VNC client not passing all fn buttons through

[gemini_user_j]

Hi all,

I have a raspberry pi 4 with usb-over-ethernet host config [1]

It is possible to vnc directly into the local IP using RealVNC android client.

I am amazed how easy it is to get access to the raspberry pi OS desktop this way, unfortunately most of the fn-keys seem to not honor that the fn button is pressed, and thus, many symbols are unavailable.

I couldn't find any info on VNC clients in the search section, and thought I'd try my luck if any of y'all had some ideas to what the issue is.

[1] - https://www.hardill.me.uk/wordpress/2019/11/02/pi4-usb-c-gadget/

[bloblo]

Pretty much all VNC apps are just not smart enough to handle the unusual layout, and assume all these special keys are a one key press affair as they would be on a "regular" physical keyboard. Maybe this could be worked around on an Android level somehow. But just a reminder that the Gemini is likely extremely insecure to use anyway, given Planet Computers abandoned any reasonable attempt at keeping up with security patches almost immediately after release like it's some throwaway 50 bucks device. Given they can't even do these utter basics, it seems unlikely any sort of better emulation of keys for "dumb" apps will be done on a system level.

[Thiago Alves]

After spending a long time looking for a solution for this I finally found a VNC client that does work! If you use Remote Desktop Manager (you can find this app on Play Store) it can indeed pass through the fn keys if you press them with left Shift. So, for example, instead of pressing fn+o for dash, you would press left shift + fn + o. I know, Remote Desktop Manager is a bit overkill to just quickly connect to a VNC server, but it is the only solution I could find that actually works. Before that, I was using Unicode hex codes to insert symbols, like Ctrl+u+"2d" = dash, Ctrl+u+"22" = quotation mark, etc.

[gemini_user_j]

Cool! thanks for the tip!

Meanwhile I came across VMware Horizon, which has the following troubles:

: becomes ;
{ becomes [
} becomes ]
+ becomes =
/ becomes ?
_ becomes -
< becomes ,
> becomes .
~ becomes `
" becomes '

This is only true for the internal keyboard, and an external one works, but an external keyboard kind of defeats the purpose of the gemini when on the go :/

(I have US english layout btw)