Input

PrimalDesk supports keyboard and mouse input in both Desktop and Remote Apps. Two automatic mouse modes let you work with familiar desktop interfaces as well as games, game engines, editors and CAD applications that use mouse movement to control a camera or navigate a scene.

Absolute input

Absolute input is the familiar point-and-click mode: move the visible pointer to a button, menu or text field and interact with it as you would locally. It is suited to everyday desktop work and application interfaces.

Relative input

Relative input lets you keep turning a camera, looking around or navigating a 3D scene without stopping at the edge of the screen. The local pointer is hidden while this mode is active.

PrimalDesk switches automatically to relative input when the remote application hides its cursor, and back to absolute input when the cursor becomes visible again. A game can therefore use relative input during gameplay and absolute input in its menus; a game engine, editor or CAD application can use it while navigating a viewport.

Cursor control limitations: Software-driven pointer repositioning on the host does not move the client’s pointer. Restrictions requested by remote applications, such as confining the pointer to an area with ClipCursor, also have no effect on the client. Limited support for these behaviors is planned for future updates.

Input update rate

Choose an input send rate in the desktop client’s session controls. This setting balances responsiveness and processing overhead; it is separate from the video frame rate and your monitor’s refresh rate.

Setting	When to use it
Event-driven · Unlimited	The default, with no intentional update-rate limit. Use it for the most immediate response.
500 Hz	A high update rate for responsive interaction with a limit on processing overhead.
125 Hz	A lower update rate for everyday desktop work when reducing overhead matters more than rapid mouse response.

Lower rates may make fast mouse movements feel less immediate. The choice is saved in the client.

Gamepads: Gamepad input is not supported yet. Support is planned for a future update.