2004-08-01 16:00:18 +00:00
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<html>
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<head>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="synergy.css" media="screen" />
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<title>Guide to Running Synergy</title>
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</head>
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<body class="main">
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<h3>Running Synergy</h3>
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<p>
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Synergy lets you use one keyboard and mouse across multiple computers.
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To do so it requires that all the computers are connected to each other
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via TCP/IP networking. Most systems come with this installed.
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</p>
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<h4>Step 1 - Choose a server</h4>
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<p>
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The first step is to pick which keyboard and mouse you want to share.
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The computer with that keyboard and mouse is called the "primary
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screen" and it runs the synergy server. All of the other computers
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are "secondary screens" and run the synergy client.
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</p>
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<h4>Step 2 - Install the software</h4>
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<p>
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Second, you install the software. Choose the appropriate package
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and install it. For example, on Windows you would run
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<span class="code">SynergyInstaller</span>. You must install the
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software on all the computers that will share the mouse and keyboard.
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</p>
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<h4>Step 3 - Configure and start the server</h4>
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<p>
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Next you configure the server. You'll tell synergy the name of
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the primary and secondary screens, which screens are next to which,
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and choose desired options. On Windows there's a dialog box for
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setting the configuration. On other systems you'll create a simple
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text file.
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</p>
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<p>
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Note that when you tell synergy that screen <span class="code">A</span>
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is to the left of screen <span class="code">B</span> this does <b>not</b>
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imply that <span class="code">B</span> is to the right of
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<span class="code">A</span>. You must explicitly indicate both
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relations. If you don't do both then when you're running synergy you'll
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find you're unable to leave one of the screens.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Windows</b><br>
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On Windows run synergy by double clicking on the
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<span class="code">synergy</span> file. This brings up a dialog.
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Configure the server:
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<ul>
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<li>Click the <span class="code">Server</span> radio button
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<li>Click <span class="code">Add</span> to add the server to the
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<span class="code">Screens</span> list
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<ul>
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<li>Enter the name of server (the computer's name is the recommended name)
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<li>Optionally enter other names the server is known by
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<li>Click <span class="code">OK</span>
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</ul>
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<li>Use <span class="code">Add</span> to add your other computers
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<ul>
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<li>Using a computer's name as its screen name is recommended
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<li>Choose desired screen options on the <span class="code">Add</span> dialog
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</ul>
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<li>Use the controls under <span class="code">Layout</span> to link screens together
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<ul>
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<li>Click (once) on the server's name in the <span class="code">Screens</span> list
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<li>Choose the screen to the left of the server; use <span class="code">---</span>
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if there is no screen to the left of the server
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<li>Choose the screens to the right, above and below the server
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<li>Repeat the above steps for all the other screens
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</ul>
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<li>Use <span class="code">Options...</span> to set desired options
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<li>If the server's screen name is not the server's computer name:
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<ul>
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<li>Click <span class="code">Advanced...</span>
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<li>Enter the server's screen name next to
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<span class="code">Screen Name</span>
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<li>Click <span class="code">OK</span>
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</ul>
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</ul>
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</p>
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<p>
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Now click <span class="code">Test</span>. The server will start and
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you'll see a console window with log messages telling you about synergy's
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progress. If an error occurs you'll get one or more dialog boxes telling
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you what the errors are; read the errors to determine the problem then
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correct them and try <span class="code">Test</span> again.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Unix or Mac OS X</b><br>
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Create a text file named <span class="code">synergy.conf</span> with the
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following:
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<pre>
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section: screens
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<span class="arg">screen1</span>:
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<span class="arg">screen2</span>:
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end
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section: links
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<span class="arg">screen1</span>:
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right = <span class="arg">screen2</span>
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<span class="arg">screen2</span>:
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left = <span class="arg">screen1</span>
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end
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</pre>
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Replace each occurrence of <span class="arg">screen1</span> with the host name
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of the primary screen computer (as reported by the
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<span class="code">hostname</span> program) and <span class="arg">screen2</span>
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with the host name of a secondary screen computer. In the above example,
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<span class="arg">screen2</span> is to the right of
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<span class="arg">screen1</span> and <span class="arg">screen1</span> is to the
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left of <span class="arg">screen2</span>. If necessary you should replace
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<span class="code">right</span> and <span class="code">left</span> with
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<span class="code">left</span>, <span class="code">right</span>,
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<span class="code">up</span>, or <span class="code">down</span>. If you
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have more than two computers you can add those too: add each computer's host
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name in the <span class="code">screens</span> section and add the
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appropriate links. See the <a href="configuration.html">configuration
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guide</a> for more configuration possibilities.
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</p>
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<p>
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Now start the server. Normally synergy wants to run "in the background."
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It detaches from the terminal and doesn't have a visible window, effectively
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disappearing from view. Until you're sure your configuration works, you
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should start synergy "in the foreground" using the <span class="code">-f</span>
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command line option.
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<pre>
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synergys -f --config synergy.conf
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</pre>
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Check the reported messages for errors. Use ctrl+c to stop synergy if
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it didn't stop automatically, correct any problems, and start it again.
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</p>
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<h4>Step 4 - Start the clients</h4>
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<p>
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Next you start the client on each computer that will share the server's
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keyboard and mouse.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Windows</b><br>
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On Windows run synergy by double clicking on the
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<span class="code">synergy</span> file. This brings up a dialog.
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Configure the client:
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<ul>
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<li>Click the <span class="code">Client</span> radio button
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<li>Enter the server's computer name in <span class="code">Server Host Name</span>
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<ul>
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<li>This is not the server's screen name, unless you made that the
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server's host name as recommended
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</ul>
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<li>If the client's screen name is not the client's computer name:
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<ul>
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<li>Click <span class="code">Advanced...</span>
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<li>Enter the client's screen name next to <span class="code">Screen Name</span>
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<li>Click <span class="code">OK</span>
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</ul>
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</ul>
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</p>
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<p>
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Now click <span class="code">Test</span>.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Unix or Mac OS X</b><br>
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To start a client, enter the following:
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<pre>
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synergyc -f <span class="arg">server-host-name</span>
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</pre>
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where <span class="arg">server-host-name</span> is replaced by the host
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name of the computer running the synergy server.
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</p>
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<h4>Step 5 - Test</h4>
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<p>
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Clients should immediately report a successful connection or one or
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more error messages. Here are the typical problems and possible
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solutions:
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<ul>
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<li>failed to open screen (X11 only)
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<p>
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Check permission to open the X display;<br>
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check that the DISPLAY environment variable is set.
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</p>
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<li>already connected
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<p>
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Check that the synergy client isn't already running.
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</p>
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<li>refused client
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<p>
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Add the client to the server's configuration file.
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</p>
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<li>connection failed
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<p>
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check that <span class="arg">server-host-name</span> is
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correct;<br>the server cannot open the desired port, stop
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the program using that port (24800) and restart the server.
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</p>
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</ul>
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If you get the error "<span class="code">Xlib: No protocol specified</span>"
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you're probably running synergy as root while logged in as another user.
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X11 may prevent this for security reasons. Either run synergy as the same
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user that's logged in or (not recommended) use
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2004-08-01 17:37:28 +00:00
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<nobr>"<span class="code">xhost +</span>"</nobr> to allow anyone to connect
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2004-08-01 16:00:18 +00:00
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to the display.
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</p>
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<p>
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When successful you should be able to move the mouse off the appropriate
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edges of your server's screen and have it appear on a client screen.
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Try to move the mouse to each screen and check all the configured links.
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Check the mouse buttons and wheel and try the keyboard on each client.
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You can also cut-and-paste text, HTML, and images across computers (HTML
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and images are not supported on OS X yet).
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</p>
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<h4>Step 6 - Run</h4>
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<p>
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Once everything works correctly, stop all the clients then the server.
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Then start the server with the <span class="code">Start</span> button
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on Windows and without the <span class="code">-f</span> option on Unix
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and Mac OS X. Finally start the clients similarly.
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</p>
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<p>
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You can also configure synergy to start automatically when your computer
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starts or when you log in. See the <a href="autostart.html">autostart
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guide</a> for more information.
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</p>
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<h4><a name="options"></a>Command Line Options Guide</h4>
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<p>
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<b><a name="commonOptions"></a>Common Command Line Options</b><br>
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The following options are supported by <span class="code">synergys</span>
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and <span class="code">synergyc</span>.
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</p>
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<table>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-d,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--debug <span class="arg">level</span></span></td>
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<td> </td><td>use debugging level <span class="arg">level</span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code"></span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--daemon</span></td>
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<td></td><td>run as a daemon (Unix) or background (Windows)</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-f,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--no-daemon</span></td>
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<td></td><td>run in the foreground</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-n,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--name <span class="arg">name</span></span></td>
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<td></td><td>use <span class="arg">name</span> instead of the hostname</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code"></span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--restart</span></td>
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<td></td><td>automatically restart on failures</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-1,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--no-restart</span></td>
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<td></td><td>do not restart on failure</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-h,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--help</span></td>
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<td></td><td>print help and exit</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code"></span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--version</span></td>
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<td></td><td>print version information and exit</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<p>
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Debug levels are from highest to lowest: <span class="code">FATAL</span>,
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<span class="code">ERROR</span>, <span class="code">WARNING</span>,
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<span class="code">NOTE</span>, <span class="code">INFO</span>,
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<span class="code">DEBUG</span>, <span class="code">DEBUG1</span>, and
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<span class="code">DEBUG2</span>. Only messages at or above the given
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level are logged. Messages are logged to a terminal window when
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running in the foreground. Unix logs messages to syslog when running
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as a daemon. The Windows NT family logs messages to the event log
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when running as a service. The Windows 95 family shows FATAL log
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messages in a message box and others in a terminal window when running
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as a service.
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</p>
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<p>
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The <span class="code">--name</span> option lets the client or server
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use a name other than its hostname for its screen. This name is used
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when checking the configuration.
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</p>
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<p>
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Neither the client nor server will automatically restart if an error
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occurs that is sure to happen every time. For example, the server
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will exit immediately if it can't find itself in the configuration.
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On X11 both the client and server will also terminate if the
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connection to the X server is lost (usually because it died).
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Server Command Line Options</b><br>
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<p>
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<pre>
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synergys [options]
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</pre>
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The server accepts the <a href="#commonOptions">common options</a> and:
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</p>
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<p>
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<table>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-a,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--address <span class="arg">address</span></span></td>
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<td> </td><td>listen for connections on address <span class="arg">address</span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code">-c,</span></td>
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<td><span class="code">--config <span class="arg">pathname</span></span></td>
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<td> </td><td>read configuration from <span class="arg">pathname</span></td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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</p>
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<p>
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<span class="arg">address</span> has one of the following forms:
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<pre>
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<span class="arg">hostname</span>
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:<span class="arg">port</span>
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<span class="arg">hostname</span>:<span class="arg">port</span>
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</pre>
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<span class="arg">hostname</span> is a hostname or IP address of a network
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interface on the server system (e.g. <span class="code">somehost</span>
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or <span class="code">192.168.1.100</span>). <span class="arg">port</span>
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is a port number from 1 to 65535. <span class="arg">hostname</span> defaults to
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the system's hostname and <span class="arg">port</span> defaults to 24800.
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</p>
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<p>
|
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|
|
<b>Client Command Line Options</b><br>
|
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|
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|
<p>
|
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
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|
|
synergyc [options] <span class="arg">address</span>[:<span class="arg">port</span>]
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|
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</pre>
|
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<span class="arg">address</span> is the hostname or IP address of
|
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the server and <span class="arg">port</span> is the optional network
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port on the server to connect to. The client accepts the
|
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|
|
<a href="#commonOptions">common options</a> and:
|
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|
</p>
|
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|
<p>
|
|
|
|
|
<table>
|
|
|
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|
<tr>
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<td> </td><td><span class="code"> </span></td>
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|
|
<td><span class="code">--camp</span></td>
|
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|
<td> </td><td>retry connection to server until successful</td>
|
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</tr>
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<tr>
|
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|
<td> </td><td><span class="code"> </span></td>
|
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|
<td><span class="code">--no-camp</span></td>
|
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|
|
<td> </td><td>try connection to server only once</td>
|
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|
|
</tr>
|
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|
</table>
|
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|
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|
</p>
|
|
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</body>
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</html>
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