Alt is not passed through Apple Remote Desktop in combinations
Alt is not passed through Apple Remote Desktop in combinations
I use RDM on a Windows client machine at home for my Macbook Pro through ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) in my home LAN. I have set it to pass key combinations and used the QWERTY layout.
Ctrl, Shift and Cmd work flawlessly, but Option (Alt) doesn't work whenever I use it in a key combination.
I have attached a screen recording mov file when I tried to set the key combinations Shift+Alt+F and Alt+Z in VSCode.
I pressed Shift+Alt, and it showed Shift+Alt correctly. But when I pressed the third key 'F', it became Shift+F, although I didn't release Alt.
Similarly, I pressed Alt, and it showed Alt correctly. But when I pressed 'Z', the Alt key again was lost from the combination, leaving 'Z' alone, although I didn't release Alt.
Is there something I can do to fix the lost Alt key? I have already disabled all key cuts of RDM itself and there's nothing on Windows that can interfere with these key cuts since I regularly use them on Windows VSCode too.
Thank you very much.
Screen Recording 2024-08-16 at 00.00.47.mov
screen.jpg
All Comments (5)
Hello Serenafyu,
Thank you for contacting us on that matter!
After some testing, I've reproduced the issue. I've provided the information to our team and will let you know with more information as soon as possible.
If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know.
Best regards,
Maxim Robert
Hello,
Thank you for being this patient!
I'm letting you know that a ticket with the development team has been opened. I will let you know more as soon as possible.
If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know.
Best regards,
Maxim Robert
Hello
I've done some research on this issue and I do understand the problem. The way that we trap and forward keyboard events on Windows is not 100% perfect here, there is special handling required for both the Alt/Option and meta (Windows/Command) keys. In the current way, Windows delays delivering the "key press" event for those keys (likely because it is waiting to see if you are triggering a Windows shortcut like "Alt+Tab" before delivering the key press to the application).
The fix is a little tricky and will need some refactoring on our side.
I'm trying to prioritize this internally and overall I'm surprised that you're the first person that reports the problem. In terms of daily usage, is this the only place where you found that issue? Once the keyboard shortcuts have been configured in VSCode, do they work properly over the remote session?
Please, let me know if something isn't clear or you have further questions
Kind regards
Richard Markievicz
I used Alt/Option on Xcode and Finder too. All key combinations involving Alt/Option have stopped working. It was not only a problem of configuring them in VSCode but a global issue in RDM sessions.
For a long time, I had no way to visualise key combinations and was unable to diagnose this issue.
I didn't know if it was any one case of three:
Did I screw up with RDM keyboard settings so no key combinations were captured?
Did I screw up with the key cut settings in those programs?
Did I have a bad memory with incorrect key combinations?
Until I came to VSCode and it had a convenient input panel to show exactly the keys being pressed. No, the problem isn't specific to VSCode. VSCode served as a key stroke tester to visualise key combinations on a UI.
Hello
Thanks for the clarification! We have a ticket open for this and I'll post back here once I have an update.
In the meantime, please don't hesitate with further questions or comments.
Kind regards,
Richard Markievicz