The cheapest switches allow sharing between only two PCs and don't support USB or DVI. Pretty useless since USB mice and keyboards are rather standard nowadays; plus, why would I downgrade my graphics tothe switch's lousy VGA port when I currently use DVI? The good ones go all out, allowing many PCs and even sharing sound... but that comes at a hefty price.
Anyway, over the years I've realized that sharing a monitor with two systems isn't ideal because when I'm using the older PC I tend to need the new one at the same time. So since I need two monitors, that leaves the problem of needing an extra mouse/keyboard. Desk real estate is too valuable for all that crap to be hanging around around. I guess my needs are down from KVM to KM...
In comes Synergy.
Synergy is a free utility for sharing a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers. It hasn't been updated in a few years, but for the most part it's functional.
The utility requires a host computer to serve the others as clients. I used my XP Pro machine as the host and my old Linux Slackware clunker as the sole client. Here's what I had to do to get it working:
1. Install the Windows binary to the XP machine. Below is the main window seen upon starting Synergy.
2. Set up the host by clicking the Configure button, which brings up this dialog:
First, for each screen I had, I clicked the "+" sign just under the Screens box. The following dialog pops up; for the first of my two screens, I specified a very simple screen name "A" and gave it the alias "xppro" (using your computer name is recommended).
I left the other options alone and added my "B" screen setup in the same way.
Back at the Configure dialog, I then set up links between monitors/screens. Screens can be linked any which way, from any side. The most important thing to remember is that each link is a one-way street, so you obviously want to create links in pairs that complement each other. As shown a couple screenshots up, you fill in details of a link and then press the associated "+" button to add the link.
Notice the flexibility of the link feature: you can specify what portion of the screen edge to use as a "door" for your mouse cursor. I chose to use the bottom 10% of the screens to move my mouse between screens. Keeping an entire screen edge open as a doorway is not recommended, since bumping your mouse can send the cursor to the other computer, which also sets the keyboard to that machine. There's nothing quite like typing an important key combination only to realize you're wreaking havoc in the wrong application on the wrong PC!
3. If, back at the previous screenshot, you specified for your current PC some alias that is not your computer name (as I did), you'll have to click the Advanced button in the main window and provide the alias name.
4. There are many optional features to be enjoyed, such as autostarting Synergy and defining hot keys to switch screens, but I won't delve into that.
5. On the Linux machine, I installed the package from the command line. This being the client machine, things couldn't get any easier setup-wise!
Well, that was simple; now to test. Hit either the Test or the Start button in the Synergy host window on the Windows machine. Assuming that the Synergy installed folder was added to the path in Slackware, the command to run the client side is
synergyc -f host_name
where host_name is the name or IP address of the host computer. The -f switch is optional; it keeps the program running in the foreground, which helps to see whether it's working or not.
Halting the server on the host will make the client keep trying to reconnect until the client is halted as well. Since the client was running in the foreground, CTRL+C took care of that.
A very handy tool indeed. The only problem with my setup is that I still need a keyboard attached to my Linux machine because it's a dual-boot system so the menu on boot-up requires a keyboard to make a choice. Doh!
While I may not understand what you're doing it is still fun to read. Similar to reading a story in a totally useless magazine at the doctor's office such as the advantages of the 700 series BMW over the 500 series. Not that I'll ever use the knowledge that the one has 124 more hp that the other and that the number of pregrammed positions of the driver's seat has gone from 2 to 4.
ReplyDeleteReading that stuff kills time, like reading your blog.
Plus.... it gives me a bit of an idea what goes on in the mind of the person in question: I guess Beemers are important to doctors and double screens are important to you.
Now my question: if both the mouse and the keyboard manage 2 screens is that called a double-double?
Dad
Hmmm... I don't speak Tims... but either way, honoured to kill some of your time.
ReplyDeleteyou gotta be kidding me! maybe i should start a blog about welding rods and what manganese and sulphur do to an alloy. you have way too much time.
ReplyDeleteyou lost me...
ReplyDelete