Use One Keyboard & Mouse For Two Computers (PC Only)

Karl L. Gechlik — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:01:38 +0000

It’s your friendly neighborhood admin with a solution to a common computer problem around my house.

Chances are if you have one computer in your household you have more than one computer in your household. It’s just a fact. More and more homes have servers, media centers and multiple desktops/laptops.

Some people use KVM’s to control multiple machines. These KVM’s are a simple switch that lets you switch control to another physically connected machine. A for the server, B for the desktop and C for your media center. This is OK but not the best setup.

Let’s say I want to copy information from my desktop to my server. I can remote desktop in, use VNC, AAMMY or any number of remote control programs. But what if I want to be able to view both machines at the same time? What if I want to use one keyboard and mouse for two computers.

If you have two or more machines in your home with monitors attached you can now control multiple computers from one single mouse and keyboard. It gets better because you can also share clipboards and wait, Input Director is FREE!.

Input Director’s Website breaks it down like this:

Before kicking off the installation and configuration of Input Director it’s important to first explain the master/slave terminology used throughout the documentation and application.

The master system is the computer that has the mouse/keyboard that you be using to control it and the other system(s). A slave system is one that can receive input (keyboard and mouse) from a master.

The quick start guide will run though setting up two computers, one as the master, the other as a slave. You need to decide now which computer you will use as the master – that is, which one has the keyboard/mouse that you want to use to control it and the other system (the slave).

For the remainder of the quick start guide, the two Windows systems that Input Director will be installed onto will be referred to as the master and the slave.

Got it?

Your main machine with the keyboard and mouse that you want to use will be called the MASTER and other machines that you will remote control are your SLAVES.

This application is installed on each computer and you are give a bunch of security options like what computers can control your slave and neat hotkeys to make switching machines a breeze. You can setup a situation similar to multiple monitors with remote machines. You can move your mouse off your screen and right onto the next machine (basically, have multiple computers on one monitor). Even if you have multiple monitors this will still work.

I have used other programs that claim to do what Input Director does – but hands down this is the easiest to make work. It is really easy and if this fits a need that you have I highly recommend it!

Let’s take a look at it.

You first run the setup on the master machine and simply set it as the master machine like seen here:

Then you setup the client machine. Come on back over to the Master machine and tell it where your Slave machine is.

You can now go and configure hotkeys and other goodies but that’s it. You are ready to manage multiple machines from one keyboard and mouse. Next step world domination!

Update: Also see, Synergy- Multiple Computers On One Mouse & Keyboard.

Do you use something similar? Let us know in the comments!

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Synergy- Multiple Computers On One Mouse & Keyboard

Simon Slangen — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:01:49 +0000

Synergy: [noun] the term used to describe a situation where the final outcome of a system is greater than the sum of its parts.

It’s far from uncommon for the more experienced computer users to own multiple systems. I, for one, have a Windows XP laptop, a Vista system and a shared Apple desktop computer. Some people own different systems for different occasions; to work, to game, to use on the road.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed the problems with such an extended setup, such as the constant switching between keyboards and mice. Not to mention the space requirements. The space on my desk has been cut in half and I have to do any paperwork in another room.

Solutions exist, of course. You can always purchase a KVM switch to use your mouse and keyboard with multiple systems, or even control your remote system over a network connection through Virtual Network Computing. Many different options exist, one more extended and complicated than the other.

One of these other options is Synergy.

Synergy gives you the ability to manage all of your computers with just one keyboard and one mouse. When properly installed (and configured), you can move from one computer to the other by simply moving your mouse out of the computer screen. You’ll still need a different monitor for every computer, but switching between computers will be as easy as flicking the mouse in the right direction.

Compare it to using 2 monitors on the same computer, where the second screen constantly displays an open VNC connection to your secondary computer. Screens can be arranged in any thinkable order; above, below or next each other. Synergy will also know the difference between two different systems and a dual monitor set-up.

Even unified screensavers and copy-pasting will work between computers (although it’s limited to text on Mac OSX systems).

With Synergy, you can drop your Linux workstation next to your Windows gaming PC, and switch between the two with just a flick of the mouse. You don’t need to worry about “losing” your cursor while gaming, just enable scroll lock and your cursor will be restrained within the current screen.

Download and Install Synergy

Synergy can be used on nearly all platforms. Binary packages are available for Windows, Mac and other Unix-like operating systems, but installation and configuration is far easier on Windows systems.

Installation instructions can be found here.