Chat, Ctrl+Alt+Del and special keys

Chat with the other side during a session, send Ctrl+Alt+Del to the remote computer and learn how keyboard shortcuts are passed on.

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This article explains how to chat with the remote user during a session, how to send Ctrl+Alt+Del to the remote computer and how the keys on your keyboard are passed on to it.

Chat

Chat is the easiest way to give the other person short instructions when you can't talk on the phone. It works with every connection type (Remote Control, View Only, File Transfer).

Send a message as an operator

  1. Click the Chat button (speech bubble icon) on the session toolbar.
  2. Type your message in the Type a message… field in the panel that opens.
  3. Press Enter or click the send button.

When the other side writes, a red dot appears on the chat button. When you open the panel, you see the messages with their times.

Reply as the remote user

  1. While a session is running, a chat button (💬) appears in the bottom-right corner of the Polpo Desk client window.
  2. When the operator sends a message, a dot appears on the button.
  3. Click the button, type your message in the chat window and press Enter.
Messages can be up to 500 characters long. Chat is only visible during the session; when the session ends, the chat window is cleared. Messages from the remote user go to all connected operators.

Send Ctrl+Alt+Del

If you press Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard, your own computer catches it; it never reaches the remote computer. To send it to the remote computer:

  1. Click the Actions button (lightning bolt icon) on the session toolbar.
  2. Choose Send Ctrl+Alt+Del.
  3. The Ctrl+Alt+Del sent notification appears.

Use this to unlock the remote computer's lock screen, reach the Windows sign-in screen or open the security options menu (Task Manager, switch user, sign out).

For Ctrl+Alt+Del to work reliably on the lock and sign-in screens, the Polpo Desk service must be installed on the remote computer. See Set up unattended access.

The Actions menu only works in Remote Control sessions. The same menu also contains Restart computer, Switch to sign-in screen / Switch to active session and Privacy screen. The switch commands only appear when the Polpo Desk service is installed on the remote computer and it has a separate sign-in session (for example, when someone is connected via RDP); see Set up unattended access.

Keyboard shortcuts and special keys

In a Remote Control session, the keys you press while the remote screen is open are passed on to the remote computer:

  • Shortcuts such as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and Ctrl+Z, function keys, arrow keys, Esc, Tab and other keys work as if they were pressed on the remote computer.
  • While you type in a text field in the console, such as the chat box, keys are not sent to the remote computer.
  • When you switch from the console window to another window, any Ctrl, Alt, Shift and Win keys that may still be held down are released automatically on the remote computer, so keys don't get stuck.
  • Some system shortcuts, such as Ctrl+Alt+Del and Alt+Tab, are caught by your own operating system. Use the Actions menu for Ctrl+Alt+Del.
  • Your mouse's side buttons (back / forward) and scroll wheel are passed on to the remote computer too.

Connecting from macOS

In the macOS operator console, the ⌘ key is sent to the remote Windows computer as Ctrl. So ⌘+C, ⌘+V and ⌘+A work on the remote computer as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and Ctrl+A.

Connecting from your phone

The mobile console's session menu has a separate Ctrl+Alt+Del button. The Keyboard button opens a special keyboard with keys a phone keyboard lacks: Ctrl, Alt, Windows (⊞), Esc, Tab, Del and the arrow keys. For details, see Android operator app.

Remote cursor shape

Your mouse pointer takes on the shape of the pointer on the remote computer. For example, you see a double-headed resize arrow at the edge of a window and a text cursor over a text field. This makes resizing windows and selecting text easier.

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