Your phone has no mouse, so Remio turns fingers into one. Every mouse action — left-click, right-click, scroll, drag, double-click — has a touch gesture, and they are the same on iPhone, iPad, and Android. This page is the complete reference. If you only remember two things: two-finger tap is right-click, and two-finger slide is scroll.
Tap = click · Two-finger tap = right-click · Two-finger slide = scroll · Hold half a second, then move = drag · Pinch = zoom your view. That covers 95% of a session.
Two input modes
Remio has two ways to control the remote computer with touch. You pick one the first time you connect, and can switch any time in the in-stream Settings → Input:
- Touchpad (default) — the whole screen acts like a laptop trackpad. Slide your finger anywhere and the cursor moves relative to it. Most precise on a phone-sized screen, because your finger never covers what you are clicking.
- Direct Touch — your finger is the cursor. Tap a button to click that button, like using a touchscreen PC. Fastest on tablets and for touch-friendly apps.
The gestures below are nearly identical in both modes — the difference is where the click lands (at the cursor vs. under your finger) and that Direct Touch adds one-finger scrolling.
Touchpad mode gestures
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| Slide one finger | Move the cursor — relative movement, like a laptop trackpad. Pointer speed is adjustable in Settings. |
| Tap one finger | Left-click at the cursor position. |
| Tap twice quickly | Double-click. A third rapid tap is a triple-click — handy for selecting a whole line or paragraph. |
| Tap two fingers | Right-click — opens the context menu at the cursor. |
| Slide two fingers | Scroll, with momentum. Direction and speed are adjustable in Settings. |
| Swipe three fingers | Switch desktops — just like a Mac trackpad. Left or right moves between Spaces (virtual desktops on Windows); a long swipe crosses several at once. Swipe up for Mission Control, down for App Exposé. |
| Hold ~0.5s, then move | Drag (click-and-hold) — select text, move windows, drag files. You feel a haptic tick when the drag arms. Lift to drop. |
| Pinch two fingers | Zoom your view — Remio offers to magnify the stream locally. See the zoom section below. |
Direct Touch mode gestures
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap | Left-click exactly where you tapped. |
| Double-tap | Double-click at that spot. |
| Tap two fingers | Right-click. |
| Slide one finger | Scroll — content follows your finger; the cursor stays put while you scroll. |
| Slide two fingers | Scroll, same as one finger — use whichever feels natural. |
| Hold ~0.5s, then move | Drag (click-and-hold) — a small square grows under your finger while the drag arms, then move to drag. Lift to drop. |
| Pinch two fingers | Zoom your view — same local magnifier as Touchpad mode. |
Pinch to zoom — what it actually zooms
Pinching does not zoom anything on the remote computer — it magnifies your view of the stream, client-side, so you can read small text or hit a tiny button on a phone screen. Pinch outward and a "Tap to zoom in" prompt appears; tap it, frame the region you want, and confirm. While zoomed you keep full control — clicks land where you see them — and once a zoom is locked in, a further pinch is passed through to the remote app (so you can still pinch-zoom inside Maps or Photos on the host). Exit zoom from the toolbar's magnifier button.
Make it feel right
Everything about how gestures feel is tunable in the in-stream Settings panel (gear icon in the toolbar):
- Input mode — switch between Touchpad and Direct Touch mid-session.
- Pointer speed — how far the cursor travels per finger movement (Touchpad mode).
- Scroll speed — how fast two-finger scrolling moves content.
- Natural scrolling — on by default (content follows your fingers, like iOS/Android). Turn it off for classic mouse-wheel direction.
Prefer real hardware? It just works
Touch gestures are the fallback, not the ceiling. Pair a Bluetooth mouse, trackpad, or keyboard to your device and Remio forwards it natively:
- iPad with Magic Trackpad / Magic Keyboard — hover moves the cursor, two-finger tap right-clicks, two-finger scroll scrolls with momentum, and every keystroke goes straight to the remote computer.
- Android with a mouse — all three buttons work, including middle-click, which has no touch equivalent.
- Apple Pencil — works as a precise pointer, with pressure and tilt in drawing apps. See the Apple Pencil guide.
The latest Remio apps include this reference built in — tap the ? button in the streaming toolbar to see the gesture guide for your current input mode, any time, mid-session.
Troubleshooting
- Taps do nothing on the remote computer — the host is missing its input permission. On a Mac host, re-grant Accessibility in System Settings → Privacy & Security; see input troubleshooting.
- Right-click opens the menu in the wrong place — in Touchpad mode the menu opens at the cursor, not under your fingers. Move the cursor first, then two-finger tap.
- Drag keeps dropping too early — make sure you hold still for the full half-second before moving; moving too soon is read as cursor movement instead of a drag.
- Scrolling feels backwards — flip Natural scrolling in Settings.
- Cursor too fast or too slow — adjust Pointer speed in Settings; it ranges from 0.2× to 3×.
Gesture FAQ
How do I right-click in Remio?
Tap once with two fingers. That is the right-click in both input modes, on iPhone, iPad, and Android. The context menu opens exactly where the cursor is (Touchpad mode) or where you tapped (Direct Touch mode).
How do I scroll in Remio?
Slide two fingers up or down, like on a laptop trackpad. In Direct Touch mode you can also scroll by sliding a single finger. Scroll direction and speed are adjustable in the in-stream Settings panel.
How do I drag — select text, move windows, or drag files?
Hold one finger still for half a second — you will feel a small haptic tick — then move without lifting. That is a click-and-hold drag: select text, move a window, or drag an icon. Lift to drop.
How do I double-click?
Tap twice quickly, just like double-clicking a mouse. Remio counts consecutive rapid taps, so triple-click (for selecting a whole paragraph) works too in Touchpad mode.
Why doesn't the cursor sit under my finger?
You are in Touchpad mode, the default — the whole screen acts like a laptop trackpad and the cursor moves relative to your finger, which is far more precise on a small screen. If you prefer tapping things directly, switch to Direct Touch mode in Settings → Input, where your finger is the cursor.
How do I zoom in on the remote screen?
Pinch outward with two fingers and Remio offers to magnify the stream — this zooms your view without changing anything on the remote computer. Pan around while zoomed, and exit from the toolbar when done.
Can I middle-click?
Not with a touch gesture. Connect a physical mouse to your device (Bluetooth or USB) and its middle button is forwarded to the remote computer as a normal middle-click.
