What you’ll need:
- Two computers, each with its own monitor
- At least one set of peripherals (keyboard, mouse)
- Synergy (http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/) on both computers
Okay. First, you need to find out the names of your computers. Remember, Synergy needs to know which computers to communicate with. You can use their names or their IP addresses, I suggest names simply because most people don’t use static IP addressing. If you do, you can opt to use the IP.
This can be done through the Control Panel, and selecting the System control panel.
I find it faster to click the start menu, right-click My Computer, and select Properties.
Once inside the panel, select the Computer Name tab.
System Control Panel
My setup includes my desktop, named Eagle1. I re-named my laptop Eagle2, to keep things simple. Now, when I get home, I tend to place my laptop on my desk, so that it sits just next to my desktop’s monitor. Instead of using my desktop peripherals, I thought it would be great to set up Synergy here so that I can use my laptop keyboard and portable mouse, swing my cursor across the screen and control my desktop.
First you must decide which will be the server and which will be the client. This will mainly depend on which computer has the peripherals you want to share. I set my laptop up as the server because it’s the laptops peripherals that I want to be able to use locally (on the laptop) as well as remotely (on the desktop).
So then, step one is as follow:
- Install Synergy on all machines
- Come up with a common naming scheme if you haven’t already, and rename machines as appropriate
- Decide which set of peripherals to spare, and resolve that that will be the server
Carry on to step 2! (http://learnwithharv.com/blog/synergy-setup-part-2/)
Originally posted 2009-08-07 14:59:34.
#1 by Donnieboy on October 12, 2009 - 6:38 am
Just wanted to drop you a line to say, I enjoy reading your site. I thought about starting a blog myself but don’t have the time.
Oh well maybe one day….
#2 by JohnC on November 22, 2009 - 11:15 pm
I picked up on Synergy after actually just wanting to better dual monitor my tower…was AMAZED at being able to control it from my netbook.
Synergy’s great, but honestly their instructions get users lost in translation. You’re pages CLEARLY got me going in less than five minutes!
Can’t say enough the appreciation.
Best!
#3 by Harv on November 23, 2009 - 3:11 am
Hello John,
I too was turned off by the lack of good documentation at first. Synergy is a great tool but I imagine many people abandon it after scratching their heads for 5 minutes.
Glad I could help you out!