VNC User Guide - RealVNC

Chapter 3: Using VNC Viewer
Note that other VNC Viewer users may be connected to the host computer and controlling it at the same
time as you. In addition, a host computer user may be present. Operations may occur unexpectedly!
Controlling the host computer using your mouse
Your client computer’s mouse is now shared with the host computer. This means that:
• Moving the mouse and clicking within the VNC Viewer window affects the host computer and not the
client.
• Moving the mouse and clicking outside the VNC Viewer window, or on the VNC Viewer title bar or
window buttons (Minimize, Maximize, and Close), affects the client computer and not the host.
Note: If your mouse has no effect on the host computer, it may have been disabled. For more information,
see Restricting access to features on page 46.
If client and host computers have different numbers of mouse buttons, you can configure VNC Viewer to
emulate those you do not have. See Configuring your mouse on page 45 for more information.
Controlling the host computer using your keyboard
Your client computer’s keyboard is now shared with the host computer, with the exception of:
• The function key that opens the shortcut menu (F8 by default).
• The CTRL-ALT-DELETE key combination.
These commands are interpreted by the client computer. Alternative ways of sending them to the host
computer are available; start with Using the shortcut menu on page 41 for more information. Under
Windows, note you can choose for certain other keys or key combinations to be interpreted by your client
computer rather than the host. See Configuring your keyboard on page 45 for more information.
Note: If your keyboard has no effect on the host computer, it may have been disabled. For more information,
see Restricting access to features on page 46.
Note it is possible for client and host computers to have different types of keyboard. Not all the keys available
to a host computer user may be available to you, and some keys with the same name may have different
behavior. This is especially likely if you are connecting to Mac OS X from Windows or Linux with a PC
keyboard, or vice versa; see www.realvnc.com/products/vnc/documentation/latest/misc/keyboard-mapping/.
Interacting with VNC Server
When you connect, a VNC Server icon
is displayed on the host computer’s desktop, shaded black:
(Windows 7 client computer; Ubuntu 11.10 Linux host)
The VNC Server icon confirms that VNC Server is running on the host computer, provides information to
help VNC Viewer users connect, confirms that at least one VNC Viewer user is connected (the icon changes
color), and has a shortcut menu to perform useful operations. All this information and functionality is
available to you as a connected user. For more information, see Working with VNC Server on page 81.
VNC User Guide 39