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Photo editing and design#

Retouch photos, illustrate, and design on a workstation host with accurate color and fine detail. Still images require accurate color and sharp pixels more than high frame rates, so this configuration prioritizes color quality and Retina resolution.

For example:

  • A photographer retouches on a studio computer with a calibrated display, from a laptop at home.
  • An illustrator draws in apps on the host with a pen tablet connected to their laptop, using pressure and tilt.

Applies to#

  • Session settings: Jump Desktop on Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android Beta.
  • Displays, pen pressure, and drawing tablets: Jump Desktop on Windows and macOS.
  • Fluid connections to a Windows or Mac host with Jump Desktop Connect.
  • Pro color, more than one virtual display, stylus pressure and tilt, and drawing tablet redirection require the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan. High color is available on every plan.
  • On iPad, Apple Pencil functions as a mouse, without pressure or tilt. Pressure support is coming soon. See Use Apple Pencil on iPad.

Set up the network#

Wi-Fi is sufficient for most photo work. For several high-resolution displays, use Ethernet on both the host and the device you connect from. See Set up the network.

Set up displays#

In Jump Desktop for Windows or Mac, during a Fluid session:

  • One screen: choose Display > Presets > Single Virtual Display. This preset turns on Use Retina Resolution for the sharpest detail.
  • Several screens: choose Display > Presets > Matched Virtual Displays for one virtual display per screen. When you have more than one screen, this preset keeps Retina off to limit the pixel load. More than one virtual display requires the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan.

If Frames drops, turn off Use Retina Resolution in the Display menu. See Use virtual displays on Windows and Mac and Keep the pixel load in check.

Choose session settings#

During a Fluid session, open the Remote menu and choose:

Setting Choose
Color High
Codec Hardware, or Fluid 2.0 if Hardware is not available
Framerate Auto
Maximum Bandwidth Auto

Tip

If color banding appears, choose Pro, which works with hardware encoding everywhere.

Tip

When you connect from Jump Desktop on Windows or Mac to an Apple silicon Mac with more than 2 displays, choose Fluid 2.0 instead. For now, Fluid 2.0 outperforms the hardware encoder on a Mac in some cases, including this one.

To choose these settings on iPhone, iPad, and Android Beta, tap the Settings button in the session toolbar, then tap Remote. Jump Desktop saves your choices for that host.

Draw with a pen or tablet#

Pen pressure and tilt: in Jump Desktop for Windows or Mac, connected to a Windows or Mac host, verify that Remote > Stylus is selected. Stylus is on by default and sends pressure, tilt, and rotation to the host. It requires the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan. See Pen and stylus input.

Or redirect the tablet over USB, so the host uses it as if it were connected to the host:

  1. Turn on USB redirection for the host. USB redirection is off by default. See Turn on USB redirection.
  2. On Windows, first disable or uninstall the tablet driver on your computer.
  3. During the session, choose Remote > Devices, select the tablet, and then click I Understand in the firmware update warning.

Redirecting drawing tablets and other input devices requires the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan. For other requirements, see Redirect USB devices. To choose between the two methods, see Stylus or USB redirection.

See strokes right away: in Jump Desktop for Windows or Mac, turn on Input Trail for the stylus or mouse (File > Settings > Input Trail on Windows, or Cmd+, > Input Trail on a Mac). With either method, Input Trail draws your stroke locally on your screen until the host's screen updates. See Input Trail.

Show your work and collaborate#

To present a design to a colleague or client, or to give them control, have them connect to the workstation with Ask to Share Screen; several people can watch simultaneously. Screen sharing sessions do not use virtual displays.

Check that it worked#

  • In connection statistics, Color shows 4:4:4 8bit for High or 4:2:0 10bit for Pro.
  • With Stylus, the stroke width or opacity of a pressure-sensitive brush changes as you press harder.
  • With USB redirection, a check mark appears next to the tablet in Devices, and the editing app responds to tablet input.

Advanced settings#

Change these settings only when they suit your configuration.

  • Maximum Bandwidth above 20 mbps: on the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan, you can test a Maximum Bandwidth value above 20 mbps.

    Warning

    A higher limit increases network load and can degrade performance.

  • Color Passthrough: keep it off unless you work on a calibrated display; see Color-accurate work with Color Passthrough.