You can configure synergy to start automatically when the computer starts or when you log in. The steps to do that are different on each platform. Note that changing these configurations doesn't actually start or stop synergy. The changes take effect the next time you start your computer or log in.
Start synergy and click the Configure... button by the text Automatic Startup. The Auto Start dialog will pop up. If an error occurs then correct the problem and click Configure again.
On the Auto Start dialog you'll configure synergy to start or not start automatically when the computer starts or when you log in. You need Administrator access rights to start synergy automatically when the computer starts. The dialog will let you know if you have sufficient permission.
If synergy is already configured to automatically start then there will be two Uninstall buttons, at most one of which is enabled. Click the enabled button, if any, to tell synergy to not start automatically.
If synergy is not configured to start automatically then there will be two Install buttons. If you have sufficient permission to have synergy start automatically when the computer does then the Install button in the When Computer Starts box will be enabled. Click it to have synergy start for all users when the computer starts. In this case, synergy will be available during the login screen. Otherwise, click the Install button in the When You Log In box to have synergy automatically start when you log in.
Synergy requires an X server. That means a server must be running and synergy must be authorized to connect to that server. It's best to have the display manager start synergy. You'll need the necessary (probably root) permission to modify the display manager configuration files. If you don't have that permission you can start synergy after logging in via the .xsession file.
Typically, you need to edit three script files. The first file will start synergy before a user logs in, the second will kill that copy of synergy, and the third will start it again after the user logs in.
The contents of the scripts varies greatly between systems so there's no one definite place where you should insert your edits. However, these scripts often exit before reaching the bottom so put the edits near the top of the script.
The location and names of these files depend on the operating system and display manager you're using. A good guess for the location is /etc/X11. Typical file names are:
| xdm | gdm | |||
| 1 | xdm/Xsetup | gdm/Init/Default (*) | ||
| 2 | xdm/Xstartup | gdm/PostLogin/Default (*) | ||
| 3 | xdm/Xsession | gdm/Sessions/Default (*, **) |
*) The Default file is used if no other
suitable file is found. gdm will try
displayname (e.g. :0)
and hostname (e.g. somehost),
in that order, before and instead of Default.
**) gdm may use gdm/Xsession,
xdm/Xsession or
dm/Xsession if
gdm/Sessions/Default doesn't exist.
For a synergy client, add the following to the first file:
/usr/bin/killall synergyc
sleep 1
/usr/bin/synergyc [<options>] synergy-server-hostname
Of course, the path to synergyc depends on where you installed it
so adjust as necessary.
Add to the second file:
/usr/bin/killall synergyc sleep 1
And to the third file:
/usr/bin/killall synergyc sleep 1 /usr/bin/synergyc [<options>] synergy-server-hostnameNote that <options> must not include -f or --no-daemon or the script will never exit and you won't be able to log in.
The changes are the same for the synergy server except replace synergyc with synergys and use the appropriate synergys command line options. Note that the first script is run as root so synergys will look for the configuration file in root's home directory then in /etc. Make sure it exists in one of those places or use the --config config-pathname option to specify its location.
Note that some display managers (xdm and kdm, but not gdm) grab the keyboard and do not release it until the user logs in for security reasons. This prevents a synergy server from sharing the mouse and keyboard until the user logs in. It doesn't prevent a synergy client from synthesizing mouse and keyboard input, though.
If you're configuring synergy to start only after you log in then edit your .xsession file. Add just what you would add to the third file above.
TBD