User Requests
One of the unique features of Apple Remote Desktop that has made it very useful in classroom or help desk settings is the ability for users of Remote Desktop client computers to send requests or messages to administrators. This feature requires that the Remote Desktop menu bar item be enabled on the clients. To send a message, users can select the Remote Desktop menu bar icon and from the drop-down menu can select Message to Administrator. This will open a dialog box in which users can type a message and choose from a pop-up menu displaying all the available computers on which the Remote Desktop application is currently running (which are listed by file sharing name).
This will open a Messages from Users window on the computer running Remote Desktop. The window will display the name of the computer, the user, and the message. If the entire message doesn’t fit in the window, there is a Display button that will display the entire message in a dialog sheet. Incoming messages are retained in this window (which can be displayed by selecting Messages from Users from the Windows menu) until the user selects them and clicks the Clear button. After selecting a message, you can access any of the Remote Desktop commands from the various menus in the menu bar to interact with the associated computer without needing to return to the main window and locate the computer in a computer list. This is a nice feature because it enables you to immediately respond to requests for help or to answer questions.