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™Server 2008 R2 Windows™ 7 Windows™ Server 2012 Windows™ Server 2016 Windows™ 10 Linux™ macOS
1 Lock Screen All Users All Users All Users All Users All Users No No
2 UAC Prompts on Secure Desktop All Users All Users All Users All Users All Users N/A N/A
3 Control High Integrity Level Windows™ Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users N/A N/A
4 Modern UI N/A N/A Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users N/A N/A
5 Fast User Switching All Users All Users N/A N/A N/A All Users All Users
6 Inject

Ctrl+Alt+Del

 Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users Standard Users No N/A
7 Full screen text mode All Users All Users N/A N/A N/A All Users N/A
8 Logging out All Users 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.
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Control High Level Integrity Windows™

    Some windows require privileged access to be opened due to the High Level Integrity. When one of these windows have the focus, the controller is not able to send mouse or keyboard input to such windows on the target system. For example: certain Control Panels, Regedit, or Administrator Command Prompt windows. The actions taken from the user on the target machine when the action can still be viewed from the controller but there is no way to interact with the window from the controller.

  4. 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.

  5. 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".

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.