Touchpad mode.

About touchpad mode

In touchpad mode, the device is a trackpad for the computer. You move the pointer, click, drag and scroll with your fingers, as on a laptop trackpad.

Use touchpad mode for usual work on the computer: to open files, to select text, to scroll pages and to type. It works on the iPhone and on the iPad, with a server on Windows, macOS or Linux.

To open touchpad mode, tap the mode button in the toolbar. Then tap Touchpad.

The screen

The screen has four parts, from top to bottom:

1. The toolbar. It is on top of the touch surface.
2. The touch surface. It shows the word Touchpad. You move your fingers on this area.
3. The mouse buttons. Left, Middle and Right.
4. The modifier row. Ctrl, Shift, Alt and Cmd.

The toolbar

The toolbar shows icons. The table gives the name that VoiceOver speaks for each icon.

When the screen is narrow, Keyboard and Settings move into the More controls menu (a circle with three dots). This occurs on an iPhone SE or an iPhone mini in portrait.

To show a hidden toolbar again, tap the tab in the top right corner of the screen (Show toolbar).

Gestures

Do these gestures on the touch surface.

To change the speed of the pointer, change Sensitivity. See Touchpad settings.

How to drag an item

1. Move the pointer onto the item.
2. Tap the touch surface one time.
3. Immediately touch the surface again and keep the finger on it.
4. Move the finger. The item moves with the pointer.
5. Lift the finger to drop the item.

The mouse buttons

The three buttons below the touch surface work as the buttons of a mouse.

• Touch and hold a button: the button goes down on the computer.
• Lift the finger: the button comes up.

A short tap on Left is a left click. A short tap on Middle is a middle click. A middle click opens a link in a new tab in most web browsers.

You can also drag with a button. Hold Left with one finger. Then move a different finger on the touch surface.

To put the buttons in the opposite order (Right, Middle, Left), turn on Invert Button Order. See Touchpad settings.

Three-finger swipes

A quick swipe with three fingers sends a keyboard shortcut to the computer. The server selects the shortcut for its operating system.

On Linux, the result of each shortcut depends on your desktop. On many desktops, Super opens the overview, and Ctrl+Alt+← or → goes to a different workspace.

A slow three-finger movement sends nothing. Swipe quickly.

Type on the computer

Touchpad mode has a keyboard. The text that you type goes to the computer. The app does not keep it.

1. Click the text field on the computer, or move the pointer to it and tap.
2. Tap Keyboard in the toolbar. On a narrow screen, tap More controls, then tap Keyboard.
3. Type on the keyboard of the device.
4. To close the keyboard, tap Keyboard again, or use the key that closes the iOS keyboard.

Each letter goes to the computer as a key press. A capital letter goes as Shift and the letter. The delete key sends Backspace. The return key sends Enter. A character that has no key on the keyboard of the computer goes to the computer as text.

While the keyboard is open, the toolbar does not hide.

Modifier keys

The modifier row has four keys: Ctrl, Shift, Alt and Cmd. Each key stays down on the computer until you release it.

• Tap a modifier key: it goes down on the computer. The key shows the accent color.
• Tap the key again: it comes up. The key shows its usual color.

While a modifier is down, it applies to all input: to clicks, to taps, to scroll and to the keys that you type. For example, turn on Ctrl, then type c to copy on Windows or Linux. Turn on Shift, then click, to extend a selection.

The keys go to the computer as follows:

Apple Pencil on the touchpad

On an iPad, you can use an Apple Pencil on the touch surface. The pencil works as one finger: move the tip to move the pointer, and tap to click. Tap, then touch again and move, to drag. The touchpad does not use the pressure of the pencil.

If the iPad detects a pencil above the screen, move the pencil tip above the surface without a touch. The pointer follows the tip.

To draw on the computer with pressure and tilt, use pencil mode.

iPhone, iPad and orientation

• Touchpad mode turns with the device. You can use it in portrait or in landscape.
• On an iPhone SE or an iPhone mini in portrait, Keyboard and Settings are in the More controls menu. On other iPhones and on an iPad in full screen, they are on the toolbar.
• Only the iPad takes an Apple Pencil.

Touchpad settings

Tap Settings in the toolbar. The Touchpad page opens.

The app keeps Sensitivity for each server. Thus you must be connected to change it. Without a connection, the page shows it dimmed. See Settings for each server.

Other settings change touchpad mode too:

For Auto-Hide, Hide Delay and the other settings on the General page, see General settings.