Improving the user experience in Citrix Receiver for Mac

Citrix Receiver for Mac provides a number of extra options and easier ways to substitute special keys such as function keys in Windows applications with Mac keys. Use the Keyboard tab to configure the options you want to use, as follows:

• “Send Control character using” lets you choose whether or not to send Command-character keystroke combinations as Ctrl+character key combinations in a session. If you select “Command or Control” from the pop-up menu, you can send familiar Command-character or Ctrl-character keystroke combinations on the Mac as Ctrl+character key combinations to the PC. If you select Control, you must use Ctrl-character keystroke combinations.
• “Send Alt character using” lets you choose how to replicate the Alt key within a session. If you select Command-Option, you can send Command-Option- keystroke combinations as Alt+ key combinations within a session. Alternatively, if you select Command, you can use the Command key as the Alt key.
• “Send Windows logo key using Command (right)” lets you send the Windows logo key to your remote desktops and applications by pressing the Command key situated on the right side of the keyboard. If this option is disabled, the right Command key has the same behavior as the left Command key according to the above two settings in the preferences panel, but you can still send the Windows logo key using the Keyboard menu; choose Keyboard > Send Windows Shortcut > Start.
• “Send special keys unchanged” lets you disable the conversion of special keys. For example, the combination Option-1 (on the numeric keypad) is equivalent to the special key F1. You can change this behavior and set this special key to represent 1 (the number one on the keypad) in the session by selecting the "Send special keys unchanged" checkbox. By default, this checkbox is not selected so Option-1 is sent to the session as F1.

You send function and other special keys to a session using the Keyboard menu.

Remote sessions recognize most Mac keyboard combinations for text input, such as Option-G to input the copyright symbol ©. Some keystrokes you make during a session, however, do not appear on the remote application or desktop and instead are interpreted by the Mac operating system. This can result in keys triggering Mac responses instead.

You might also want to use certain Windows keys, such as Insert, that many Mac keyboards do not have. Similarly, some Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts display charms and app commands, and snap and switch apps. These shortcuts are not mimicked natively by Mac keyboards but can be sent to the remote desktop or application using the Keyboard menu.

Keyboards and the ways keys are configured can differ widely between machines. Citrix Receiver for Mac therefore offers several choices to ensure that keystrokes can be forwarded correctly to hosted applications and desktops. These are listed in the table. The default behavior is described. If you adjust the defaults (using Citrix Receiver for Mac or other preferences), different keystroke combinations may be forwarded and other behavior may be observed on the remote PC.

Citrix Receiver for Mac allows you to use an Input Method Editor (IME) on either the user device or on the server.

When client-side IME is enabled, users can compose text at the insertion point rather than in a separate window.

Citrix Receiver for Mac also allows users to specify the keyboard layout they wish to use.

To enable client-side IME

Users can set Citrix Receiver for Mac to work in full-screen mode across multiple monitors through the menu option, Use All Displays In Full Screen.

Known Limitations

Full-screen mode is only supported on one monitor or all monitors, which is configurable through a menu item.

Users can now access the Desktop Toolbar in both windowed and full-screen mode. Previously, the toolbar was only visible in full-screen mode. Additional toolbar changes include:

• The Home button has been removed from the toolbar. This function can be executed by using the following commands:
  • Cmd-Tab to switch to the previous active application.
  • Ctrl-Left Arrow to switch to the previous Space.
  • Using the built-in trackpad or Magic Mouse gestures to switch to a different Space.
  • Moving the cursor to the edge of screen while in full-screen mode will display a Dock where you can choose which applications to make active.
• The Windowed button has been removed from the toolbar. Leaving full-screen mode for windowed mode can be executed by the following methods:
  • For OS X 10.10, clicking the green window button on the drop-down menu bar. or
  • For OS X 10.9, clicking the blue menu button on the drop-down menu bar.
  • For all versions of OS X, selecting Exit Full Screen from the View menu of the drop-down menu bar.
• The toolbar drag behavior is updated to support dragging between windows in full screen with multiple monitors.