Universal Control is a fantastic feature for Mac and iPad that lets you share a keyboard and mouse or trackpad between devices. But in addition to the convenient ability to share keyboard and mouse, there are other handy tips and tricks available for Universal Control that you might not know about, and we’ll cover some of them here.
From copying and pasting to dragging and dropping files, using keyboard shortcuts, arranging the orientation of screens to represent your physical setup, using gestures, reconnecting devices, and more, read along to better understand a wide variety of tips and tricks for Universal Control for both macOS and iPadOS.
Assuming you’ve enabled Universal Control on Macs and iPads and the devices meet the system requirements to use the feature, you’re good to go. Let’s take a look at some of the coolest features beyond simple keyboard and mouse sharing.
1: Copy and paste between Mac and iPad
Copying and pasting between any connected device is as easy as selecting the text or image you want to copy and then pasting it on the destination device. Super practical!
Simply drag your cursor over the device you want to copy from, then drag it to the device you want to paste on and paste. That’s all, it works great whether the data is text or an image.
2: Drag and drop files between Mac and iPad
You can easily drag a file between Mac and Mac, or even Mac to iPad in the Files app, and vice versa.
Dragging files to the Mac, whether from another Mac or iPad, is super easy, as you can drop them anywhere on the desktop or in a folder.
However, to drag and drop files to iPad, you need to be in the iPadOS Files app or the iPadOS Photos app for pictures and videos.
3: Keyboard shortcuts also follow the cursor
Do you want to use keyboard shortcuts to, for example, open Spotlight and launch an application? No problem, keyboard shortcuts will follow your cursor, so just hover your cursor over the Mac or iPad you want to run a keyboard shortcut on, and let go.
Even the audio settings work on all devices – for the most part anyway, although some apps don’t seem to work with it yet. For example, you can drag the mouse cursor from a Mac to the iPad and adjust the system volume on the iPad via the Mac keyboard or Touch Bar volume controls if the iPad is on the iPad. home screen, but not in the Spotify app. Presumably, these types of quirks will resolve over time.
4: Many gestures work on Mac/iPad
Many gestures you may already be familiar with on iPad will also work with Universal Control when swiping on iPad from a Mac that uses a trackpad, including the three-finger swipe left or right to switch apps, two-swipe up and down to scroll, three-finger swipe up to return to home screen, three-finger swipe up and swipe a break for mission control, and more. Try them!
5: Arrange the display orientation as you like
Arranging displays using Universal Control to match your physical setup is highly recommended, and this is easily done in the Displays System Preference panel on the Mac. Simply click and drag the screens to arrange them according to your physical configuration. Do you have an extra Mac on the right of your screen and an iPad on the left? No problem, just drag them accordingly.
6: Quickly disconnect devices from the menu bar
You can easily disconnect a device from Universal Control by pulling down the Views menu bar item on the Mac, then selecting the device to disconnect.
Note that the devices will automatically disconnect when they’ve been far enough away from the main Mac, so if you’re only taking a laptop or iPad, you don’t need to manually disconnect them first.
7: Automatically reconnect devices to Universal Control
Yes, Macs and iPads will reconnect to Universal Control when in range, automatically, assuming the setting is enabled anyway.
Go to Apple menu > System Settings/Preferences > Displays > Advanced/Universal Control > make sure “Automatically reconnect any Mac or iPad nearby” is enabled.
This is what the Universal Control settings look like in macOS Ventura and newer:
And here’s what the Universal Control preferences look like in macOS Monterey:
This is very useful if you have a primary desktop setup, but frequently remove a Mac laptop or iPad for on-the-go use, as they will automatically reconnect to your desktop workstation when in proximity again.
8: Also control a Mac from an iPad with Magic Keyboard
While you might assume that only the primary Mac can control other devices, whether it’s another Mac or an iPad, you can also go the other way.
For example, if you have an iPad with a Magic Keyboard, you can drag the cursor on a Mac and then use the trackpad and keyboard as expected.
9: You can only control multiple Macs, no need for an iPad
If you only have Macs in your setup, that’s perfectly fine – you can still use Universal Control to control each of those Macs with a single keyboard and mouse.
Say you have a desktop iMac with a built-in display as your primary desktop Mac with a keyboard and mouse, a MacBook Pro, and a MacBook Air — you can use Universal Control to control each of these devices seamlessly.
As long as each of the Macs is running macOS Monterey 12.3 or later, they will have access to this feature.
It’s really great, and similar to the Synergy or Barrier apps that offered this functionality before (and still offer the functionality for devices that don’t support Universal Control, or for users who need cross-platform support to share a keyboard and mouse between a Mac and a Windows PC).
–
What do you think of Universal Control? Do you already use it on your Macs and iPads? Do you know of any other handy tips or tricks for Universal Control that we should include? Let us know in the comments!
Related
