If you have two or more computers at one desk, you don’t want two or
more sets of keyboards and mice cluttering up your workspace, too. You
can buy a hardware gadget that lets you share a single keyboard and
mouse with several computers (which involves a mess of tangled wires),
or you could use a free software solution called Synergy. The
Synergy application
runs on all the computers you’re using—the one that has the keyboard
and mouse connected and the one(s) that do not—and lets you control all
of them from that keyboard and mouse. That means you can move your mouse
off one computer’s screen and it will appear on the other, where you
can type and work as well. Synergy also lets you share Clipboard
contents between computers. If you copy information to the Clipboard on
one computer and move your mouse to the other, you can paste it there,
even though they’re two different systems.
Note: We’ve covered Synergy in the past, but a recent update to
the Synergy application has made setting up and using Synergy even
easier, so we thought it was a good time to update the post and
highlight this incredible app again.
Synergy works between any number of PC, Mac, and Linux desktops.
Below, we’re going to explain how to set up both Windows and Mac sharing
or Windows-to-Windows to share a single keyboard and mouse using
Synergy.
Before you get started, you need to know two terms—server PC and
client PC. When you set up Synergy, you’ll have one “server”: this is
the computer that has the keyboard and mouse physically connected to it.
The rest of the computers will be “clients.” First, set up the server.
If you’re sharing a keyboard and mouse between two Macs, consider Teleport,
a free, Mac-only tool that works very much like Synergy but is a little
easier to set up with Mac-only keyboard- and mouse-sharing.
What You’ll Need:
- Two or more computers on the same local network.
- Synergy for Windows: If you’ll be running one or more Windows PC’s in your setup, download and install the Synergy Installer for Windows on each PC. (As of this writing, the current version is labeled 1.4.2 beta.)
- SynergyKM for Mac: If you want to run one or more Macs on your setup, download and installSynergyKM on each Mac you want to use.
Note for Linux users: I haven’t tried it, but
quicksynergy looks like it could be a good graphical interface for Synergy. If you know of a better option, let’s hear it in the comments.
Before you get started, you need to know two terms: server PC and
client PC. When you set up Synergy, you’ll have one “server”: this is
the computer that has the keyboard and mouse physically connected to it.
The rest of the computers will be “clients.” First, set up the server.
Set Up the Synergy Server
Download
Synergy for
Windows and install it on your PC. As of this writing, the most current
version is Synergy 1.4.2. Install and run Synergy, then select Server
(Share This Computer’s Mouse and Keyboard).
Then click the Configure Server button to open a Server Configuration
dialog, where you’ll add all the computers that will be controlled by
the server’s keyboard and mouse and their position in relation to each
other.
If you want to use a Mac as the server, the process is very similar
using SynergyKM; launch the preference pane, select Share my keyboard
and mouse, and move to the Server Configuration tab to set up your
screens.
Configure Multiple Synergy Screens
In
the Screens And Links tab of the server configuration, you should
already see your host computer in the graphical layout screen. My server
computer name is Windows, so that’s what the first Synergy screen name
is.
Now, to add the other computer (your client) to Synergy, you need to
know its name as well. By default, the client uses the same name as your
computer on the network (for example, my server is Windows; my client
is Hack).
To find the name of your computer in Windows, open your Start menu,
right-click Computer, and select Properties. Your computer name is
listed under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings. On a Mac,
open the Sharing preference pane; your computer name is listed in the
top text input.
Once
you know your computer’s names, drag and drop the monitor icon from the
top right of the Screens and Links dialog onto the layout (we’re still
working on your server PC); drop the new monitor icon next to your
server in the same layout as your monitors are on your desk. For
example, my Mac’s monitor is to the left of my Windows monitor.
Double-click the Unnamed screen you just added, then enter the client’s
screen name.
When you’re done, you should see two computers on the Screens and
Links grid that mirror the monitor setup on your workspace. If you have a
particularly wild screen position (a checkerboard of flatscreens,
perhaps?), you can even set up screens on top of and below each other
here.
Set Up the Synergy Client
Download and install Synergy on the client computer (the one without the keyboard and mouse connected).
On Windows
If you’re Synergy client is going to be a Windows computer, download the same
Synergy installer for Windows.
After you’ve installed your Synergy client, launch Synergy exactly the
same way as you did on the server, except choose Client (Use Another
Computer’s Keyboard And Mouse). Enter the name of the server computer.
To try the connection, click the Start button: first on the server and
then on the client PC. Try moving the mouse off the server screen. If
all goes well, it will land on the client screen safely!
On Mac OS X
If the second computer is a Mac, download
SynergyKM.
After you’ve installed SynergyKM, launch the SynergyKM preference pane,
then choose Connect to a shared keyboard and mouse. Enter the name of
the server computer in the Client Configuration tab and click the Apply
Now button. To try the connection, click Turn Synergy On in the General
tab.: first on the server and then on the client PC. Try moving the
mouse off the server screen. If all goes well, it will transport
seamlessly to your client PC.
Note: If you have any problems during this step on your Mac, I’ve
found that entering the server’s local IP address seems to work.
When you’re satisfied with the results, close the Synergy window.
Synergy will continue running in your system tray, from which you can
start or stop the application as needed. Now you’re sharing the mouse
and keyboard between two computers simultaneously. Piece of cake.
