Control the computer

Once you have control of a session, your mouse and keyboard work on the remote screen inside the viewer. In a support session, control starts after you confirm the customer’s computer (see Run a support session).

Mouse and keyboard

1. Click the remote screen. The status strip at the bottom changes from click to capture keyboard to keyboard captured.
2. Use the mouse and keyboard as if you were sitting at the computer.

When you click outside the screen or switch to another window, Blink releases every key you were holding, so nothing gets stuck down on the remote computer.

If the toolbar shows View only, your role lets you watch but not control. If it shows Loading permissions… or Permissions not loaded, input starts as soon as your permissions arrive.

On a Mac customer’s computer, your mouse and keyboard only work after the customer allows Accessibility for Blink. The viewer tells you when that is missing. See What your customer sees.

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on your own keyboard never reaches the remote computer’s lock or sign-in screen. In Access sessions on Windows, select Ctrl+Alt+Del in the toolbar instead. The button is not shown in Backstage.

The Command key on a Mac

If you work on a Mac and the remote computer runs Windows, the toolbar shows a ⌘ button that decides what your Command key sends:

• Win (the default): ⌘ sends the Windows key.
• Ctrl: ⌘ sends Ctrl, so ⌘C and ⌘V copy and paste the way Windows shortcuts expect.

Select the button to switch. Blink remembers the choice in this browser.

Type text

Type text types a block of text on the remote computer as real keystrokes. Use it for passwords, long commands and fields that block pasting.

1. Click into the field on the remote computer where the text should go.
2. Select Type text in the toolbar.
3. Enter or paste the text. Turn on Hide characters for a password.
4. Choose a Speed:
   • Fast: most applications.
   • Careful: slow or busy applications.
   • Slowest: Windows 11 Notepad, or if the text comes out garbled.
5. Select Type (or press Ctrl+Enter).

The dialog shows the character count and roughly how long typing will take. You can type up to 4,096 characters at a time. Progress appears in the transfer panel under the toolbar, where Stop cancels typing part way.

The text is encrypted for the remote computer before it leaves your browser, and it is never stored or written to logs. Type text needs a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. If your browser cannot encrypt it, the button is disabled and says so.

Shared clipboard

When your role includes the clipboard, text is shared both ways:

• From the computer to you: text copied on the remote computer arrives on your clipboard automatically (as soon as the viewer has focus). The toolbar flashes clipboard received.
• From you to the computer: press Ctrl+V in the viewer. Blink sends your clipboard to the remote computer first, then pastes it there.

The clipboard carries text only, up to 64 KB. If you paste more, the toolbar shows clipboard too large (max 64 KB) and nothing is pasted; if the customer copies more, it shows customer clipboard too large (max 64 KB). Use Transfer files for larger content.

Your browser may ask for permission to read the clipboard the first time. If you block it, the toolbar shows clipboard access blocked and Ctrl+V pastes whatever is already on the remote computer’s clipboard.