Primary Network Input Packets, Primary Network Output Errors, Primary Network Output Packets, Primary Network
  • Display: Monitor Type, Monitor Depth, Monitor Resolution, 2nd Monitor Type, 2nd Monitor Depth, 2nd Monitor Resolution
  • Devices: ATA Device Count, Firewire Device Count, Keyboard Connected, Mouse Connected, Optical Drive Type, SCSI Device Count, USB Device Count
  • AppleTalk: AppleTalk Active, AppleTalk Network, AppleTalk Node, AppleTalk Zone
  • Sharing: Computer Name, File Sharing, FTP Access, Remote Apple Events, Remote Login, UNIX Hostname, Web Sharing, Windows Sharing
  • Preferences: Sleep Display, Sleep Hard Disk, Sleep Computer, Wake for Ethernet Access
  • Printing: Printer Name, Printer Sharing, Printer Type, Printer Version
  • Remote Desktop: Computer Info #1, Computer Info #2, Computer Info #3, Computer Info #4
  • Lights Out Management: LOM Active, LOM Channel, LOM IPv4 Configuration, LOM IPv4 Address, LOM Subnet Mask, LOM Gateway, LOM Ethernet ID

Storage report

  • Hardware: Drive Manufacturer, Drive Model, Drive Revision, Drive Protocol, Removable, Serial Number, Logical Unit Number, Detachable
  • Volume: Creation Date, Disk Name, File Count, Folder Count, Total Disk Space, Free Space, Startup Disk, UNIX Mount Point
  • File System: Disk Format, Owner, Group, Permission Modes, Permissions, Write Access, Modification Date, Case Sensitive, Preserves Case
  • Backup: Journaling Capable, Journalled, Last Backup Date, Last Check Date

FireWire Devices report

  • Manufacturer, Model, Device Speed, Software Version, Firmware Version

Network Interface report

  • Network Overview: Name, Active, Primary, Configured with, Hardware Address, Interface Name, Flags
  • Active Interface: Domain, Router Address, IP Address, Broadcast Address, DNS Server, Subnet Mask, IP Addresses, Broadcast Addresses, DNS Servers, Subnet Masks
  • Network Statistics: Network Collisions, Network Input Errors, Network Input Packets, Network Output Errors, Network Output Packets
  • Output Statistics: Output Queue Capacity, Output Queue Size, Output Queue Peak Size, Output Queue Drop Count, Output Queue Output Count, Output Queue Retry Count, Output Queue Stall Count
  • Ethernet Statistics: Ethernet Alignment Errors, Ethernet FCS Errors, Ethernet Single Collision Frames, Ethernet Multiple Collision Frames, Ethernet SQE Test Errors, Ethernet Deferred Transmissions, Ethernet Late Collisions, Ethernet Excessive Collisions, Ethernet Internal MAC Transmit Errors, Ethernet Carrier Sense Errors, Ethernet Frames Too Long, Ethernet Internal MAC Receive Errors, Ethernet Chip Set, Ethernet Missed Frames, Ethernet Receiver Overruns, Ethernet Receiver Watchdog Timeouts, Ethernet Receiver Frames Too Short, Ethernet Receiver Collision Errors, Ethernet Receiver PHY Errors, Ethernet Receiver Timeouts, Ethernet Receiver Interrupts, Ethernet Receiver Resets, Ethernet Receiver Resource Errors, Ethernet Transmitter Underruns, Ethernet Transmitter Jabber Events, Ethernet Transmitter PHY Errors, Ethernet Transmitter Timeouts, Ethernet Transmitter Interrupts, Ethernet Transmitter Resets, Ethernet Transmitter Resource Errors, Ethernet Collision Frequencies

PCI Card report

Microsoft Remote Desktop

  • Card Name, Card Type, Card Memory, Card Revision, Vendor ID, Device ID, ROM Version, Slot Name

Memory report

  • Slot Identifier, Module Size, Module Type, Module Speed

USB Devices report

  • Product Name, Vendor Name, Device Speed, Product ID, Vendor ID, Bus Power Amps

Scheduling

  • Schedule for specific date and time
  • Set OS X computers to rebuild and send data on their hardware and software settings on a regular schedule or only as needed

Software Distribution

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Package installation

  • Install single or multiple packages remotely on a group of OS X systems
  • Install packages in .pkg and .mpkg formats
  • Schedule for specific dates and times
  • Detect whether a package requires a restart
  • Restart computer upon completion of installation or at a later time
  • Encrypt data stream
  • Specify network bandwidth usage

File Copy

  • Copy single or multiple files and folders to a group of OS X systems
  • Copy single or multiple files and folders from a group of OS X systems to administrator’s computer
  • Copy single or multiple files to predefined locations: same relative location, Applications folder, current user’s Desktop folder, current user’s home directory, Fonts folder, Preferences folder, System folder, top folder of the disk, or a specified path
  • Schedule for specific dates and times
  • Choose an action if an item already exists: ask what to do, replace the item, replace if existing item is older, rename the existing item, rename the item being copied
  • Set the permissions of the file once copied: inherit from destination folder, preserve current owner or user, or specify user and group
  • Encrypt data stream
  • Specify network bandwidth usage

Remote Assistance

Observe and control screens of remote Mac computers

  • Support for VNC-enabled computers, including Windows and Linux systems
  • Drag and drop a file from one remote computer to another
  • Use remote copy and paste to quickly transfer text or images
  • Adjust color depth to one of four modes: black and white, grayscale, thousands of colors, millions of colors
  • Scale screens to fit in current window when viewing larger screens
  • Use Curtain Mode to block a user’s view while configuring sensitive information
  • Take complete control or share mouse and keyboard with remote user
  • Toggle between full-screen mode and fit-in-window mode
  • Take screenshots

Observe and control multiple screens of remote Mac or VNC-enabled computers simultaneously

  • View up to 50 screens in a single window
  • Adjust the number of screens visible on each page
  • Adjust color depth to one of four modes: black and white, grayscale, thousands of colors, millions of colors
  • Rotate through the list of observed computers manually or automatically
  • View at-a-glance information about network computers using system status indicators

Screen sharing and text communication

  • Share a Mac screen with other OS X systems
  • Send text message to a group of OS X systems
  • Conduct one-to-one real-time, computer-to-computer text chat

Remote Administration

Manage systems remotely

  • Sleep and wake a group of OS X systems
  • Restart and shut down a group of OS X systems, perform restart and shut down immediately or allow users to save work
  • Power on one or more OS X systems which feature Lights Out Management
  • Open files and applications on a group of OS X systems
  • Empty Trash for all users on one or more OS X systems
  • Log out current user for one or more OS X systems

Send UNIX commands to a group of OS X systems

  • Execute commands as the current user or a specified user
  • Set Network, Energy Saver, and Date & Time system preferences using command-line tools
  • Use any of 30 sample UNIX scripts in the Task Template menu; add your own scripts
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Set startup disk

  • Set startup disk to local disk or partition, or select from a list of NetBoot or Network Install images
  • Start up multiple computers remotely
  • Optionally restart computers after setting new startup disk

Rename OS X computers

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  • Append a unique number for each computer when multiple computers are selected

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Change Apple Remote Desktop Client settings

  • Change the Apple Remote Desktop Client settings for one or more OS X systems
  • Save as a package to apply to OS X systems at a later date

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Automation

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  • Create powerful system administration workflows by combining Apple Remote Desktop actions
  • Create end-to-end solutions by combining actions with other applications’ actions
  • Over 40 Automator actions
  • Save Automator workflows as plug-ins

Easy Setup

  • Discover the computers you need to manage using network scanners. Create as many scanners as you need and configure each to search particular areas of your network
  • Managed Preferences support for both administrator and client
  • Create computer lists to organize the system however you wish — by model, location, or department, for example
  • Review or reuse tasks using list of previously executed tasks
  • Allow nonadministrator users to run Apple Remote Desktop with some or all features enabled
  • Use a computer other than the administrator computer as a task server to automatically collect reporting data
  • Define to organize groups by location, model, or department
  • Define a set of rules to add computers to Smart Computer Lists automatically
  • Associate computers with one of seven user-defined labels
  • Use customized Computer List views to show only information of interest, including 14 additional attributes that may be chosen for display
  • Authenticate clients using organization’s directory services group names
  • Encrypt all communications between Apple Remote Desktop and client computers with 128-bit AES encryption, or disable encryption for data-intensive tasks