After starting iTap mobile RDP you will see the connection center. From here you can connect to new computers, or connect to a known computer with your bookmarks.
Enter the name or ip address of the computer you want to connect to into the searchbar and click search. This will lookup the computer,and test if RDP is possible. If you have already stored bookmarks it will filter them temporarily and only display those bookmarks matching the given search term. You can use this to quickly find a bookmark if you have many of them.
Tap a search result to perform a quick connect with default settings, or tap the icon to edit the connection and save it as a bookmark. On the iPad, the bookmark will only load in the right area of the screen. You must click the button to actually connect.
After starting iTap mobile RDP you will see the connection center. From here you can connect to new computers, or connect to a known computer with your bookmarks.
The left side displays the available bookmarks, while the right side will show a preview and details of the currently selected bookmark. When you start the client the top most bookmark is automatically selected.
Enter the name or ip address of the computer you want to connect to into the searchbar and click search. This will lookup the computer, and test if RDP is possible. If you have already stored bookmarks it will filter them temporarily and only display those bookmarks matching the given search term. You can use this to quickly find a bookmark if you have many of them.
Tap a search result to activate it, or tap the icon to edit the connection and save it as a bookmark.
Once the bookmark is activated, you can quickly configure the bookmark using the toolbar in the lower right area. The icons, form left to right are: color depth, screen size, sound output and advanced settings (the normal settings dialog).
Once you have configured the connection in the way you like, click the button to start it.
One of the first things you might need is a keyboard to enter your username and password in the RDP session. Swipe three fingers downwards to activate the keyboard. Use the same gesture, or the button to hide the keyboard again.
To perform mouse clicks, just tap the screen where you want to click. You will get an audible feedback when a click is sent. Pan and Zoom the view by dragging it with on finger, or pinch it with two fingers. See the section on gestures for more information on input gestures.
To disconnect from the computer, swipe 3 fingers from left to right. This will not close any programs on your computer and you will be able to quickly reconnect to it again.
iTap mobile RDP features a utility bar on top of the screen which can be used to control additional features of the client when inside an RDP session. To activate it, tap with three fingers anywhere on the screen.
The following buttons are available in the utility bar:
If you are using the "Zoom" accessibility feature of your iPad or iPhone, please set the utility bar to "initially on" in the advanced settings of your bookmarks. This ways you can still control iTap mobile RDP without three finger gestures (which are blocked by the "Zoom" feature).
Buttons and other controls in Windows programs are designed for use with a mouse, and not with a touch based interface. While typical point-and-click semantics work very well, the size of the controls often prevents effective use. iTap mobile RDP supports zoom to alleviate the problem, but given the already small screen, this prevents efficient work. To resolve this situation, version 1.0.1 includes scope mode. When holding down a single finger for a short duration without moving, a small scope window pops up, showing the screen at a twofold magnification, and also showing the mouse cursor exactly where it is on the desktop.
While using scope mode, the gestures work differently than in normal mode. First, the mouse cursor (and the scope) will always follow the first finger. This means, that in scope mode you can hover the mouse over a windows control. If you move the finger to the border of the screen, the screen will start to scroll in that direction. Second, touching the screen with additional fingers simulates mouse buttons. Touch it with one finger to use the left button, touch it with two fingers at the same time to use the right button. The buttons are pressed immediately and as long as you hold down the additional finger(s). This makes drag and drop a very simple operation.
TIP: The location of the extra fingers is not important. You can the thumb of your left hand to touch a corner of the screen, while using the index finger of your right hand to move the scope.
The presence of a bluetooth keyboard should be automatically detected, so typing on the keyboard should work as expected. If it does not, please use the three finger swipe once to bring up the keyboard.
Due to limitations in iPhone OS special keys (Ctrl, Option, Fn, ...) will not work as expected. There is nothing we can do about this at the current time, but Apple has acknowledged the problem and might provide a better solution in a future iPhone OS. If they do, we will support it.
The following keys do currently work:
You can now use one of three different mouse modes. You can select your preferred mode in the bookmark configuration, and also switch during a session by using the utility bar (double tap with three fingers to show and hide it).
The connection center is where you manage your known computers and add new ones. From here you can connect to other computers and quickly switch between sessions.
The searchbar is the quickest way to add new connections. You can enter one of the following to create a new connection:
After you enter the name or address, iTap mobile RDP will look up the computer. The result will appear in the search results and will be made permanent if you connect to it or if you edit it.
A bookmark gives you detailed information about the connection:
The icons on the left side will show the status of your bookmark. shows that everything is ok, while will appear if there is a problem. If you open the bookmark details (see below), an error description and link to a help wizard will appear. will appear if network testing is disabled for this host.
If the connection test succeeds then a small icon below it will show the security level of the connection. The number of dots indicates the security strength. One dot indicates basic security (up to 140 bit FIPS compliant but with no host verification), while 2 dots indicates TLS (strong security with host verification via certificates), and 3 dots indicates NLA (Network Level Authentication) which is the highest supported security method of RDP.
The black text shows the label of the bookmark which defaults to the computer name, but can be changed to any text. Directly below it, the bookmark will show the credentials which will be used for automatic re-connect. If no credentials are shown a logon screen will appear when trying to connect.
Using the icon to the right you can change the settings of your bookmark.
Editing or connecting to a search result will automatically move that result to your bookmark list.
Your bookmark settings are split into three sections.
Host settings specify the computer you want to connect to:
Below these settings you see the connection status again. indicates that the connection works, while indicates a problem. In the latter case a short help text will appear and you can click to go to a wizard which will help you setup your connection.
Below this the credential section determines the username and password used to connect.
The settings control the appearance of your desktop and various performance parameters.
On this screen you can create a new set of credentials or select a previously stored set. Credentials are shared between all bookmarks, so the list will contain all credentials you have in use or used.
You can edit credentials by selecting them from the list. The top area will be filled with the credential information (username, password, domain) and you can edit them and press "Save" to commit the changes.
Tapping the "Create new Credentials" entry in the list clears the top area. If you then enter new credentials they will be added to the list if you press "Save". If you save empty credentials, then they will not produce an entry in the list.
To delete a stored entry, swipe a finger from left to right and then press the "Delete" button that appears.
Credentials (and actually all bookmark data) are stored in the device keychain in a secure and encrypted manner. They are not accessible by other apps, even if the device is lost or jailbroken.
You can change the following advanced connection settings:
You can change the following advanced UI settings:
You can change the following performance settings:
Please note the following limitations
Starting with version 1.0.1, iTap mobile RDP includes 3G Mode. This can greatly reduce the bandwidth and increase speed for 3G networks. It is important to note that 3G mode only affects connections made using a 3G network, and does not affect WiFi connections in any way. When a connection is made using a 3G network, and 3G Mode is also enabled, then an alternative set of screen and performance settings is used. They can be specified in the advanced settings. If 3G mode is disabled, then a connection using a 3G network uses the same settings as a connection using a WiFi network.
If 3G Mode is enabled, it will work automatically. For example, if you connect to the server using WiFi while at home and then leave with the connection running, iTap mobile RDP will automatically reconnect to the server using a 3G connection with the alternate settings as soon as the WiFi connectivity breaks down. If the server supports automatic reconnect, then this switch will be seamless except for a short reconnect delay.
Starting with version 1.3, iTap mobile RDP can stream sound from the server. This feature does not need any configuration. If it is enabled (the default), the sound will automatically play on your iPhone.
The client, together with the windows server, automatically takes care of selecting apropriate compression so that the audio fits into the available bandwidth. Please note that because of the compression, the audio quality will be diminished.
There are a few settings which are global for all connections. In the "Global Settings" section of the bookmark list you can configure those.
This section contains shared information and also bookmark autostart settings
iTap mobile RDP tries to validate the server certificate when connecting to a server. If a server certificate cannot be safely validated, the user is presented with a choice of disconnecting, or accepting the connection anyway. If a server certificate is permanently accepted, it is stored in this list, so a user can later check the certificate or remove it (stop trusting it).
Tap a certificate to view details, and swipe a row from left to right to delete a given certificate.
A Microsoft Windows server might issue (and subsequently require) a TS-CAL license for a client to connect. This list displays all TS-CAL licenses currently issued to iTap mobile RDP, and allows a user to remove them.
Tap a license to view details, and swipe a row from left to right to delete a given license.
This list contains all the shared gateway servers configured from the client. Each gateway shows if it is currently used by a connection.
Tap the "Add a new Gateway" button to create a new entry. Afterwards, tap the entry to edit the entries details. Swipe a row from left to right to delete a given certificate.
You can configure iTap mobile RDP to start a specific connection each time you open it and no other connection is running. You have four options:
Please note that autostart only happens when you are in the bookmark list. If you leave iTap mobile RDP while a desktop session is running, and then later return to iTap mobile RDP, it will not terminate the session, but rather stay in the one it is already displaying.
Tap this section to open an overview of all extensions currently available for your client. All currently available extensions are included in iTap mobile RDP for free. The different extensions have manuals which can be found in this section, as well as extra configuration options.
Using this feature you can set a passcode which must be entered every time iTap mobile RDP is used. Use this to prevent unauthorized access to your bookmarks.
iTap mobile RDP uses gestures to control all input actions except keyboard input. This frees up your screen, because it doesn't need to display any buttons.
Beware: 3 finger gestures will not work if you have Apple's "Zoom" accessibility feature enabled! In that case you might use the corresponding buttons within the iTap Utility Bar instead. Make sure that the "Utility Bar" is set to "Initally On" in your bookmark's advanced settings.
You can use the following gestures:
| Tap three fingers to show or hide the utility bar. | |
| Swipe three fingers from left to right to disconnect and return to the main menu. | |
| Swipe three fingers from top to bottom to show/hide the keyboard. | |
| A single tap will produce a mouse click on the location where you tapped. Zoom in if you need very precise control over the click location. | |
| A simple drag will pan the display. This is a clientside operation, no mouse movement is generated on the server. | |
| Perform a pinch gesture with two fingers to zoom in or out. Like panning this does not produce any mouse input on the server. | |
| Drag two fingers up or down the display to emulate a mousewheel. | |
| Tap with two fingers to produce a right click. | |
| Tapping with one finger two times in quick succession will produce a doubleclick. Tap three times for a tripple click, and so on. | |
| The same can be done with two fingers to do a right mouse button doubleclick. | |
| Tap with a single finger and then quickly touch the screen again but do not release the finger to initiate a mouse drag. the mouse will be released once you remove the finger from the display. | |
| The same can be done with two fingers for a right mouse button drag. | |
| Touch the screen and hold the finger for a short while to begin scope mode. Scope mode is in effect as long as the scope is visible. | |
| Move the finger to move the scope. As you approach the screen borders the screen will scroll in that direction. The closer you are to the border, the faster is scrolls. | |
| Touch the screen with a single additional finger to press the left mouse button, release the additional finger to release the left mouse button. Repeat for double- or multi-clicks. | |
| Touch the screen with two additional finger simultaneously to press the right mouse button, release the additional fingers to release the left mouse button. Repeat for double- or multi-clicks. | |
| You can move the original finger to perform mouse drags while holding down an additional finger to drag the left mouse button. The additional finger does not have to move. | |
| You can move the original finger to perform mouse drags while holding down two additioal fingers to drag the right mouse button. The additional fingers do not have to move. | |
| A single tap will produce a mouse click on the location where you tapped. Zoom in if you need very precise control over the click location. | |
| Drag a singe finger to drag the left mouse button (paint). | |
| A drag with two fingers will pan the display. This is a clientside operation, no mouse movement is generated on the server. | |
| Perform a pinch gesture with two fingers to zoom in or out. Like panning this does not produce any mouse input on the server. | |
iTap mobile RDP now supports opening special links in the Safari browser. As a normal user, you do not need to concern yourself with this feature, since it will work completely automatic. Just click an RDP link in Safari, and iTap mobile RDP will automatically open and connect to the given server.
If you are a systems integrator, or otherwise want to provide RDP links in your webpages, please see the URL scheme documentation on how to provide RDP links.