BrowserDeskHelp › In the session › E5
Special keys, AltGr and the right keyboard layout
How shortcuts, the Windows key and characters such as @ { } \ reach the device — from a computer, from the browser and from a phone.
Preview this guide has not yet been clicked through on a real device. Button names and steps come from the program but may differ in details.
- For
- Technician
- Applies to
- Free · Cloud · Own relay
- Controlled device
- Windows · macOS · Linux
- Control from
- Program (Windows, macOS, Linux) · Browser · Phone/tablet/Fire TV
What it is for
What you type should arrive at the device exactly as typed — including shortcuts, the Windows key and characters that need AltGr. The program, the browser and the phone take different paths for this. Here is what to watch out for.
What you need
- A session in which you are in control.
- For the Windows shortcuts in the menu: a Windows device. On Mac and Linux the group is missing.
How to do it
On a Windows computer (program): while the session window is in front, all keys and shortcuts go to the device — including the Windows key. Click into the picture if keys end up on your side instead of at the device.
On a Mac or Linux computer (program): shortcuts that your own system catches (for example the Super or Windows key) do not reach the device. The menu is there for that:
- Open Eingabe (Input) in the bar.
- Under WINDOWS-TASTE SENDEN (send Windows key) choose an entry: Windows (Start), Win + E (Explorer), Win + R (Ausführen) (Run), Win + D (Desktop) or Win + I (Einstellungen) (Settings).
In the browser: the browser cannot catch the Windows key itself. Eingabe → choice Windows-Taste senden… (send Windows key …) → choose an entry.
On a phone or tablet (app): at the bottom there is a bar with special keys: Bildschirmtastatur (on-screen keyboard), Strg (Ctrl), Alt, Shift, Win, Esc, Tab, the arrow keys and Entf (Del).
- For a shortcut such as Ctrl+C: tap Strg — the key latches and lights up.
- Then tap the second key (here "c"). Afterwards Strg releases by itself.
- Tapping Win twice opens the device's Start menu.
Bildschirmtastatur shows and hides the phone's keyboard. The browser on a phone has a similar bar; if the on-screen keyboard does not open there, use Eingabe → Tastatur einblenden (show keyboard); if it covers the picture, Platz für Tastatur (room for keyboard).
How you know it worked
The character or action appears in the device's picture — for example the Start menu after Windows (Start).
Good to know
- The program sends keys, not characters. Which character results is decided by the keyboard layout on the device. Set the same layout on the device as on your side (for example both German).
- Exception AltGr (Windows program): characters you type with AltGr (@ { [ ] } \ ~ |) and the
<>key next to the left Shift key are sent by the Windows program as finished characters. That way they also arrive correctly on a Mac, which puts these characters on other keys. - The browser sends printable characters as characters. There the layout on the device does not matter.
- On-screen keyboard on a phone: it sends characters, umlauts included. An attached keyboard on an iPad sends keys like the program — then the layout on the device applies again.
- Mac as the device: Shift, Control and Option arrive reliably, also at the lock screen.
- Held keys are released by BrowserDesk when you leave the session, so nothing stays "stuck" on the device.
- Ctrl+Alt+Del only works via the menu: E6.
If it does not work
| You see | Meaning and fix |
|---|---|
| A character arrives wrong (e.g. y instead of z) | The layouts differ. Change the layout on the device — or connect in the browser, which sends characters independent of the layout. |
| A key does not arrive at all | See H5. |
| WINDOWS-TASTE SENDEN is missing from the menu | The device is not a Windows device. |
| Keys end up on your side instead of at the device | Click into the picture once; the session window must be in front. |