Citrix Gotomypc 5.0 review

A host of new features, including faster performance and drag-and-drop file transfer

Recently updated to version 5.0, Citrix’s popular, web-based remote access solution, Gotomypc, now boasts many new features, including faster performance, drag-and-drop file transfer and multi-monitor support.

Of the products reviewed here, Gotomypc is most similar in functionality to Log Me In Pro.

Connection is via a central web-based server, where having logged in, you are presented with a list of your configured host computers.

From this point on, the products start to differ – with Gotomypc you are plunged immediately into a remote control session. From here you can also initiate a realtime chat function, annotate the screen with virtual marker pens or attach a local printer to the remote session.

You can choose from various screen modes including full-screen, scaled and windowed displays. If you select these screen modes while holding down the Shift key, various multi-monitor modes can be selected to take advantage of multiple displays on the host, the remote PC or both.

This is an important feature if your host has multiple displays, as without it there is no way of accessing any menus that appear on the remote secondary monitor.

With a remote control session there’s always a trade-off between image quality, speed and responsiveness.

Gotomypc takes the guesswork out of managing these parameters by providing a slider than can be moved to any of six positions ranging from ‘better speed’ to ‘better appearance’.

As you move the slider, various cosmetic enhancements are turned on or off, with an explanation of what’s happening beneath. This is much simpler to operate than individual checkboxes to toggle remote desktop wallpaper or font smoothing and so on.

One key area in which Gotomypc differs from other products is in the way file transfers and session settings are administered. All its interactive features, including the configuration menus and file transfer windows, are displayed at the host PC and operated via remote control.

This means these functions run with the reduced speed and quality of a remote connection. Products such as Laplink Everywhere and Log Me In Pro provide local interfaces to file transfer and configuration, almost leaving remote control as a last resort.

If all you want to do is transfer files to or from your home PC, you really shouldn’t have to use an interactive remote control session. In its defence, Gotomypc’s drag-and-drop file transfer is very easy to use and avoids having to navigate separate Explorer windows to transfer files when you’re logged in.

You can print from a remote PC to your local printer, which is vital if the required applications aren’t installed locally. Unfortunately, unlike Log Me In Pro, Gotomypc requires you to install the correct printer driver on the host machine before you can use it.

Gotomypc is very easy to set up. It‘s installed and configured directly from your web browser, giving you the flexibility to connect to your host PC from anywhere you have access to the Internet.

If you’re connecting from a Pocket PC or Windows Mobile device, a dedicated Pocketview client, designed for handheld devices, will install and run automatically.

If your main requirement is remote control and you want to be able to connect to your host from a number of locations, Gotomypc may be well suited to your needs.

But if you want frequent access to email and file transfer, take a look at Log Me In Pro, Laplink Everywhere or I’m In Touch.

This is part of a group test on remote access software. Other articles are:
Group Test: Remote PC Access Software
01 Communique I’m In Touch 5.10
3am Labs Log Me In Pro 2.30.523
Anyplace Control 2.12
Laplink Everywhere 4
Symantec PC Anywhere 11.5
Don’t forget security issues
Connect for free