If you are like me, and use more than one computer system at the same time, you simply must check out Synergy. What is Synergy? Synergy is a free, open-source software package that allows you to share one keyboard, and mouse between multiple systems that are connected via a network. You can even copy, cut, and paste between systems!
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You can find Synergy online by just using the search feature on most good download sites, such as download.com or Softpedia.
Synergy is available for both the Macintosh and Windows operating systems. If you are a linux-geek, you can most likely find an rpm package or the source code from which to build it at sourceforge.net.
So how does
Synergy work? It is really easy to set up. You download it onto each computer system that you have set up in your working environment and then do some very simple configuration. One of your systems will act as the
Synergy "server". This computer will be the one that you have your keyboard and mouse connected to. The other systems will be known as synergy "clients". They will be the systems who are sharing the keyboard and mouse of the system known as the server.
The downloaded and installed
software package comes with all of the features needed for a system to be either a server or a client. The Windows installation leaves you with a GUI to do all of your configuration, and the Mac OS X version requires a little more work to edit configuration files. But, the documentation is straight forward; and, if you can use a simple text editor, you can get this
software program running.
All that really needs to be configured is the positioning of your monitors. Let’s use my setup as an example. I have a Mac Pro set up on a desk with its monitor in front of me. This is my
Synergy server system. My keyboard and mouse are attached to this system. To the right of my Mac’s monitor I have an external monitor hooked up to a Windows laptop. So, technically I have two monitors for this Windows laptop, the one on the laptop itself, and the external monitor. That monitor sharing, I just have configured within windows to share my desktop across the two monitors.
In order to configure my setup, all I had to do was edit a config file for my
synergy server that decared both systems, and then specified the monitor location. Specifically I told it that the windows system was to the right of the Mac system, and that the Mac system was to the left of the Windows system. While as humans we assume the inverse relationship of left to right and right to left, the Synergy server config just needs it spelled out for it.
After that - all I had to do was start the
Synergy server software on my mac, and start my
Synergy client software on my Windows system (specifying the mac as the server), and the next thing I knew I was able to drag my mouse from the far left of my Mac monitor all the way to the far right of my windows laptop. I could also copy text on the windows system and paste it into the mac system by just using my usual copy and paste methods. Not having to lift my hands off of one keyboard - adjust my chair - position them on the other keyboard, etc. has saved me tons of time! Beyond that - it is just wicked cool too!