Microsoft Remote Desktop now lets iPad users control their PC using a mouse

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better touch tool magic mouse
It's like turning your iPad into a portable Windows PC.
Photo: Harpal Singh/Unsplash

While a large number of iOS users are also Mac customers, many people will use an iPhone or iPad but also rely on a Windows PC in some capacity. For those customers, Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app is a great tool, letting them access and use their professional or enterprise Windows PC through another device.

The latest update for the app is a big one for iPad owners — adding some eagerly anticipated features to the iOS app, including support for the Apple Magic Mouse 2 and Apple Magic Trackpad 2, external mice, and more.

In its updates for Remote Desktop version 10.1.0, Microsoft notes that users running iPad 13.4 or later can now control their remote session with a mouse or trackpad. This includes support for the Apple Magic Mouse 2 and Apple Magic Trackpad 2. Gestures supported on the mouse include left click, left drag, right click, right drag, horizontal and vertical scrolling, and local zooming.

There’s also support for other external mice, along with CTRL, ALT and SHIFT key states with mouse and trackpad clicks. Finally, there’s a tap to click feature for the trackpad.

In addition, there is a plethora of bug fixes and other small upgrades.

Microsoft’s Remote Desktop is not available for Windows 10 Home users, unfortunately. However, it’s free for anyone running Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise or Windows Server. If you use Windows for your work, this likely means that you should be able to take advantage of it now.

You can download Microsoft Remote Desktop from the App Store here.

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