Apple Remote Desktop Ipad

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The Dutch government has order all schools to be closed until further notice in attempt to control the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Students are to be home schooled with digital means such as laptops, digital tablets or mobile phones.

Apple’s latest souped-up iPads, along with accessories like the Magic Keyboard and software enhancements in iPadOS, have turned the company’s tablets into bona-fide desktop and laptop replacements.

Learn to use Apple Remote Desktop on your Mac to remote control other computers, copy files, automate tasks, and file reports. I'm using a remote desktop app (Splashtop HD) on my iPad to monitor my MacBook Pro, which is the computer running Apple Remote Desktop to monitor my students' MacBook screens. Obviously this is not ideal, since it's laggy and requires connecting to the computer connecting to the computers. Just saying it sounds ridiculous.

But if you really want to use your iPad as your primary computing device, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Here are five tips for replacing your PC or Mac with one of Apple’s tablets, whether for work, school, or just day-to-day usage.

Get a real keyboard (and a mouse)

Lack of mouse support was long the main hurdle preventing the iPad from operating as a PC replacement. But Apple’s latest iPadOS update gives the iPad external mouse and trackpad support, giving you a desktop- or laptop-like cursor for the first time.

But before you get a mouse to go clicking away, you should probably get a keyboard, too. You can pair your own Bluetooth keyboard to your iPad and get your typing done that way, but you can also get yourself a keyboard cover that doubles as a case, and makes your iPad look more laptop-like than usual. Apple makes its own keyboard covers with different features depending on the iPad you’re using: iPad Pro users can grab the trackpad-free Smart Keyboard Folio, or the trackpad-equipped Magic Keyboard Cover. iPads lacking the Pro moniker have an Apple-provided option when it comes to keyboards: the Smart Keyboard uses the tablet’s embedded Smart Connector, and doubles as a cover when not in use, but doesn’t feature any flexibility in terms of viewing angles.

You can also look to third-party keyboards for added functionality. Keyboards like Logitech’s backlit Combo Touch turn your iPad into the closest thing to an iPad Pro without the added cost. It adds a detachable keyboard and trackpad cover to the iPad, along with an adjustable kickstand akin to the Microsoft Surface — arguably more useful than Apple’s own Magic Keyboard and its inflexible posture. There’s also the series of wireless keyboards from Brydge, which affix to your iPad to turn it into a facsimile of a laptop. The new Brydge Pro+ works with the iPad Pro and includes an integrated trackpad, while the Brydge Pro fits on the lower-end iPad, but lacks a trackpad.

Find substitutes for your go-to apps

Some things are just easier to do on a PC—but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to do on an iPad.

Need to send specific files or open certain links in particular apps and web browsers? Check out Opener, an app that lets you take advantage of the iOS share sheet (indicated by the box with an arrow sticking out of it). Use an app like 1Password to access your protected online accounts on any device, on iOS, Mac, or PC. TextExpander can save you time typing repeated email responses, names, addresses, or forms by creating shortcuts corresponding to their longer stored sentences and paragraphs.

Need a more powerful to-do list? Apple’s integrated Reminders app is free and suitable for day-to-day tasks, but apps like Todoist or Omnifocus offer multiple ways to restructure your priorities and projects you want to accomplish whether on the job or around the house. What about a word processor? Google Docs, the minimalist iA Writer, and the organization-friendly Scrivener all offer different takes when it comes to writing, drafting, and organizing text. For a more powerful text editor, check out Drafts, which can send the text you write to other apps, boosting your productivity and saving you time in the process.

Learn how to manage your “windows”

Understanding how to manage your app windows is perhaps the most frustrating part of using an iPad as a replacement for your PC.

Whereas window management is a snap on a PC, on an iPad, you’ll be dragging apps, holding them in place, and swiping them to certain parts of the screen to keep your multitasking habits alive. The iPad’s Split View feature puts two apps side-by-side, while its Slide Over feature will overlay an iPhone-shaped version of your app on a section of either your home screen or atop the app you’re already using. You can operate up to three apps at a time, and drag and drop items like photos and email attachments between them.

To start using the iPad’s multitasking feature, open an app or place it in your iPad dock. From there, you can select another app in the dock, long press it, and drag it up either on top of the current app, or next to it, enabling its Split View mode. You can adjust the real estate each app takes up by sliding the central divider left or right. By repeating the process with a third app, you can layer it on top of either of the two apps, letting you have a word processor on one side, a calendar on the other, and your messaging app of choice on top of that.

While slick, it’s still not perfect. Using the keyboard in Split View gets a bit frustrating if you keep switching between apps, and not every app supports every multitasking mode.

Get a stand, too

If you’re using your iPad as your primary machine these days, you’re probably suffering from some pretty poor posture—you’re more hunched over with your neck tilted downward, perhaps. Working that way for a few days might be well and good, but for longer periods of time, you’re just asking for a strained neck, uncomfortable back, and generally unpleasant feeling.

But an iPad on a stand? That’s a game-changer. Not only will a stand help correct your bad posture, but with the right model—either one attached to an articulated arm or with a swiveling head—you can use your iPad in either portrait or landscape mode, and pair it with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (or trackpad) to gain even more control.

For more versatility, you need a hub

If you need to connect lots of devices to your iPad, you’ve probably already encountered a problem: it only has one port. The solution? A USB-C hub, which allows you not only to connect devices like flash drives or digital cameras to your iPad, it also supercharges your tablet when paired with the right external accessories.

Streaming video for a conference call? Connecting your iPad to a hub with an Ethernet port gives you a wired connection for lag-free calls. Need to offload some photos from your digital camera? A hub with an SD card slot, combined with Apple’s Files app, makes short work of getting your pictures off the card and into your app of choice (or the cloud). You can even connect your favorite wired keyboard rather than spend money on a wireless model.

A hub can also give you some much-needed screen space by connecting your iPad to a second display. Depending on the app you’re using, your iPad will either mirror your screen or offer you a secondary monitor to display images, keynote presentations and more unencumbered by your user interface or editing tools. Apps like Photos, Keynote, and Procreate can use a second display to show off larger versions of whatever you’re viewing on your iPad, too—it’s great for displaying presentations or photo slideshows.

Still, iPad second screens aren’t perfect. When viewing a photo in an app like Photos, the image itself will be showcased in an awkward 4:3 aspect ratio, with the image taking up the entirety of the monitor only after you do a little zooming in with your fingers.

Even better is the ability to send video to your second, larger display when connected. The iPad retains its 4:3 aspect ratio when plugged into an external display, even if it’s a widescreen monitor. But when watching video from, for example, your favorite streaming app, the iPad will take advantage of the entire monitor, providing you with a proper 16:9 aspect ratio and viewing experience.

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Remote access to Mac, anywhere
Get Screens and work across multiple remote Macs.

While many countries are on a lockdown due to COVID-19, remote work is becoming a lifestyle. Remotely accessing a Mac is designed to be easy. Apple has spent a lot of time ensuring anyone can log in to their Macs — both desktop and laptop — from any other Mac device, anywhere. And, besides, there are a variety of third-party apps ready to help with that too.

Still, remotely managing their Mac sounds overly complicated to a lot of people. From how you connect to sharing files or screens to using your Apple device as a remote mouse, we want to demystify the process in the easy-to-follow guide below.

Best Remote Access Apps for Mac

Setapp sets you up with all the tools you need to access your computer remotely. Best utilities in one pack, give it a go!

How to access your Mac from another location

There're two ways: you can allow remote login to your Mac from another computer, or allow others to access your computer using Remote Desktop (it's available from the App Store).

Allow remote login to your Mac from another computer

For devices using the same macOS, you can allow remote Mac login using a Secure Shell (SSH). This enables Mac remote desktop access using a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).

To set up Remote Login:

  • Go to System Preferences > Sharing
  • Select Remote Login.
  • Choose which users you want to have remote access to or the ability to control your Mac.

You can either select All Users, which means any other device on your network, or any Mac you own, can access and connect, or click the plus sign to pick the exact users.

When you want to remotely log in to your Mac from another device, you need to know your username (the name that appears when you login) and your computer's IP address. Write them down and keep them safe, as allowing access to your Mac does make it potentially less secure, especially over cellular or public Wi-Fi networks.

Accessing, controlling, or viewing information on your Mac can be done with a built-in Terminal or any other SSH app using your username and IP address.

Allow others to access your computer using Apple Remote Desktop

With macOS remote Mac access, things are even easier. To set up it:

  • Go to Menu > System Preferences > Sharing
  • Select Remote Management - it should appear as a checkbox.
  • Now you can select who has remote desktop access. Either select, All Users, which means any other device on your network, or Mac you own, can access and connect, or click the Add button(+), which gives you the ability to select who can have remote access and/or control.

If you are using a VPN or VNC viewer and want to access your Mac remotely, you will need to set up a password first. It is also possible to use iOS devices, such as an iPhone and iPad, through Apple Remote Desktop, available from the App Store.

Microsoft Remote Desktop For Android

How to stay on the same page with Screens

Collaboration has become of utmost importance to today's workplaces. And with more and more people working remotely, being on the same screen (ahem, page) is a must.

Apple

Screens allows you to work remotely with any computer regardless of your location. Whether you are on a business trip or traveling, stay confident knowing you can access any file on your home computer at any time.

This robust screen sharing tool for Mac supports:

  • Multiple displays
  • Drag-and-drop file sharing
  • Hiding your remote screen while accessing it
  • Accessing other computers (e.g. colleague's) as a guest
  • Alternative shortcuts (useful when connecting Mac to PC)
  • Custom actions in case of disconnection

To start using Screens, get the app from Setapp and configure the following:

  1. Remote login and remote management (as per the guide above)
  2. Install Screens Connect helper app and create a Screens ID on every machine you'd like to connect to in the future
  3. Use your Screens ID in the Screens app and it will automatically determine which of your computers are available for connection

Remote desktop client for Mac

Control any computer remotely – a perfect way to access your Mac from anywhere without limitations.

Share files between devices

Today we have plenty of ways to send and share files. But ask someone to send something, and you are likely to get it through email. Due to the ubiquitousness of email, it's still the default method for file sharing, despite its obvious flaws and constraints.

Fortunately, there are much better ways:

Native macOS File Sharing

Few people know that their Mac has native file sharing functionality built-in. To use this feature, activate it in the Sharing pane of System Preferences by checking File Sharing. If you only want to share specific folders, add them to the Shared Folders list. If you only want specific users to access the folder, add them to its Users list. Otherwise, everyone will be able to access it.

AirDrop

Although not the most reliable solution, AirDrop works fine for occasional sharing a file between Apple devices. In the Finder, choose Go and then AirDrop on both the sending and receiving Mac. As soon as you see the receiver's user icon, drag the desired file onto it to send.

Read more about how to use AirDrop

Dropshare

If you don't want to send files Mac-to-Mac directly but rather through a cloud storage, there is no easier way than Dropshare. The app works with numerous cloud providers, from Dropbox to Google Drive, and saves your files for sharing by simply dragging them onto its menu bar icon.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

The most technical but also the most robust way to share files from your Mac is to use FTP, which you could do either through Terminal or an FTP Client, the latter being much more user friendly.

There are a few popular FTP clients one could choose from. The robust file managing app ForkLift covers most of the FTP functionality but takes it to the next level and could be a viable replacement for the Finder altogether with its quick search, instant previews, and file comparison.

DCommander is another full-featured file transfer app for Mac that combines speed and reliability, able to handle thousands of files, schedule backups, and even automate transfers.

Remote Desktop For Apple Ipad

At last, when it comes to sharing the same files on different devices, an app like ChronoSync Express becomes invaluable.

ChronoSync Express is a powerful tool for sharing and transferring files from Mac to Mac, or any other Apple device. With a feature called Synchronizer Document, you can select which files need to be automatically synchronized and shared between devices, just like that:

Remote
  1. Create a new synchronizer document for each folder synchronization you'd like to perform
  2. Name the synchronization
  3. Change the Operation to Synchronize Bidirectionally
  4. Select folders to sync on the left and right
  5. Test with a Trial Sync

Do you need to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network)?

Whether you are working on your Mac directly, logging into your Mac remotely, or sharing access with someone else, security should be on top of your mind.

As a rule of thumb, you should always use a VPN when connected to a public Wi-Fi network, as someone could log in and see the information you send just as easily as you do.

Apple Remote Desktop Ipad Settings

And with remote access — even in the View Only mode — someone can see every file and document on your Mac, except those that are password protected. Unfortunately, if you leave passwords in a visible document, you expose yourself to immense risks.

A secure VPN client for Mac like Shimo is well worth using to stop unwanted eyes from lurking around, especially if you are sharing sensitive files, financial records or customer data.

However, for extra peace of mind and security, consider firing up your VPN automatically on all networks you are not 100% sure about to keep your emails, bank accounts and personal documents safe.

To share your Mac with someone else, download a remote Virtual Network Computing (VNC) app like Jump Desktop. With full remote access and Mac remote control, the other person — or yourself connecting to another Mac — can have the same level of control as the person using that device. Except for Admin level access, since it's password protected.

Starting with Jump Desktop is easy: either yourself (gaining access) or the person you are giving a remote view or control access to your Mac, needs to add details of the device and the password.

Secure your access with VPN

Get a VPN client for Mac to avoid privacy infringement while connecting remotely. It's secure and free to try.

Once permission is granted at the other end, remote Mac screen sharing or control (whereby you can use the iOS device as a remote mouse) becomes possible.

How to use your iOS device as a remote mouse

If your remote work starts on a patio hammock somewhere in east Asia, you should note that Apple iOS devices, such as an iPhone or iPad, can be used to control a Mac remotely, much like a mouse can control a desktop or laptop. Apps that make this possible work on VNC.

Remote Mouse is the easiest, most effective way to turn your iOS device into a wireless remote control for your Mac.

Although remote access through a local network would be most effective, since the closer you are to the device the quicker the connection, it's also possible from anywhere in the world, providing the network is secure and fast enough.

Setting up and granting access to the iOS device is the same process as when someone wants to access using a Mac. Except you need to give them a password. And make sure it is different from your primary Mac or iOS (App Store) one.

So working together or checking on your devices can be done from anywhere in the world and there are lots of ways to do that, from sharing screens and files to having complete access to a system set up far away. Setapp equips you with all the apps needed to remotely access any device you need and elevate your work to the global level.

These might also interest you:


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