Pencil
Native Windows pen input with pressure and tilt.
v0.7.0 Alpha guide
One surface.
Five ways to work.
Draw, navigate, point, type, and exchange files with Windows—all from the same local Safari session.
Fingers
Windows touch or three-finger app controls.
Pointer
Trackpad or mouse movement, clicks, and scrolling.
Keyboard
Shortcuts, held keys, symbols, and Unicode text.
Files
Explicit, paired transfers in either direction.
Start a session
Windows first.
Safari second.
The drawing page comes from your PC. GitHub Pages is only this documentation site.
- 1Run
nfidb.exeChoose a monitor and keep the desktop window open. - 2Open the local addressUse the QR code,
.localaddress, or numeric LAN address shown on Windows. - 3PairScan the QR code or type the six-digit PIN. Six digits are checked automatically.
- 4WorkBring your Windows drawing app forward and use the iPad surface.
Pencil, pointer, keyboard
Use the input that fits the moment.
Pencil remains a pen. A connected iPad trackpad or mouse remains a mouse. Keyboard input stays separate from both.
Apple Pencil
Draw directly into the selected Windows monitor. NFiDB forwards the primary tip, pressure, tilt, and coalesced samples as native Windows pen input.
In the drawing app, select its Windows Ink or pointer-input path when available.Trackpad or mouse
Move the Windows cursor, click, secondary-click, drag, and scroll horizontally or vertically. Pointer coordinates follow the video fit mode.
Keep Safari in the foreground so iPadOS delivers pointer events to the page.Hardware keyboard
With the Keyboard panel closed, key-down and key-up events go straight to Windows. Held modifiers and drawing-app shortcuts work normally.
Open Keyboard when you want layout-independent text or the on-screen special keys.OptionAlt
ControlCtrl
ShiftShift
ReturnEnter
DeleteBackspace
Option + TabSwitch app
Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Control+Option+Delete is sent, but Windows rejects synthetic input on the protected secure-attention screen. A portable user-mode app cannot override that boundary.
Three fingers
Move around Windows without leaving the canvas.
Set Touch off and Gestures on. Pencil contact temporarily suppresses finger shortcuts.
→Next appAlt+Tab
←Previous appAlt+Shift+Tab
↑Task ViewWin+Tab
↓MinimizeForeground window
Files in either direction
Choose what moves.
Nothing else is shared.
Open Files on Windows to queue downloads for the iPad. Open Files in the iPad toolbar to choose uploads or download those queued items.
Send to Windows
Choose one or more iPad files. Progress, cancel, and retry stay in the panel. Completed files appear in Downloads\NFiDB Inbox by default; Open received files folder on Windows opens the configured Inbox.
Send to iPad
Use Add files for iPad on Windows. The iPad shows a notice and Files badge when items arrive. Download one or use Download all; Safari may ask once to allow multiple downloads.
Automatic queue cleanup
Clear each queue item after download is on by default and remembers your choice. An item clears only after its complete stream is delivered, so partial or interrupted downloads remain available.
Safety and drawing
Only explicit files are exposed. Duplicate uploads do not overwrite. Transfers are rate-limited and pause by default while Pencil or touch is down.
The iPad controls
Available without covering the canvas.
Tap the compact NFi Controls button at the bottom-left to open the toolbar. Drawing or tapping the remote screen closes it immediately.
FitShows the complete monitor with letterboxing when needed.
FillFills the iPad screen and crops the monitor edges.
1:1Centers the encoded video at its native pixel size.
TouchChanges the real Windows injector setting and forwards finger contact as native Windows touch. This pauses three-finger gestures.
GesturesEnables or disables the three-finger Windows commands.
KeyboardOpens text entry plus Esc, Tab, Backspace, Enter, app, Task View, and minimize buttons.
VideoChooses Auto or a verified codec, edits Fast/Balanced/Sharp, and runs a quick end-to-end Auto test.
FilesOpens upload/download queues, progress, cancellation, checksums, and recent transfer results.
StatsShows video, bandwidth, latency, loss, frame timing, pressure, tilt, and input integrity.
FullscreenRequests browser fullscreen. Add to Home Screen gives Safari the least chrome.
×Disconnects, releases held input, and returns to pairing.
Quick fixes
Most problems are pairing or network state.
NFiDB does not use a cloud relay. Both devices must be able to reach each other on the same trusted LAN.
No page or connection
Use a normal private Wi-Fi network, not guest Wi-Fi. Allow NFiDB through Windows Firewall on Private networks only.
Expired PIN or stale QR error
Open Session on Windows and choose Reset PIN + QR, then reload Safari and use the new code.
Connected but no picture
NFiDB now requests fresh video keyframes until Safari presents a frame. Give it a few seconds; if it still does not appear, reload the page and pair again.
No pressure in a drawing app
Enable the app's Windows Ink/pointer input option. Run pointer-sink.exe --self-test to verify the native pen path independently.
Need measurements
Open Stats on the iPad or Diagnostics on Windows. Reports stay local unless you export them.
A file transfer stopped
Keep Safari in the foreground for uploads, then choose Retry. Safari downloads continue in its native download manager. Pairing reset intentionally cancels unfinished transfers.
Trusted LAN only · no account · no cloud relay