Arrow and space keys don’t work in version 8.4.2

[hpb]

Updated to NoMachine 8.4.2 for iOS under iOS 16.3.1.  Logged onto Raspberry Pi.  In the terminal program, arrow keys and space key doesn’t work.  By “don’t work” I mean that hitting them doesn’t do anything.  In fact, when trying to add a new connection in NoMachine, space bar does not work when trying to add the name of a new connection.

[Tor]

Hi! What is your iOS device model? Do you use the virtual keyboard, or an hardware keyboard connected to the device through bluetooth?

[hpb]

I am using an iPad Air (5th generation) with an Apple Magic keyboard.  This keyboard connects to the iPad through three connectors on the back of the iPad.  Space and arrow do work with the virtual keyboard, but that is not nearly as convenient as using the Magic keyboard and exactly why I bought the Magic keyboard.

[Tor]

Perfectly clear, thanks. We’re doing some checks in our labs, I’ll update this thread soon.

[NebulaBC]

I’m also experiencing this issue. Space works for me, but arrows and all non-character input keys don’t work. I’m on an iPad 10 with a Logitech Combo Touch (pretty much a clone of the apple keyboard, so there shouldn’t be any difference software side)

My guess at why these issues are happening would probably be because NoMachine isn’t just taking direct keyboard inputs and forwarding them, but instead it’s trying to bring up the on screen keyboard and then that’s turning into the text input mode for a physical keyboard (it even shows the autocorrect/password bar). I’m kind of disappointed that the keyboard support isn’t better in the latest version, but hopefully that can be remedied with a future update.

[Tor]

We identified the issue and rolled out a new version for an internal testing, so far everything is working as expected. We’re implementing other changes too, so I don’t expect a new version to be published before next week.

@hpb can you confirm the ‘space’ works correctly with other 3rd party apps, please? Compared to other keys, the ‘space’ is received as-is and there is nothing special to do to forward it.

@NebulaBC the problem is a bit more complex, caused by an internal condition clearing out a bit in a mask, and bypassing the definition of the key commands needed by the responder object. I’m sorry we didn’t notice it during our tests.

There is a workaround you could try. The bug is not triggered if you avoid to activate input fields before the client connects to the remote desktop, so store username and password in the connection and don’t tap any input fields until you see the desktop. Let me know if this helps (on one of our devices the workaround didn’t… work around! 🙂 We’re still analyzing the reason).

[cj1171]

@NebulaBC noticed the same behavior with my Combo Touch attached.

[Britgirl]

We’ve opened a Trouble Report for this issue. Please use the following URL to track its status

Hardware keyboard doesn’t work correctly on iPad
https://kb.nomachine.com/TR04U10847

[hpb]

I neglected to test the work-around.  It works!  If I save my password when logging into my Raspberry Pi, I can now use my iPad’s Apple Magic keyboard.  Thank you.

[hpb]

But, usability is poor.  When typing in a Raspberry Pi terminal window with the Apple Magic Keyboard, we have the following problems:

• Arrow keys and tab do not work.  This is important for going through command history and command completion.
• Must hold Control key when hitting space bar to type a space.

So…usability is very poor.

[Tor]

When typing in a Raspberry Pi terminal window with the Apple Magic Keyboard, we have the following problems

Can you please tell the distribution and keyboard layout you’re using on Raspberry, and the keyboard language set on iPad? We’re preparing a release including the fix for this problem, but we’d like to be sure it addresses also the issues you’re experiencing.

[hpb]

I see these identical problems with US English keyboard on the following operating systems:

• Raspberry Pi OS bullsye
• Raspberry Pi OS buster
• Ubuntu 22.04.02 LTS on Intel architecture

Not sure how to determine the keyboard language on the iPad.  There’s no info in settings, but it’s Apple, you attach it and it just works.  So I presume it’s US English which ought to be the default for an iPad purchased in the US.

[Britgirl]

Thanks for this additional info. We suggest you wait for the next mobile update and we can check that it fixes the TR 🙂

[hpb]

Updates to iOS have been rare.  For example, the previous version went without an update for four years.  When can I expect the next update?

[Britgirl]

Now that the app for mobile is aligned with its fellow desktop and server products,  updates to the app will be much more regular. Like we wrote in the software update announcement at the time, “With this important milestone reached, the app can be kept actively aligned with NoMachine server products as development continues to move forward.”

[Author]

Posts