synergy ------- synergy: [noun] a mutually advantageous conjunction of distinct elements synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers through software. it also merges each system's clipboards into one, allowing cut-and-paste between systems. redirecting the mouse and keyboard is as simple as moving the mouse off the edge of your screen. system requirements ------------------- all systems: keyboard mouse TCP/IP networking Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me (the Windows 95 family): ??? MB RAM Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP (the Windows NT family): ??? MB RAM Linux, Unix: ??? MB RAM X Windows, revision 4 or up with the XTEST extension use `xdpyinfo | grep XTEST' to check manifest -------- linux windows ----- ------- README README this file synergy synergy.exe the synergy client synergyd synergyd.exe the synergy server synergy.conf synergy.sgc sample configuration file synergy.linux.init startup script for client synergyd.linux.init startup script for server running synergy --------------- synergy is simple to configure. the server uses a configuration file and command line options while the client uses only command line options. it's recommended that both the client and server be run in the foreground until the configuration is verified to work. step 1: create a configuration file edit the sample configuration file. there are two sections you must fill in and a third optional section. you should delete the existing lines inside the sections. in the "screens" section, add a line for each computer you'll be using (server and clients). put the hostname of the computer followed by a colon (with no space in between). the computers can be listed in any order. in the "links" section you define how screens are connected. each screen is listed as in the "screens" section except following each screen is a list of links to other screens in the form " = " where is "left", "right", "up", or "down" and is a screen listed in the "screens" section. as an example, if we have "left=foo" under the "bar" screen then screen "foo" is on the left of screen "bar". the user will be able to move the mouse off the left edge of "foo" and will appear on the opposite (right) edge of "bar". note that it's entirely possible to have one-way (asymmetric) links and screens with only links into them. the latter should be avoided since there's no way to move the mouse off those screens. in the "aliases" section you can list other names for each screen. this is especially useful for dealing with fully qualified domain names versus simple hostnames. step 2: start the server the server is the system with the mouse and keyboard to be shared. each platform has its own tradeoffs when running as the server. see the release notes below for more information. run the synergy server on the server system using the following command line: synergyd -f --config replacing with the path to the configuration file. you can use `synergyd --help' for a list of command line options. step 3: start the clients on each client system start the synergy client using the following command line: synergy -f --debug INFO --no-camp replacing with the hostname or address of the server system. the client should quickly report `connected to server'. if it does not but doesn't print an error and exit immeditately then it's trying to connect to the server but cannot. it will time out in 30 seconds and exit (use ctrl+c to exit earlier). you should check that the server is running and try again. otherwise, if the client doesn't connect it should print an error describing the problem. here are typical problems and possible solutions: failed to open screen: check permission to open the X display; check that the DISPLAY environment variable is set. already connected: check that synergy isn't already running. refused client: add client to the server's configuration file. connection failed: check server-hostname; the server cannot open the desired port, stop the program using that port (24800) and restart the server. step 4: verify the configuration once the clients are connected, use the mouse to check that the screens are properly linked. moving the mouse off the edge of a screen with a link should cause it to appear on the opposite edge of the linked-to screen. using synergy ------------- using synergy is very easy. once clients have connected to the server all you do to redirect keyboard and mouse input to a screen (i.e. switch screens) is move the mouse cursor off the edge of the screen you're on. which edges go to which screens depends on the configuration. clients can be connected and disconnected at any time. until a client is connected, switching to it works as if you switched to it then moved all the way across it in the same direction and switched to the next screen. this repeats until you reach a connected screen. if there is no connected screen in that direction then the mouse will not leave the starting screen. disconnecting a client while the mouse is on it causes the mouse to instantly jump to the center of the server screen. note that there's a bug in this situation where keys may be left in the logical pressed state; see the "known bugs" section. the clipboard is automatically transferred between screens. if you copy on one screen you just switch to another screen and paste. note that X Windows has two major clipboards: the primary selection and the clipboard. synergy supports both. however, Microsoft Windows only supports the clipboard. the Windows clipboard is transferred to both the X primary selection and the clipboard. whichever X clipboard was changed last becomes the Windows clipboard. end-of-line sequences (LF on linux and unix, CRLF on Windows) are automatically converted as necessary. installing as a daemon/service ------------------------------ synergy can run in the foreground or as a daemon/service. it's recommended that you run it in the foreground until you've sorted out your configuration. in the text below, except where noted, synergy refers to the client and/or the server. windows: to install synergy just run one of the following: synergy --install [other command line options] synergyd --install [other command line options] the client/server is installed as a service and the command line is saved and used when starting the service. note that when installing the client you must provide the server hostname argument. to change the arguments you must first uninstall then reinstall. you must also install the configuration file along with the server. it's recommended that you put it in the windows directory (e.g. C:\WINNT) and call it "synergy.sgc". the server will automatically find this file. however, you can also use the --config command line option and specify an absolute path to the file. remember that this file must be accessible when the system starts up, before network shares are mapped. to uninstall use: synergy --uninstall synergyd --uninstall linux, unix: before starting synergy as a daemon you should understand that synergy requires an X server that it can connect to. synergy can start before the X server does and will repeatly attempt to connect to the X server until it succeeds. the DISPLAY env var should be set appropriately before starting synergy. note that it probably will not be set when running startup scripts so you have to set it yourself (probably to ":0"). if the X server goes down then all the clients connected to it must terminate. synergy has to deal with this because some display managers will automatically restart the X server when a user logs out. synergy can automatically restart itself and it does so by default. the `--no-restart' option turns this feature off. some display managers also prevent any X client other than those they themselves start from connecting to the X server for security reasons. for these display managers, synergy should be part of the manager's screen initialization script and synergy should be started with the --no-restart option since the display manager will do the restarting. otherwise, synergy should not use the --no-restart option and it can be started at boot time (sometime after the network is started) or when the X server is started. finally, some display managers (xdm and kdm, but not gdm) grab the keyboard and do not release it until the user logs in, also for security reasons. this prevents a synergy server from sharing the mouse and keyboard until the user logs in. to install synergy as a daemon, you'll need to add the appropriate lines and/or files to start synergy at boot time or as part of a display manager screen initialization script. do not use the `-f' or `--no-daemon' options. for the server use the `--config' option to specify the path to the configuration file or just put the configuration in /etc/synergy.conf. linux: if starting synergy from xdm's or kdm's screen initialization script you'll want add a line to start synergy in /etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup_0, probably near the bottom. you'll also want to put the configuration file in /etc/synergy.conf and the synergy executable in /usr/sbin. to uninstall, remove the added line and files. if starting the synergy client using init.d then: # /bin/cp synergy /usr/sbin/synergy # /bin/cp synergy.linux.init /etc/init.d/synergy # /sbin/chkconfig --add synergy if starting the synergy server using init.d then: # /bin/cp synergyd /usr/sbin/synergyd # /bin/cp synergyd.linux.init /etc/init.d/synergyd # /bin/cp synergy.conf /etc/synergy.conf # /sbin/chkconfig --add synergyd of course, the configuration should be edited your for systems. to manually start or stop the client # /etc/init.d/synergy start # /etc/init.d/synergy stop to manually start or stop the server # /etc/init.d/synergyd start # /etc/init.d/synergyd stop to uninstall the client: # /etc/init.d/synergy stop # /sbin/chkconfig --del synergy # /bin/rm /etc/init.d/synergy # /bin/rm /usr/sbin/synergy to uninstall the server: # /etc/init.d/synergyd stop # /sbin/chkconfig --del synergyd # /bin/rm /etc/synergy.conf # /bin/rm /etc/init.d/synergyd # /bin/rm /usr/sbin/synergyd common command line options --------------------------- -d, --debug use debugging level --daemon run as a daemon (linux,unix) --no-daemon run in the foreground (linux,unix) --service run as a service (windows) --no-service run in the foreground (windows) -f run in the foreground -n, --name use instead of the hostname --restart automatically restart on unexpected failures -1, --no-restart do not restart on unexpected failure -h, --help print help and exit --version print version information and exit --install install as a service (windows) --uninstall uninstall service (windows) debug levels are from highest to lowest: FATAL, ERROR, WARNING, NOTE, INFO, DEBUG, DEBUG1, and DEBUG2. only messages at or above the given level are logged. messages are logged to a terminal window when running in the foreground. unix logs messages to syslog when running as a daemon. the Windows NT family logs messages to the event log when running as a service. the Windows 95 family shows FATAL log messages in a message box and others in a terminal window when running as a service. the `--name' option lets the client or server use a name other than its hostname for its screen. this name is used when checking the configuration. server command line options --------------------------- -a, --address
listen for connections on the given address -c, --config read configuration from an address has one of the following forms: : : is a hostname or address of a network interface on the server system. is a port number from 1 to 65535. client command line options --------------------------- --camp retry connection to server until successful --no-camp try connection to server only once
address of server see the "server command line options" for a description of
. release notes ------------- synergy does not yet fully capture all possible input or have full control over the mouse and keyboard on all platforms. each platform has its own limitations and these limitations may influence your choice for the server. the following lists enumerate the limitations of each platform. a key (combination) that cannot be captured is not detected by synergy. a key (combination) that cannot be blocked will be passed through to the server system even when the mouse is on a client system. if a key cannot be captured then it also cannot be blocked. windows 95 family, windows NT prior to service pack 3: * cannot capture: * ctrl+alt+del * ctrl+esc * alt+[shift+]tab * alt+[shift+]esc * windows+E * windows+[ctrl+]F * windows+[shift+]M * windows+R * windows+F1 * windows+tab * windows+break * accessibility shortcuts (e.g. press shift 5 times for sticky keys) * the individual keys are captured but the dialogs still appear * cannot synthesize: * accessibility shortcuts windows NT family (except NT prior to SP3): * cannot block: * ctrl+alt+del * accessibility shortcuts (e.g. press shift 5 times for sticky keys) * the individual keys are captured but the dialogs still appear * cannot synthesize: * accessibility shortcuts linux, unix: * cannot capture: * ctrl+alt+del * ctrl+alt+backspace (only if used by the X server) * ctrl+alt+keypad_plus (only if used by the X server) * ctrl+alt+keypad_minus (only if used by the X server) * keyboard/mouse grabs prevent switching screens for their duration * some display managers grab the keyboard until login currently, the windows NT family (except NT prior to SP3) makes the best server. known bugs ---------- all: * screen savers are not handled * non-ASCII characters are not supported * keys may be left in the logical pressed state on a client if it terminates while the mouse is on that client. physically pressing and releasing the key fixes the problem. * plain text is the only supported clipboard format windows: * screen flashes when entering the screen * synergy may interfere with desktop switcher programs, however synergy understands and handles multiple desktops. * there should be a control panel * there should be a taskbar icon * hook DLL sometimes not properly shutdown. this is usually only a problem when forcibly killing the synergy server then trying to restart it. logging off and on should fix it. windows 95 family: * typing into a console window can be slow windows NT family: * the event viewer reports a message lookup error for synergy logs. however, the full synergy message is in the extra data portion of the event dialog. * does not gracefully handle NoInteractiveServices being enabled linux: * one thread may linger if the application crashes. use kill or killall to terminate this process (threads are processes under linux) before restarting. * some keyboards have toggle keys that toggle on on key press and toggle off on the key release after the next key press. synergy doesn't handle these properly. * shift-lock (as opposed to caps-lock) is not supported tips and tricks --------------- * a screen can be its own neighbor. that allows a screen to "wrap". for example, if a configuration linked the left and right sides of a screen to itself then moving off the left of the screen would put the mouse at the right of the screen and vice versa. * you cannot switch screens when a key or mouse button is pressed. * you cannot switch screens when the scroll lock it toggled on. use this to prevent unintentional switching. * turn off mouse driven virtual desktop switching on X windows. it will interfere with synergy. use keyboard shortcuts instead.