Docs / Obsidian Remote / Connecting
The session window
A remote-control or view-only session opens in its own window, with the remote PC's screen filling it. Its title shows the remote PC's name and ID. You can have several sessions open at once, each in its own window.
Connecting
While it connects, the window shows what it is doing: asking the server for the device, waiting for the device, checking the password, waiting for the person to accept, and finally Waiting for the picture.... When the picture appears, a note says Connected over the local network, end-to-end encrypted. or Connected over the relay, end-to-end encrypted.
If it can't connect, the window says why, with Try again and Close. See Connecting to a computer.
The toolbar
The toolbar sits at the top centre of the window. Unless you pin it, it hides itself and comes back when you move the pointer to the top edge.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pin | Keep the toolbar shown, or let it hide until the pointer reaches the top. |
| Displays | Pick which of the remote PC's monitors to show. |
| Scale | How the picture fits the window. |
| Picture quality | Sharper picture or quicker response. |
| View options | View only, the remote cursor, the clipboard, the sound, the keyboard mode and the status line. |
| Remote actions | Ctrl+Alt+Del, lock, sign out, restart, shut down, block input, privacy mode and refresh the picture. See Remote actions and privacy mode. |
| Record | Record the session to an MP4 file. Click again to stop. See Chat, sound, recording and screenshots. |
| Screenshot | Save the current picture as a PNG file. |
| Chat | Open the chat panel. It shows how many new messages are waiting. |
| Transfer files | Open the file manager for this PC. See Transferring files. |
| Terminal | Open a terminal on the remote PC. See Remote terminal. |
| TCP tunnel | Open the tunnel window. See TCP tunnels. |
| Full screen | Fill the screen, or go back to a window. |
| Disconnect | End the session (the red X). |
Items the remote PC doesn't allow are greyed out. If the person at the remote PC changes what you may do during the session, the toolbar follows at once.
Displays
If the remote PC has more than one monitor, Displays lists them, for example Main display 2560 x 1440 and Display 2 1920 x 1080. Pick one to show it. The window shows one monitor at a time.
Scale
- Fit the window: the whole remote screen, shrunk or enlarged to fit, with dark bars where the shapes don't match. The usual choice.
- Original size: one remote pixel per pixel of your screen. When the remote screen is bigger than the window, move the pointer towards an edge to see that part of it; there are no scroll bars.
- Stretch: fills the whole window, even if that distorts the picture.
The setting for new sessions is in Settings > Display (see Settings).
Picture quality
- Best picture: the sharpest picture. Needs a good connection.
- Balanced: the default.
- Fastest response: the quickest reaction to your mouse and keyboard, with a softer picture. Good for slow connections.
- Custom frame rate and bit rate...: choose the frames per second (5 to 120) and the bit rate in kbit/s (0 lets the app decide). Higher numbers look better and need a faster connection.
Either way the app adjusts to the connection as it goes. The quality for new sessions is in Settings > Display.
View options
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| View only (no mouse or keyboard) | Watch without touching. Your mouse and keyboard stay on your own PC. |
| Show the remote cursor | Draw the remote PC's own pointer shape over the picture, and hide yours while it is over the picture. |
| Sync the clipboard | Copy and paste between the two PCs. See Keyboard, mouse and clipboard. |
| Play the remote sound | Hear the remote PC's sound here. |
| Keyboard: physical keys (the remote layout) or Keyboard: characters (this PC's layout) | How your typing is sent. See Keyboard, mouse and clipboard. |
| Show the status line | Show or hide the line at the bottom of the window. |
The status line
The line at the bottom of the window shows how the session is doing:
- Direct (LAN) or Relay: how the connection travels (see Connecting to a computer).
- Frames per second, bit rate, latency (the round trip to the remote PC), the picture size and the video codec, and whether your graphics card decodes the video or the processor does.
- On the right, End-to-end encrypted and the remote PC's key.
If the status line says the video is decoded in software, the session still works but uses more of your processor; updating your graphics driver usually helps.
Ending a session
Click Disconnect on the toolbar, or close the window. The remote PC's connection manager shows the session has ended.
If the session ends from the other side (the person there clicked Disconnect, the PC restarted, or the network dropped), the window says The session ended. with the reason, and offers Try again and Close.