Limitations during a session with an on-demand target

Some limitations might be in effect during a remote control session with an on-demand target.

Limitations during a session

The on-demand target runs as an application. Therefore, when it is running, the following limitations might be in effect during the remote control session, depending on the user rights on the target computer.

Table 1. Limitations during a remote control session with an on-demand target
	Limitation	Windows™ XP	Windows Server 2003	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2	Windows 8	Windows server 2012	Linux™
1	Lock Screen	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	No
2	UAC Prompts on Secure Desktop	N/A	N/A	All Users	All Users	All Users	N/A
3	Control High Integrity Level Windows	N/A	N/A	Standard Users	Standard Users	Standard Users	N/A
4	Modern UI	N/A	N/A	N/A	Standard Users	Standard Users	N/A
5	Fast User Switching	All Users	N/A	All Users	All Users	N/A	All Users
6	Inject Ctrl+Alt+Del	All Users	All Users	Standard Users	Standard Users	Standard Users	No
7	Full screen text mode	All Users	All Users	All Users	N/A	N/A	All Users
8	Detect input from High Integrity Level Windows	N/A	N/A	All Users	All Users	All Users	N/A
9	Logging out	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users

The following table provides descriptions for the values that are used in Limitations during a remote control session with an on-demand target.

Value	Description
All Users	The limitation affects both Standard Users and Admin Users
Standard Users	The limitation affects Standard Users only.
N/A	The limitation is not applicable to this operating system. For example, the operating system does not have User Account Control (UAC).
No	Not a limitation on this operating system.

Lock Screen

When the target system is locked during a remote control session, the following message is displayed on the controller, "Please wait... Screen capture temporarily interrupted by the target operating system until the end user completes a secure desktop action (UAC prompt, fast user switching, screen locked). Screen capture will resume when the action is completed". The lock screen on the target is not displayed in the remote control session window. The controller user also loses input control.
UAC Prompts on Secure Desktop

When a UAC prompt is displayed on the target system, it is not displayed to the controller in the remote control session window. Instead, the following message is displayed, "Please wait... Screen capture temporarily interrupted by the target operating system until the end user completes a secure desktop action (UAC prompt, fast user switching, screen locked). Screen capture will resume when the action is completed". The limitation does not affect Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Linux because those operating systems do not have User Account Control.
Control High Level Integrity Windows

The controller is unable to send mouse or keyboard input to windows on the target system. For example: certain Control Panels, Regedit, or Administrator Command Prompt. This limitation does not affect Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Linux because those operating systems do not have User Account Control.
Modern UI
When the Modern UI, formerly known as Metro, is visible, the target is unable to display its user interface on top of the display. This issue affects the Start Screen and also the Modern UI style applications. The following UI functions on the target are most affected by this issue.
- User acceptance prompts
- On-Screen Session Notification (OSSN)
- Guidance actions
- Highlighting and drawing
The taskbar is not visible also in the Modern UI. Therefore, the target's notification icon is not visible or accessible, and users cannot see whether a session is active. This limitation affects Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 operating systems only because the Modern UI was first introduced in those versions.
Fast user switching

When you switch to a different target user account, the following message is displayed on the controller, "Please wait... Screen capture temporarily interrupted by the target operating system until the end user completes a secure desktop action (UAC prompt, fast user switching, screen locked). Screen capture will resume when the action is completed". The limitation does not apply to the Windows Server 2003 operating system because that version does not support fast user switching. Earlier versions of Linux do not support fast user switching either.
Inject Ctrl+Alt+Del

Users cannot inject Ctrl+Alt+Del during a remote control session, except users with Administrator rights on Windows Vista and later. Workarounds for this limitation are detailed in Ctrl + Alt + Del workarounds. The Inject Ctrl+Alt+Del menu option is not available in the Perform action in target menu when you are using Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.
Full screen text mode

When a user switches a text mode application to full screen, the following message is displayed on the controller, "Please wait... Screen capture temporarily interrupted by the target operating system until the end user completes a secure desktop action (UAC prompt, fast user switching, screen locked). Screen capture will resume when the action is completed". The full screen text is not displayed in the session window.
Detect input from High Integrity level windows

When input focus is on a window with High Integrity Level, the mouse icon in the controller toolbar does not display the forbidden sign. The controller user cannot see whether the target user is using the mouse or keyboard. Input from the controller is blocked. The limitation does not affect Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Linux because these operating systems do not have User Account Control.
Logging out

When a user logs out, all the applications that are running in that user's session are terminated. The on-demand target runs as an application, therefore it is terminated too.

If you transfer files during a remote control session, the following limitations must be noted.

Note: You cannot transfer files to directories on the target that require admin rights for writing, for example, the Program Files directory. You can transfer the file to the user's profile or temp directory, then use local tools to move the file to the correct location, for example, Windows Explorer, cmd.exe, or other tools. However, during this process, UAC prompts might be displayed which you cannot see or control because of the UAC Prompts on Secure Desktop limitation. The same limitation is in effect when you are transferring from the target to the controller.

Ctrl + Alt + Del workarounds

When you click Ctrl-Alt-Del, the Windows Security dialog is displayed on the secure desktop. When the dialog is displayed, the on-demand remote control session is paused because the on-demand target is not allowed to capture the secure desktop. The exception is that on Windows XP with the welcome screen enabled, Task Manager is started instead.

The Windows Security dialog provides five options. However, the controller user can select the options in other ways.

Lock workstation: In the controller window, select Actions > Lock Workstation.
Log off and shutdown: You can select these options from the Start menu in the Windows operating system.
Change password: You can access the change password option in Control Panel.
Task Manager: In the controller window, select Actions > Task Manager. You can also right-click the Windows taskbar.

Installation limitation when you are using Windows XP

The executable file that is used to install the on-demand target might not start in Windows XP and the following message is displayed. A referral was returned by the server. To fix this issue, you must install Windows update package KB931125. The package can be installed by using Windows Update and the package, Update for Root Certificates for Windows XP [May 2013] (KB931125). You can also download the package from the Microsoft™ Download Center.