Cursor Control and Gestures on iPhone and iPad

Screens on iOS offers two ways to control the remote cursor: Touch Mode and Trackpad Mode. Screens also supports additional gestures for navigating the app and controlling your remote computer.

You can choose your preferred cursor mode in Settings > Controls > Virtual Cursor Mode.

Touch Mode

Touch Mode lets you interact directly with items on the remote display. Screens automatically positions the remote cursor based on where you tap, so you don't need to move the cursor yourself.

If you prefer to control the cursor like you would with a mouse or trackpad, use Trackpad Mode instead.

Touch Mode Gestures

	Tap to click.
	Double-tap to double-click.
	Tap with two fingers to secondary-click (right-click).
	Tap with three fingers to middle-click.
	Swipe with two fingers to scroll vertically or horizontally.
	Touch and hold with one finger until a blue indicator appears, then drag to move windows and files, select text, and more.
	Touch and hold with two fingers until a red indicator appears, then drag to perform a secondary-click (right-click) drag.
	Touch and hold with three fingers until a green indicator appears, then drag to perform a middle-click drag. ¹

¹ Available in Screens 5.9 and later.

Trackpad Mode

Trackpad Mode lets you move the remote cursor as you would with a mouse or trackpad. Drag your finger anywhere on the display to move the cursor independently of your finger's position.

You can enable Trackpad Mode in Settings > Controls > Virtual Cursor Mode.

Trackpad Mode Gestures

	Tap to click.
	Double-tap to double-click.
	Tap with two fingers to secondary-click (right-click).
	Tap with three fingers to middle-click.
	Swipe with two fingers to scroll vertically or horizontally.
	Touch and hold with one finger until a blue indicator appears, then drag to move windows and files, select text, and more.
	Touch and hold with two fingers until a red indicator appears, then drag to perform a secondary-click (right-click) drag.
	Touch and hold with three fingers until a green indicator appears, then drag to perform a middle-click drag. ¹

¹ Available in Screens 5.9 and later.

Other Supported Gestures

App Gestures

These gestures control Screens itself rather than the remote computer:

	Double-tap with two fingers to enter or exit fullscreen mode (with the bottom toolbar hidden).
	Pinch in or out to zoom the remote display.

Screen Edge Gestures

Swipe in a straight line from an edge of your device towards the centre of the screen. Screens moves the remote cursor to the corresponding edge of the remote display.

This lets you:

Reveal the Dock on macOS.
Quickly move the cursor to an edge of the remote display.
Reveal the menu bar when an app on your remote Mac is in fullscreen mode.

Note: When the device keyboard is visible, perform an upward edge swipe over the shortcuts toolbar.

Hot Corner Gestures

Hot Corners let you trigger an action by moving the pointer to a corner of your Mac's display. You can configure them on your Mac in System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners.

To trigger a Hot Corner, swipe inward from the corresponding corner of your device's screen.

Screens automatically moves the remote cursor to that corner for you.

Three-Finger Swipe Gestures

Three-finger swipes work similarly to gestures on a Magic Trackpad. Screens sends the corresponding keyboard shortcut to your remote Mac.

By default, Screens uses the standard macOS shortcuts:

Swipe up to open Mission Control (⌃ ↑).
Swipe down to show all windows for the current app (⌃ ↓).
Swipe right to move one Space to the left (⌃ ←).
Swipe left to move one Space to the right (⌃ →).

If your Mac uses different keyboard shortcuts, you can change them in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Alternatively, install Screens Connect on your Mac. Screens Connect automatically provides Screens with the correct keyboard shortcuts configured on your Mac. It also makes it easy to connect to your Mac when you're away.

See Installing Screens Connect for macOS for more information.