How to solve copy and paste and window switch mapping when using remote windows from mac

Question

I'm working from a Mac and use Microsoft Remote Desktop service (RDS) to access a windows server to use software that only runs on windows.

The difference in keyboard mapping for copy/paste and window switching is driving me crazy sometimes.

Copy-paste

• Copy-paste on Mac: command-c, command-v
• Copy-paste on Windows: control-c, control-v [1]

Window switch

• Window switch on Mac: command-tab
• Window switch on Windows: alt-tab

Solutions?

• Is there anybody who has solved this?

Is there an alternative way to access the windows machine remotely that solves this? Is there a keyboard on the market that solves it for me? Any other solution? [1] RDS does allow to use command-c, command-v as well, but it sometimes starts opening the start-menu on the windows remote, which annoys me as well.

Answer 1

You're just going to have to learn to live with it.

For Cmd/C, V, X etc, you just need to be quicker, or use Ctrl to save confusion.

For anything else, if you remap to match Cmd/Tab on the PC, the Mac will intercept the command first… & switch apps away from RDC.

Golden rule is you never want the remote machine to be using the same key commands as the local. You'll see this gets even more true if you remote into other Macs - you end up having to remap all your own local commands to ones that don't interfere with the remote's… because you can't remap 50 other users' key commands to make your own life easier ;)

Answer 2

Try this: dezhaoli / MicrosoftRemoteDesktop-Setting

After setting it up, MicrosoftRemoteDesktop will map

command + key

to

control + key