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Apple Remote Desktop has proven to be an invaluable tool for a wide range of users and organizations. IT departments, in particular, rely …
Overview
What is Apple Remote Desktop?
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD), from Apple, is a remote administration tool for managing Apple computers running OS X across a network.
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Popular Features
- Instant message (20)9.393%
- File transfer (24)9.090%
- Screen sharing (25)8.989%
- Remote management of servers & workstations (21)8.484%
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What is Apple Remote Desktop?
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD), from Apple, is a remote administration tool for managing Apple computers running OS X across a network.
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Apple Remote Desktop 3 Demo -Copy from remote to local-
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What is Apple Remote Desktop?
Apple Remote Desktop Video
Installation and the basic how-to of Remote Desktop in macOS 10.5.
Apple Remote Desktop Technical Details
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD), from Apple, is a remote administration tool for managing Apple computers running OS X across a network.
Reviewers rate Instant message highest, with a score of 9.3.
The most common users of Apple Remote Desktop are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
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Apple Remote Desktop has proven to be an invaluable tool for a wide range of users and organizations. IT departments, in particular, rely on this software for remote access, support, and maintenance tasks. Users appreciate the ability to remotely view and command multiple machines at once, which improves efficiency and saves time. The software is particularly helpful for silently pushing updates or gathering information about computer usage behind the scenes. It also offers encrypted connections and compressed data traffic, ensuring secure and efficient remote support. This makes it a popular choice for organizations that prioritize data security.
Educators have also found value in Apple Remote Desktop, using it to enhance student engagement through screen sharing and remote control. It allows educators to observe multiple devices simultaneously and organize them according to grade levels. In an educational setting, the software supports content and use management, facilitating screen sharing and file sharing among students. Additionally, Apple Remote Desktop streamlines logins for young students by pushing login information for various software programs.
Developers utilize Apple Remote Desktop to remotely work on Mac devices for iOS and macOS application builds. The software enables seamless collaboration by providing remote access to Mac Mini devices, allowing developers to work on their projects without being physically present at the machine. Support teams also find great value in this tool as they can connect to end users' macOS devices for troubleshooting desktop support issues and performing software updates without needing physical access to the machines.
Overall, Apple Remote Desktop offers a wide range of features that cater to diverse user needs. Whether it's IT administrators managing a large number of computers or educators improving student engagement, this software provides the necessary tools to save time, improve efficiency, and enhance productivity in various professional settings.
User-Friendly Interface: Many users have praised the user interface of Apple Remote Desktop, noting that it is simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate. They appreciate the top navigation bar that provides quick access to all necessary tools and elements in the software, making tasks effortless to perform.
Reliable Remote Access: Several reviewers have highlighted the reliability of Apple Remote Desktop's remote access capabilities. They mention that the software can remotely access Apple computers even if they are not logged in or at the login screen. This feature has proven particularly useful for performing updates or managing machines without interrupting the user's workflow.
Comprehensive Feature Set: Users value the wide range of functionality provided by Apple Remote Desktop at a low cost. They mention features such as remote searching on devices, screen capture sharing, file copy transfer, application installation, and automator actions that automate workflow tasks and save time. This comprehensive set of features makes Apple Remote Desktop a valuable tool for various tasks.
Cross-platform limitations: Some users have expressed disappointment that Apple Remote Desktop is only compatible with Mac computers, and they would like to see more support for iOS and mobile devices.
Performance issues: Several users have mentioned that the performance of Apple Remote Desktop can be slow, especially when running operations on multiple machines simultaneously.
Outdated user interface: Many users have found the user interface of Apple Remote Desktop to be outdated and in need of improvement. They feel that the interface can be confusing and requires specific configurations on endpoints.
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Reviews
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December 09, 2022
Apple Remote Desktop is a day saver.
I use it to control Mac remotely. It allows me much more control over Zoom Remote or Microsoft Remote Desktop in automation. We have over 200 Mac laptops and the other remote software falls short. It would be nice to have an all-in-one solution but I do not believe it exists.
- One off software install
- Log in as separate user
- Network discovery of remote machines
- It is pretty refined. I can't think off hand what I would want changed.
- The interface is becoming a little dated.
- The ability to skip the server setting.
December 08, 2022
Apple Remote Desktop: All you need to know
I researched about a lot of software that could help me manage all the workstations in my office, and I came across Apple Remote Desktop. I have always had faith in the services offered by Apple and I definitely had to try this one out. I got a tutorial from an expert and I knew that I have to use it no matter what. The biggest problem it helped me solve is that I can now manage and administer the common issues from my own desk. I can run the periodic task of maintenance from the comfort of my office.
- Managing devices on Same Netwok.
- Best Screen Sharing UI
- Default Maintenance Checks and commands for MACs
- A little slower performance
- Running the same operation on multiple machine is a challenge.
December 08, 2022
Apple Remote Desktop... Great for onsite Apple remote access!
Apple Remote Desktop works for us to manage all of our Apple computers on site. We can control screens, share files, run commands and manage the devices remotely. We use it for this basic functionality as an occasional alternative to other remote management products that we also run. Sometimes Apple Remote Desktop is the only software that can access the computer in a pinch.
- It is very reliable.
- It can access Apple computers remotely even if they are not logged in or even at the login screen in the case of an update.
- It's basic remote management features work well.
- It's onsite only without setting up a VPN or some other form of remote network access.
- It can be a little slow sometimes when compared to local access.
- It seems to be a neglected product by Apple and not continually developed.
April 10, 2019
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD)
We use ARD for remote desktop for our Macbooks/iMac computers. We also use it for managing profiles and sending files between machines.
- Remote searching on devices
- Screen capture/sharing
- File copy/transfer
- Application installation
- I just use what ARD offers and it works fine for my organization.
February 04, 2019
Powerful and Sophisticated Remote Administration for Mac Computers
We are using Apple Remote Desktop for managing Mac computers on our network. The product is being used to perform administrative tasks such as on-demand remote assistance, remote software installations and perform AutoInstall using Task Server to minimize human intervention on scheduled tasks.
Automator Actions is another cool feature we use often. You can create a workflow of tasks you want to perform and then schedule them to execute automatically on client machines.
One of the coolest features which I haven't used elsewhere is "Curtain Mode" while performing an administrative task on a client machine. You can block the local user's view of his own screen while performing administrative tasks.
Automator Actions is another cool feature we use often. You can create a workflow of tasks you want to perform and then schedule them to execute automatically on client machines.
One of the coolest features which I haven't used elsewhere is "Curtain Mode" while performing an administrative task on a client machine. You can block the local user's view of his own screen while performing administrative tasks.
- Automator Actions: This is a very cool feature and cost saving as it reduces human effort by automating the workflow of tasks.
- Curtain Mode: This lets you block your local user's view of the desktop while performing administrative tasks.
- Spotlight Search: It can perform lightning fast searches on machines using the spotlight search feature of OS X and thus saves a lot of time.
- As apple usually does, this is only for Mac computers. This is not a cross-platform utility.
- There is no mobile device interface to this software, it is only available on Mac App Store.
April 02, 2018
ARD, Essential for Apple Environments
ARD is being used by technology support staff in our organization to manage Apple desktops and laptops in our organization. It can collect stats from our endpoints and can run UNIX scripts in the background, this is especially helpful if we need to silently push an update or get information about the usage of a computer behind the scenes so to speak. We use this throughout our organization and not a day goes by when I do not use it.
- Allows us to execute UNIX scripts without alerting a user or interrupting their workflow.
- Allows us to observe, control, and share control of a user's machine flawlessly.
- Enables us to collect usage statistics from endpoints to determine machine usage and this, in turn, helps drive business decisions.
- The software has some bugs. When I have tried to create detailed lists and scanners I have had the program crash entirely, this is extremely frustrating.
- Software does not scan as fast as I would like, though it does scan rather fast I wish it could scan faster.
January 19, 2018
Apple Remote Desktop, a must have for your Mac Network toolbox.
I currently use Apple Remote Desktop to access clients' networks to provide support and run reports on devices within the network, I also use it to access my work network from remote places.
- Very easy to use, and robust. Apple Remote Desktop provides a wide range of functionality at very low cost
- It does network to network very well ( once setup)
- Working on your LAN (Local area network) ARD is probably the best tool out there for managing Mac networks, with a full array of features, screen sharing, and reporting
- The biggest flaw with ARD is its inability to map to multiple machines behind a router. Without the proper VPN router setup, you can only specify one machine on the other side of a router ( again without VPN'ing into the whole network)
November 21, 2017
Take a bite out of this Apple Remote Desktop
I use Apple Remote Desktop to login into my work computer remotely. It is two different interfaces that I am dealing with and I have yet to have any issues, if anything it is very fast and easy to use. My whole department uses it if they have a need for it, and it is made available to the whole campus. It addresses the issue of having to conform to using one thing to access your work, makes it easier to get things done.
- Fast, this is great because usually remote desktops are rather slow.
- Group demos, helps me when I am needing to show multiple people things.
- Ease of use, freedom. Since it is so easy to use it makes it easier to not have to be stuck in front of your office computer.
- Initial login, I had to look up how to do it.
- Since everything is driven with mouse/touchpad. I have lost the remote desktop before and this has caused it to log out.
- More shortcuts.
November 14, 2017
MR.Power ON ARD
Apple Remote Desktop is being used specifically for content and use management, at the school level, for managing students. The most used tools are computer screen sharing, file drops and locking labs of computers down during lesson plans. The entire organization of our school utilizes Apple Remote Desktop, as the entire school has MAC labs and MAC computers. All departments and educators have access to ARD in the entire building.
The problem that ARD addresses is the need to have a tool available for educators to improve the quality and control of the educational experience. Students often need files sent to them for lessons or project based learning. During other times teachers will need to use ARD in order to address the issue of student engagement and use Apple Remote Desktop to improve engagement by either screen sharing or sharing a student's screen to the rest of the class of students.
The problem that ARD addresses is the need to have a tool available for educators to improve the quality and control of the educational experience. Students often need files sent to them for lessons or project based learning. During other times teachers will need to use ARD in order to address the issue of student engagement and use Apple Remote Desktop to improve engagement by either screen sharing or sharing a student's screen to the rest of the class of students.
- Apple Remote Desktop has a very simple and easy to navigate user interface. The top navigation bar allows for easy and quick access to all necessary tools and elements in ARD.
- Apple Remote Desktop connects to all the computers on the network allowing for ease of use. This is a strength because it always works on the first attempt.
- Apple Remote Desktop drops files directly onto the desktop for all students without needing to use google drive.
- Apple Remote Desktop allows for sharing one screen to the rest of the class to allow to show student work to all students at once.
- Apple Remote Desktop could improve by allowing you to drop files into specific folders rather than on to a messy desktop where some files may get lost or not seen quickly.
- Apple Remote Desktop sometimes has a small lag. When I click my mouse I often need to wait another second or check the student machines to make sure that what they are seeing is what I am doing. It seems as if it does not live stream perfectly.
- Apple Remote Desktop pictures do not show up as clean and clear as they do on the screen I am sharing with. My teacher iMac shows quality images, however, when screen shared the ARD screen share shows a lower quality imagine with less colors shown.
April 17, 2017
ARD: Apple screenshare.app on steroids
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) is our primary remote desktop sharing tool on our HQ LAN, which consists of mostly Macs. Secondarily, we use it to deploy software packages to our local Mac users.
- Screen sharing with Macs
- Remote Control of Macs
- I would like to see more included Unix scrips that can be pushed to clients.
- Inclusion of a way to remote control or screen share with Windows machines would be useful, as I manage a handful of Windows machines. While this would be possible using VNC on the Windows machines, including the ability to connect using Windows terminal connections would be awesome, for me.
May 06, 2016
Apple Remote Desktop will save you time & money
Apple remote desktop (ARD) is a key tool in any Macintosh system administrators tool box. Made by Apple itself and currently supporting remote connectivity to any of its operating systems, it's the tool you need. The ability to secure and collect any amount of systems across an organization for remote access or remote installs and commands makes my job easier every day. The price for ARD is also under $100 from Apple's app store, this makes it very easy to recommend for support and keeps you in budget with your company. Being able to use a remote task server also allows ARD to be able to do tasks for you when you aren't around, further lightening your work load. IT also offers encrypted connections to users systems and compressed data traffic.
- Software deployments via PKG file installs remotely.
- Multiple observation of more then one computer at a time on screen.
- Remote terminal command line interface.
- It is resource intensive, sometimes it becomes locked up or unstable.
- The UI is dated and could be improved on.
- Would be nice if it offered abilities to clone or remotely install OS X upgrades.
May 03, 2016
ARD reviewed by a teacher
We are an educational organization and use Apple Remote Desktop to monitor students and provide tech support.
- Great for monitoring users on your network.
- Easy tech support.
- Good for sharing screens to a projector.
- Screen refresh rate can be a bit slow, but this depends largely on your network
October 30, 2015
Apple Remote Desktop Used In K-12 World
We use Apple Remote Desktop across the board in IT to manage, update and provide remote support for our end users on the Mac platform.
- Push and manage updates.
- Provide remote management and support.
- One easy tool to gather information regarding machines in the field.
- User friendly.
- More support for iOS and mobile devices.
- More support with pushing updates to mobile devices
- Remote lock a device or wipe a device that has been stolen.
October 27, 2015
ARD is a solid application.
We use Apple Remote Desktop in the IT department to monitor and update our 150+ computers in our agency. ARD allows us to help employees with small tasks like updating software (Microsoft Ofiice, Flash ect.) to bigger task like troubleshooting issues over the phone. Overall ARD gets a lot of use from our 3 IT guys
- Apple has done a really good job at limiting the resources ARD uses in recent updates.
- Unix commands are a very easy to use and very efficient when trying to run group updates.
- The reports is a great option that makes quick work if you need to get serial numbers or computer specs on 1 or 100 computers
- When using the control feature. the screen will become black and you will have to move the mouse around to erase the black screen away or disconnect and reconnect to the end user device.
- When searching for specific IP address more times then not it wont find it.
- Copy/Paste does not work too well when going back and forth between your local machine and remote user
- Cant install printers.