Use Flow with remote desktops

Flow uses your local microphone and clipboard to deliver text to a remote desktop. Clipboard sharing must be enabled in the remote client and allowed by your organization. A failed paste and a stray character need different workarounds.

Identify the problem

1. Test locally. Dictate a short phrase into Notes or Notepad. If it also fails there, use text-pasting troubleshooting first.
2. Test clipboard transfer. Copy a short piece of local text and paste it into a remote text field. If that fails, check clipboard redirection and your organization's policy.
3. Look at the remote result. Nothing pasted usually points to focus or clipboard transfer. A stray character on a Mac host needs the guest-native paste workaround below.

Flow needs an internet connection for transcription. It runs locally and transfers the resulting text through the clipboard; remote sessions do not provide Flow with surrounding text for context-aware formatting.

Enable clipboard sharing

Client	What to check
Microsoft Remote Desktop on Windows	Before connecting, open Show Options → Local Resources and check Clipboard.
Microsoft Windows App / Remote Desktop on Mac	Enable Clipboard in the client's preferences or connection settings.
Citrix Workspace	Ask IT to confirm clipboard redirection is allowed for your session.
VMware Horizon	Enable clipboard redirection in connection settings. Organization policy can override it.
Amazon WorkSpaces	Check clipboard redirection in client preferences if transfer fails.
Windows 365 / Azure Virtual Desktop	Ask IT to review clipboard redirection in host-pool settings if blocked.
VNC, macOS Screen Sharing, Splashtop, TeamViewer	Enable clipboard sharing or clipboard sync in client preferences.

If your company blocks clipboard transfer, ask IT for an approved alternative. Installing Flow inside the virtual desktop does not resolve that restriction. Some policies permit text transfer but prohibit files.

Dictate from your local Mac

1. Grant Flow microphone and Accessibility permissions using its setup prompts.
2. Choose the intended mic in Settings → General → Microphone → Change. A closed MacBook needs an external microphone.
3. Connect to the remote session and click inside an editable text field.
4. Use your Flow shortcut and dictate. Wait for the paste to finish before editing.

If a stray character appears

This can happen in multiple Mac remote-desktop clients, not only Citrix. Use the remote operating system's native paste shortcut:

1. Delete the stray character.
2. Press Ctrl+V for a Windows guest or Cmd+V for a macOS guest.
3. If needed, explicitly copy the last transcript with Flow's Cmd+Ctrl+C shortcut, then repeat the guest-native paste.

Paste Last Transcript, normally Cmd+Ctrl+V on Mac, may produce the same stray character. Use Copy Last Transcript followed by the guest's paste command instead. If manual transfer still fails, recheck clipboard sharing.

Dictate from your local Windows PC

1. Grant Flow microphone access in Windows settings and select the intended mic in Flow.
2. Connect to the remote session, click inside the target field, and dictate with your Flow shortcut.
3. If auto-paste fails, try Ctrl+V or Flow's Paste Last Transcript, normally Shift+Alt+Z.
4. For a separate copy-and-paste step, use Shift+Alt+X to copy the last transcript, then paste into the remote field.

If the remote client runs with administrator privileges and Flow shows Update admin settings to paste!, follow its instruction to run Flow as administrator. Windows does not require macOS-style Accessibility permission.

If the result is still wrong

• Delayed or partial-looking paste: clipboard synchronization can be slow, and long text may arrive in pieces. Wait before moving focus or editing.
• Wrong characters: check both systems' language and keyboard settings. Try pasting into Notepad before copying to the target app.
• No transcript: open local History. Silent audio, missing microphone, and interrupted transcription are capture or processing failures; use Retry failed transcriptions when saved audio is available.

Copy a successful History entry when you need the text again. History and recovery depend on the local retention policy. Custom bindings replace the default shortcuts shown here; check Flow shortcut settings.

Still blocked? Contact Help → Talk to support with the remote client, local and guest operating systems, whether local dictation works, and whether ordinary clipboard transfer succeeds.