What is it?
Available for Splashtop Remote Support, SOS (On-Demand Support), and Enterprise accounts.
Starting with Business App version 3.4.4.0 for Windows, Mac, and iOS you have the ability to make your remote session view-only. (Android already supports this feature, as of version 3.4.8.2.)
The feature is for use when you need to avoid accidentally interfering with the user working at the computer you're connecting into, as it suspends keyboard, mouse, and stylus input and doesn't allow clipboard transfer between computers.
When will it affect my session?
By default, the view-only setting is disabled. When view-only is enabled, it will be saved for future remote connections between the specific two computers for which it was enabled, until it's disabled.
The view-only setting will be effective immediately in the current remote session, and will not apply to other active remote sessions, if you have multiple open. This feature will need to be enabled for each session individually.
If two users are connected into the same computer, view-only mode will only be enabled for the user who turns it on.
If turned on while connected to a terminal, the view-only setting will apply to all terminal sessions (when switched between).
How do I enable?
For Windows and Mac, in the Splashtop toolbar along the top of your remote connection, click the eye icon, then choose "View Only." When enabled, a checkmark will show to the left, and your mouse cursor will turn into an eyeball icon as a reminder that it is not usable.
For iOS, click the left facing carrot by the keyboard icon (at the bottom of the connection screen), then click the menu icon that looks like diamond with three red lines in one corner.
View Only (Pen Mode) and View Only (Laser Pointer)
With Splashtop Business App and Streamer version 3.4.8.0 for Windows and Mac, users now have the option to draw/write on the remote desktop's screen or use their mouse as a laser pointer. To enable this, click on the eye icon in the Splashtop Toolbar at the top of the screen and click on your preferred option.
People who can see your pen annotations/laser pointer are:
- Users that are physically at the computer you're remotely accessing
- Users that are remotely accessing the same computer you're accessing via another Splashtop account or Splashtop SOS
- Your laser pointer will only be visible if you hold down the left mouse button
Note: Your pen annotations will disappear once you switch out from View Only (Pen) mode. You can also delete your annotations by selecting 'clear all' from the same menu.
How does this differ from Share My Desktop?
Share My Desktop allows others to view the screen of the computer you're connecting from (where the Business App is installed). The new view-only mode this article discusses relates to the remote connection you establish to another computer, that session can now be made view-only.