barrier/FAQ

Synergy Frequently Asked Questions
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Questions
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1.  Why doesn't ctrl+alt+del work on secondary screens?
2.  Can the server and client be using different operating systems?
3.  What's the difference between synergy and x2x, x2vnc, etc?
4.  What does "Cannot initialize hook library" mean?
5.  What security/encryption does synergy provide?
6.  What should I call my screens in the configuration?
7.  Why do my CapsLock and NumLock keys act funny?
8.  Can synergy share the display in addition to the mouse and keyboard?
9.  Can synergy do drag and drop between computers?
10. Do AltGr or Mode-Switch work?
11. Why isn't synergy ported to platform XYZ?
12. My client can't connect.  What's wrong?


Answers
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1.  Why doesn't ctrl+alt+del work on secondary screens?

    Synergy isn't able to capture ctrl+alt+del on PC compatible
    systems because it's handled completely differently than
    other keystrokes.  If you need to use ctrl+alt+del you'll
    have to keep your other keyboards handy just for that.
    Future versions may add support for or some equivalent to
    ctrl+alt+del.

2.  Can the server and client be using different operating systems?

    Yes.  The synergy network protocol is platform neutral so
    synergy doesn't care what operating systems are running on
    the server and clients.

3.  What's the difference between synergy and x2x, x2vnc, etc?

    Unlike x2x, synergy supports any number of computers and
    it doesn't require X on Microsoft Windows platforms.  It
    also has more advanced clipboard support and synchronizes
    screensavers.  x2vnc is also limited to two computers,
    requires the separate vnc package, and is really only
    appropriate for using an X system to control a non-X system.
    However, the right tool for the job is whatever tool works
    best for you.

4.  What does "Cannot initialize hook library" mean?

    This error can occur on a synergy server running on a
    Microsoft Windows operating system.  It means that synergy
    is already running or possibly was not shut down properly.
    If it's running then first end the synergy task.  If it's
    not then try logging off and back on or rebooting then
    starting synergy again.

5.  What security/encryption does synergy provide?

    None.  Synergy currently does no encryption or authentication.
    Given that, synergy should not be used on or over any untrusted
    network, especially the Internet.  It's generally fine for home
    networks.  Future versions will provide encryption and
    authentication.

6.  What should I call my screens in the configuration?

    You can use any unique name in the configuration file for each
    screen but it's easiest to use the hostname of the computer.
    That's the computer name not including the domain.  For example,
    a computer with the fully qualified domain name `xyz.foo.com' has
    the hostname `xyz'.  There should also be an alias for `xyz' to
    `xyz.foo.com'.  If you don't use the computer's hostname, you
    have to tell synergy the name of the screen using a command line
    option, or the startup dialog on Windows.

7.  Why do my CapsLock and NumLock keys act funny?

    Some systems treat the Caps-Lock and Num-Lock keys differently
    than all the others.  Whereas most keys report going down when
    physically pressed and going up when physically released, the
    Caps-Lock and Num-Lock keys report going down when being
    activated and going up when being deactivated.  That is, when
    you press and release, say, Caps-Lock to activate it, it only
    reports going down, and when you press and release to deactivate
    it, it only reports going up.  This confuses synergy.

    You can solve the problem by changing your configuration file.
    In the screens section, following each screen that has the
    problem, add either or both of these lines as appropriate:

        halfDuplexCapsLock = true
        halfDuplexNumLock = true

    Then restart synergy on the server.

8.  Can synergy share the display in addition to the mouse and keyboard?

    No.  Synergy is a KM solution not a KVM (keyboard, video, mouse)
    solution.  However, future versions will probably support KVM.
    Hopefully, this will make synergy suitable for managing large
    numbers of headless servers.

9.  Can synergy do drag and drop between computers?

    No.  That's a very cool idea and it'll be explored.  However, it's
    also clearly difficult and may take a long time to implement.

10. Does AltGr/Mode-Switch work?

    Sort of.  Synergy sends the character you're trying to create from
    the server to the client.  If the client can figure out how to
    create that character then it will do so, synthesizing whatever
    key events necessary.  However, operating system differences can
    cause unexpected problems.  Pressing either Ctrl key plus the left
    Alt key on Microsoft Windows means AltGr but on Unix that just
    means Ctrl and Alt are down.  If you have a synergy server running
    on Windows and are having trouble with Ctrl+Alt_L = AltGr, try using
    the right Alt key as AltGr instead.

11. Why isn't synergy ported to platform XYZ?

    Probably because the developers don't have access to platform XYZ
    and/or are unfamiliar with development on XYZ.  Also, synergy has
    inherently non-portable aspects so there's a not insignificant
    effort involved in porting.

12. My client can't connect.  What's wrong?

    A common mistake when starting the client is to give the wrong
    server host name.  The last synergyc command line option (Unix)
    or the "Server Host Name" edit field (Windows) should be the
    host name (or IP address) of the server *not* the client's host
    name.  If you get the error "connection failed: cannot connect
    socket" followed by "the attempt to connect was forcefully
    rejected" or "connection refused" then the server isn't started,
    can't bind the address, or the client is connecting to the wrong
    host name/address or port.