Previous page

Next page

Locate page in Contents

Print this page

Control Programs with Trackpad Gestures or the Apple Remote

You can use the Apple Remote to control some Windows programs. If you have an Apple portable computer, such as a Macbook, or if you have an Apple Magic Trackpad, you can use gestures, such as swiping left or right across the trackpad, to control some Windows programs.

Note: You can control some Windows programs using three-finger swipes only if you're using Parallels Desktop with Mac OS X Snow Leopard. In OS X Lion and later, three-finger swipes are used by default to move between full-screen apps and spaces.

To use the Apple Remote, you must first enable it by doing the following:

  1. Start Windows .
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Parallels icon in the menu bar and choose Configure .
    • If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure .
  3. Click Options , and then click Advanced.
  4. Select Enable next to Apple Remote .

The following table provides commands to control some of the more popular Windows programs.

Action

Keyboard and Mouse Combination

Apple Remote

Touchpad Gesture

General

Scroll

Up, down, left, or right arrow

n/a

Swipe up, down, left, or right with two fingers

Microsoft Power Point

Start slide show

F5

The Apple Remote Play button

n/a

End slide show

Esc

Apple Remote Menu

n/a

Perform the next animation or advance to the next slide

N, Enter, Page Down, Right Arrow, Down Arrow, Space (or click the mouse)

The Apple Remote Next button

Swipe right with three fingers

Perform the previous animation or return to the previous slide

P, Page Up, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, Backspace

The Apple Remote Rrevious button

Swipe left with three fingers

Zoom in/zoom out

Ctrl+wheel up /Ctrl+wheel down

n/a

Pinch open/pinch close

Microsoft Word/Excel

Zoom in/zoom out

Ctrl+wheel up /Ctrl+wheel down

n/a

Pinch open/pinch close

Windows Media Player

Start/pause playback

Space

The Apple Remote Play button

n/a

Skip to the next song

Ctrl+F

The Apple Remote Next button

Swipe right with three fingers

Play the previous song

Ctrl+B

The Apple Remote Rrevious button

Swipe left with three fingers

Volume up

F8, Up Arrow, wheel up

The Apple Remont Plus button

n/a

Volume down

F9, Down Arrow, wheel down

The Apple Remote Minus button

n/a

Media Player Classic (k-lite)

Start playback/pause

Space

The Apple Remote Play button

n/a

Volume up

F8, Up Arrow, wheel up

The Apple Remont Plus button

n/a

Volume down

F9, Down Arrow, wheel down

The Apple Remote Minus button

n/a

Winamp

Start playback/pause

X to start, C to pause

The Apple Remote Play button

n/a

Volume up

Up Arrow, wheel up

The Apple Remont Plus button

n/a

Volume down

Down Arrow, wheel down

The Apple Remote Minus button

n/a

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Page back

Backspace, Option+Left Arrow (Alt+Left Arrow)

n/a or The Apple Remote Next button

Swipe right with three fingers

Page forward

Option+Right Arrow (Alt+Right Arrow)

n/a or The Apple Remote Rrevious button

Swipe left with three fingers

Zoom in/zoom out

Ctrl+wheel up/Ctrl+wheel down

n/a

Pinch open/pinch close

Mozilla Firefox

Page back

Backspace, Option+Left Arrow (Alt+Left Arow)

n/a or The Apple Remote Next button

Swipe right with three fingers

Page forward

Option+Right Arrow (Alt+Right Arrow)

n/a or The Apple Remote Rrevious button

Swipe left with three fingers

Zoom in/zoom out

Ctrl-wheel up/Ctrl-wheel down or Ctrl-"+"/Ctrl-"-"

n/a

Pinch open/pinch close

Windows Picture and Fax Viewer

Next image

Right Arrow

The Apple Remote Next button

Swipe right with three fingers

Previous image

Left Arrow

The Apple Remote Rrevious button

Swipe left with three fingers

Zoom in/zoom out

"+"/"-"

The Apple Remont Plus button or The Apple Remote Minus button

Pinch open/pinch close

Rotate clockwise

Ctrl+K

n/a

Rotate right with two fingers

Rotate counterclockwise

Ctrl+L

n/a

Rotate left with two fingers

Related Topics

Set Your Mouse or Trackpad to Right-Click and Middle-Click

Customize Keyboard Shortcuts