Screen Share with the Remote Customer for View and Control

Start Screen Sharing

From the session window, click the Screen Sharing button to request control of the remote computer. Options may be available below the button depending on your account settings. Click the gear button to view options.

Screen Sharing Options

  • Leaving all options unchecked requests full screen sharing, which grants view and control of the remote system's entire desktop and all applications.
  • If you check Full Access, available only in a customer-initiated session, you will request both screen sharing and all other privileges at once.
  • If you check View Only, you may see but not control the remote screen.
  • Privacy Screen, available only when Jumping, starts the session with the remote customer's view and control of the system disabled. Privacy screen is not available when supporting Windows 8.
  • Customer Chooses Shared Applications, available only when supporting a Windows or Mac computer, allows the customer to limit which applications to share.

If your administrator has set your account to require that the customer select which applications to share, you will only be allowed to request limited screen sharing. Alternatively, you may only be allowed to request full screen sharing, or you may be allowed to choose which level of access to request.

A site-wide setting may allow your customer to limit applications after beginning screen sharing, regardless of the level of access requested.

 

Screenshot of the user prompt banner in the Remote Support desktop console on a macOS.

For macOS Catalina (10.15)+ systems, if remote control is not enabled, click the banner at the top of the Screen Sharing tab to prompt the user for permissions.

 

Screenshot of the Action Required prompt in the Remote Support Customer Client.

The customer can now grant access when prompted in the customer client, and the representative is directed to the correct panes in Settings to update the permissions.

 

Once the customer has granted permission, the enabled applications of the remote desktop appear in your window. Your customer can choose to grant you view-only access or, if your permissions allow, full mouse and keyboard control, enabling you to work on the remote computer as if you were really there. You can request to elevate your permission level at any time during the session.

Run Full Customer Client

In a click-to-chat session, you can only chat with the customer and see basic session information. If you need to provide deeper support, request to elevate the session to the full customer client.

 

Screen Sharing Tools

 

Screen Sharing

Stop screen sharing.

Control

While viewing the remote computer, start or stop control of the remote keyboard and mouse.

Representatives using a macOS system can send CTRL+Left-Click through the connected screen sharing session to the remote system by using CTRL+CMD+Left-Click.

Customer Control

If your permissions allow, you can disable the remote user's screen view and mouse and keyboard input. The customer's view of the privacy screen clearly explains that the representative has disabled the customer's view. The customer can regain control at any time by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del.

Alternatively, disable the customer's mouse and keyboard input while still allowing them to view the screen. When input is restricted, an orange border appears around the customer's monitors, and a message indicates that the representative has mouse and keyboard control. The customer can regain control at any time by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del.

Restricted customer interaction is available only when supporting macOS or Windows computers. In Windows Vista and above, the customer client must be elevated. On Windows 8, privacy screen is not available, and the representative can only disable the mouse and keyboard.

Annotations

Annotation tools enable you to guide customers through more complex tasks and to train remote employees, reducing the number of call-backs and lowering training costs. A number of tools are available, including shapes and free drawing. BeyondTrust InSight allows annotations on the a live camera feed from an Android or iOS device. Note that annotations have special requirements for certain mobile platforms. To learn more about BeyondTrust InSight, please see BeyondTrust InSight for iOS or BeyondTrust InSight for Android.

Reboot Remote Computer

Reboot the remote system in either normal or safe mode with networking, or shut down the remote system. You can also request the end user to enter valid credentials so that after a reboot the representative can log back on with the provided credentials without requiring the customer to be present. For further details, see Automatic Log On Credentials: Reboot and Reconnect.

Send Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Send a Ctrl-Alt-Del command to the remote computer.

Run Special Action

Perform a special action on the remote system. Based on remote operating system and configuration, available tasks will vary. When operating in elevated mode, some actions can be run in System context. Alternatively, provide an administrative user's credentials to perform a special action in that user context. Canned scripts available to the user appear in a fly-out menu.

Smart Card

Access a dropdown of available smart card readers on your local system. Use the virtual smart card to perform administrative actions, running programs in another user context or even logging in as another user. To use smart card credentials on a remote system, you must start the session using an elevated Jump Client, a Jumpoint, or a local network Jump. The appropriate virtual smart card drivers must be installed on both your local system and the remote system, with their services running.

Start iOS Screen Sharing

Begin iOS device screen sharing. For details, see Supporting Apple iOS Devices. When supporting an Apple OS X 10.10+ system attached to an Apple iOS 8.0.1+ mobile device, click this button to begin or end view-only screen sharing on the attached iOS device. Note that this button is not visible unless you are in a standard screen sharing support session with an Apple OS X Yosemite system, and that the button is not enabled unless an Apple iOS 8.0.1+ device is connected to the OS X Yosemite system being supported.

Capture Screenshot

While screen sharing, capture a screenshot of the remote screen or screens at their full resolution, saved in PNG format. Save the image file to your local system or to your clipboard. The capture action is recorded in the chat log with a link to a locally saved image. The link remains active even after the customer has left the session, but it does not persist in the BeyondTrust session report. You can adjust the directory where screenshots are saved by going to the File > Settings > Support Tools menu in the representative console. This feature works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Clipboard Send

Manually send the contents of your clipboard to the remote computer. This tool icon is not visible if you are permitted to automatically send the contents of your clipboard or if you are disallowed to send clipboard information to the remote system.

Clipboard Get

Manually receive the contents of your clipboard from the remote computer. This tool icon is not visible if you are permitted to automatically receive the contents of your clipboard or if you are disallowed to receive clipboard information from the remote system.

Select Display

Select an alternate remote monitor to display. The primary monitor is designated by a P.

Scaled View or Actual Size

View the remote screen at actual or scaled size.

Performance and Quality

Select the color optimization mode to view the remote screen. If you are going to be primarily sharing video, select Video Optimized; otherwise select between Black and White (uses less bandwidth), Few Colors, More Colors, or Full Color (uses more bandwidth). Both Video Optimized and Full Color modes allow you to view the actual desktop wallpaper.

Full Screen

View the remote desktop in full screen mode or return to the interface view.

  • When in full screen mode, special keys are passed through to the remote system. This includes but is not limited to modifier keys, function keys, and the Windows Start key.
  • When not in full screen mode, you can pass special keys to the remote system by placing the mouse pointer over the screen sharing window.
  • This does not apply to the Ctrl-Alt-Del command, which is sent with the toolbar button noted above.