diff options
| author | runge <runge> | 2004-12-17 03:55:35 +0000 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | runge <runge> | 2004-12-17 03:55:35 +0000 |
| commit | 3a84b0ccc87a023be3ac84fba82895fafade30c1 (patch) | |
| tree | 054ec71b3ad716623433ed8b8e39da417afb71fe /x11vnc/README | |
| parent | 7e13b8a594805e25e928b8bcac394eef0a1ee5c8 (diff) | |
| download | libtdevnc-3a84b0ccc87a023be3ac84fba82895fafade30c1.tar.gz libtdevnc-3a84b0ccc87a023be3ac84fba82895fafade30c1.zip | |
x11vnc: XFIXES cursorshape, XRANDR resize, remote control, gui
Diffstat (limited to 'x11vnc/README')
| -rw-r--r-- | x11vnc/README | 1526 |
1 files changed, 1046 insertions, 480 deletions
diff --git a/x11vnc/README b/x11vnc/README index f3ed566..efe43d5 100644 --- a/x11vnc/README +++ b/x11vnc/README @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -x11vnc README file Date: Tue Aug 31 22:39:00 EDT 2004 +x11vnc README file Date: Thu Dec 16 23:32:54 EST 2004 The following information is taken from these URLs: @@ -26,18 +26,21 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) problems centered around esoteric C++ toolkits. x11vnc is written in plain C and uses only standard libraries. I also added a few enhancements to improve the interactive response, add esoteric - features, etc. + features, etc. The [4]FAQ contains a lot of information and solutions + to problems, but please feel free to [5]contact me if you have + problems or questions. Background: - VNC is a very useful network graphics protocol in the spirit of X, - however, unlike X, the viewing-end is very simple and maintains no - state. It is a remote framebuffer (RFB) protocol . + VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a very useful network graphics + protocol in the spirit of X, however, unlike X, the viewing-end is + very simple and maintains no state. It is a remote framebuffer (RFB) + protocol Some VNC links: - * [4]http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/ - * [5]http://www.realvnc.com - * [6]http://www.tightvnc.com + * [6]http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/ + * [7]http://www.realvnc.com + * [8]http://www.tightvnc.com For Unix, the VNC implementation includes a virtual X11 server Xvnc (usually launched via the vncserver command) that is not associated @@ -71,12 +74,13 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) How to use x11vnc: In this example let's assume the remote machine with the X display you - wish to view is far-away.east:0 and the workstation you are presently - working at is sitting-here.west. + wish to view is "far-away.east:0" and the workstation you are + presently working at is "sitting-here.west". - Step 0. Download x11vnc ([7]see below) and have it available to run - (e.g. via PATH) on far-away.east. Similarly, have a VNC viewer (e.g. - vncviewer) ready to run on sitting-here.west. + Step 0. Download x11vnc ([9]see below) and have it available to run + (e.g. via $PATH) on far-away.east. Similarly, have a VNC viewer (e.g. + vncviewer) ready to run on sitting-here.west. We recommend + [10]TightVNC Viewers. Step 1. By some means log in to far-away.east and get a command shell running there. You can use ssh, rlogin, telnet, or any other method to @@ -85,14 +89,20 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) the X11 framebuffer). Step 2. In that far-away.east shell (with command prompt "far-away>" - in this example) run x11vnc directed at the far-away.east X session: + in this example) run x11vnc directed at the far-away.east X session + display: far-away> x11vnc -display :0 - You could have also set the environment variable DISPLAY=:0 to achieve - the same thing. This step attaches x11vnc to the far-away.east:0 X + You could have also set the environment variable DISPLAY=:0 instead of + using -display. This step attaches x11vnc to the far-away.east:0 X display (no viewer clients yet). + To get X11 permissions right, you may also need to set the XAUTHORITY + environment variable (or use the -auth option) to point to the correct + MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file (e.g. /home/joe/.Xauthority). More on this + [11]below. + There will then be much chatter printed out from x11vnc, until it finally says something like: . @@ -108,9 +118,9 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) example) you now want to run a VNC viewer program. There are VNC viewers for Unix, Windows, MacOS, Java-enabled web browsers, and even for PDA's like the Palm Pilot! You can use any of them to connect to - x11vnc (see the above VNC links on how to obtain a viewer for your - platform. For Solaris, vncviewer is available in the [8]Companion CD - package SFWvnc ). + x11vnc (see the above VNC links under "Background:" on how to obtain a + viewer for your platform or [12]this FAQ. For Solaris, vncviewer is + available in the [13]Companion CD package SFWvnc ). In this example we'll use the Unix vncviewer program on sitting-here by typing the following command in a second terminal window: @@ -120,15 +130,15 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) That should pop up a viewer window on sitting-here.west showing and allowing interaction with the far-away.east:0 X11 desktop. Pretty nifty! When finished, exit the viewer: the remote x11vnc process will - shutdown automatically (or you can use the -forever [9]option to have + shutdown automatically (or you can use the -forever [14]option to have it wait for additional viewer connections). Desktop Sharing: The above more or less assumed nobody was sitting at - the workstation display far-away.east:0. This is often the case: a + the workstation display "far-away.east:0". This is often the case: a user wants to access her workstation remotely. Another usage pattern - has the user sitting at far-away.east:0 and invites one or more other - people to view and interact with his desktop. Perhaps the user gives a - demo or presentation this way (using the telephone for vocal + has the user sitting at "far-away.east:0" and invites one or more + other people to view and interact with his desktop. Perhaps the user + gives a demo or presentation this way (using the telephone for vocal communication). A "Remote Help Desk" mode would be similar: a technician remotely connects to the user's desktop to interactively solve a problem the user is having. @@ -137,7 +147,7 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) will work, but more easily the user sitting at far-away.east:0 simply starts up x11vnc from a terminal window, after which the guests would start their VNC viewers. For this usage mode the -accept popup option - discussed in the [10]FAQ below may be of use to allow the user at + discussed in the [15]FAQ below may be of use to allow the user at far-away.east:0 to accept or reject incoming connections. _________________________________________________________________ @@ -152,7 +162,7 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) (you will likely have to provide passwords/passphrases for the ssh login) and then in another terminal window on sitting-here run the command: - sitting-here> vncviewer -encodings "copyrect tight hextile" localhost:0 + sitting-here> vncviewer -encodings "copyrect tight zrle hextile" localhost:0 The -encodings option is very important: vncviewer will default to "raw" encoding if it thinks the connection is to the local machine, @@ -164,15 +174,16 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays (to [1]FAQ) (to [2]downloads) you wish to view (e.g. your company provides incoming SSH access to a gateway machine), then you need to change the above to, e.g.: -L 5900:otherhost:5900. Once logged in, you'll need to do a second login - (ssh or rsh) to the workstation machine 'otherhost' and then start up - x11vnc on it. - - As discussed below, there may be some problems with port 5900 being - available. If that happens, the above port and display numbers may - change a bit. However, if you "know" port 5900 will be free on the - local and remote machines, you can automate the above two steps by - using the x11vnc option -bg (forks into background after connection to - the display is set up) or using the -f option of ssh. A simple example + (ssh, rsh, etc.) to the workstation machine 'otherhost' and then start + up x11vnc on it. + + Scripts to automate tunneling: As discussed below, there may be some + problems with port 5900 being available. If that happens, the above + port and display numbers may change a bit (e.g. -> 5901 and :1). + However, if you "know" port 5900 will be free on the local and remote + machines, you can easily automate the above two steps by using the + x11vnc option -bg (forks into background after connection to the + display is set up) or using the -f option of ssh. A simple example script, assuming no problems with port 5900 being taken on the local or remote sides, looks like: #!/bin/sh @@ -183,8 +194,8 @@ host=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $1}'` disp=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $2}'` if [ "x$disp" = "x" ]; then disp=0; fi -cmd="x11vnc -display :$disp -rfbauth .vnc/passwd" -enc="copyrect tight hextile zlib corre rre raw" +cmd="x11vnc -display :$disp -localhost -rfbauth .vnc/passwd" +enc="copyrect tight zrle hextile zlib corre rre raw" ssh -f -L 5900:localhost:5900 $host "$cmd" @@ -197,7 +208,7 @@ done See also rx11vnc.pl below. Another method is to start the VNC viewer in listen mode "vncviewer - -listen" and have x11vnc initiate the reverse connection using the + -listen" and have x11vnc initiate a reverse connection using the -connect option: #!/bin/sh # usage: x11vnc_ssh <host>:<xdisplay> @@ -207,8 +218,9 @@ host=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $1}'` disp=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $2}'` if [ "x$disp" = "x" ]; then disp=0; fi -cmd="x11vnc -display :$disp -connect localhost" # <-- new option -enc="copyrect tight hextile zlib corre rre raw" +cmd="x11vnc -display :$disp -localhost -connect localhost" # <-- note new opt +ion +enc="copyrect tight zrle hextile zlib corre rre raw" vncviewer -encodings "$enc" -listen & pid=$! @@ -227,8 +239,8 @@ host=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $1}'` disp=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $2}'` if [ "x$disp" = "x" ]; then disp=0; fi -VNC_VIA_CMD="ssh -f -L %L:%H:%R %G x11vnc -rfbport 5900 -display :$disp; sleep -5" +VNC_VIA_CMD="ssh -f -L %L:%H:%R %G x11vnc -localhost -rfbport 5900 -display :$d +isp; sleep 5" export VNC_VIA_CMD vncviewer -via $host localhost:0 # must be TightVNC vncviewer. @@ -236,36 +248,47 @@ vncviewer -via $host localhost:0 # must be TightVNC vncviewer. Of course if you already have the x11vnc running waiting for connections (or have it started out of inetd(1)), you can simply use the TightVNC vncviewer -via gateway host:port in its default mode to - provide secure ssh tunneling. + provide secure ssh tunnelling. VNC password file: Also note in the first example script that the option "-rfbauth .vnc/passwd" provides additional protection by requiring a VNC password for every VNC viewer that connects. The - vncpasswd or storepasswd programs, or the x11vnc [11]-storepasswd + vncpasswd or storepasswd programs, or the x11vnc [16]-storepasswd option can be used to create the password file. x11vnc also has the - slightly less secure [12]-passwdfile and -passwd XXXXX options. - - It is up to you to tell x11vnc to use password protection, it will not - do it for you automatically. The same goes for encrypting the channel - between the viewer and x11vnc: it is up to you to use ssh, etc. + slightly less secure [17]-passwdfile and "-passwd XXXXX" options. + + Important: It is up to you to tell x11vnc to use password protection, + it will not do it for you automatically. The same goes for encrypting + the channel between the viewer and x11vnc: it is up to you to use ssh, + stunnel, VPN, etc. Also look into the -allow and -localhost + [18]options and building x11vnc with [19]tcp_wrappers support to limit + host access. _________________________________________________________________ Downloading x11vnc: - x11vnc is a contributed program to the [13]libvncserver project at + x11vnc is a contributed program to the [20]libvncserver project at SourceForge.net. I use libvncserver for all of the VNC aspects; I couldn't have done without it. The full source code may be found and downloaded (either file-release tarball or CVS tree) from the above - link. As of Aug 2004, the [14]x11vnc 0.6.2 source package is released - (recommended download) . The x11vnc package is the subset of the - libvncserver package needed to build the x11vnc program. Also, you can - get a copy of my latest, bleeding edge [15]x11vnc.c file to replace - the one in the above packages or the one in the CVS tree and then - rebuild. - - See the [16]FAQ below for information about where you might obtain a + link. As of Aug 2004, the [21]x11vnc-0.6.2.tar.gz source package is + released (recommended download) . The x11vnc package is the subset of + the libvncserver package needed to build the x11vnc program. Please do + not use the LibVNCServer-0.6 tarball: it contains an older, more buggy + version of x11vnc (Oct 2003) that you likely want to avoid. Also, you + can get a copy of my latest, bleeding edge [22]x11vnc.c file to + replace the one in the above packages or the one in the CVS tree and + then rebuild. + + See the [23]FAQ below for information about where you might obtain a precompiled x11vnc binary from 3rd parties. + To obtain VNC viewers for the viewing side (Windows, Mac OS, or Unix) + try here: + * [24]http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html + * [25]http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html + * [26]http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ + More tools: Here is a rsh/ssh wrapper script rx11vnc that attempts to automatically do the above Steps 1-3 for you (provided you have rsh/ssh login permission on the machine x11vnc is to be run on). The @@ -274,8 +297,8 @@ vncviewer -via $host localhost:0 # must be TightVNC vncviewer. that attempts to tunnel the vnc traffic through an ssh port redirection (and does not assume port 5900 is free). Have a look at them to see what they do and customize as needed: - * [17]rx11vnc wrapper script - * [18]rx11vnc.pl wrapper script to tunnel traffic thru ssh + * [27]rx11vnc wrapper script + * [28]rx11vnc.pl wrapper script to tunnel traffic thru ssh _________________________________________________________________ Building x11vnc: @@ -309,17 +332,17 @@ vncviewer -via $host localhost:0 # must be TightVNC vncviewer. Unix OS), the jpeg and/or zlib libraries may be in non-standard places (e.g. /usr/local, /usr/sfw, /opt/sfw, etc). - Note: If configure cannot find these two libraries then TightVNC - support will be disabled, and you don't want that! (the TightVNC - encoding gives very good compression and performance, even makes a - difference over a LAN) + Note: If configure cannot find these two libraries then TightVNC and + ZRLE encoding support will be disabled, and you don't want that! (the + TightVNC encoding gives very good compression and performance, it even + makes a noticable difference over a fast LAN) libjpeg is included in Solaris 9 and later (/usr/sfw/include and /usr/sfw/lib), and zlib in Solaris 8 and later (/usr/include and /usr/lib). To get the source for these libraries: libjpeg is available - at [19]ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/ and zlib at - [20]http://www.gzip.org/zlib/. See also - [21]http://www.sunfreeware.com/ for Solaris binary packages of these + at [29]ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/ and zlib at + [30]http://www.gzip.org/zlib/. See also + [31]http://www.sunfreeware.com/ for Solaris binary packages of these libraries. Here is a build script that indicates one way to pass the library @@ -331,8 +354,8 @@ vncviewer -via $host localhost:0 # must be TightVNC vncviewer. PATH=/path/to/gcc/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:$PATH # set to get gcc -JPEG=/path/to/jpeg # maybe "/usr/local" or "/opt/sfw" -ZLIB=/path/to/zlib # maybe "/usr/local" or "/opt/sfw" +JPEG=/path/to/jpeg # maybe "/usr/local", "/usr/sfw", or "/opt/sfw" +ZLIB=/path/to/zlib # maybe "/usr/local", "/usr/sfw", or "/opt/sfw" # Below we assume headers in $JPEG/include and $ZLIB/include and the # shared libraries are in $JPEG/lib and $ZLIB/lib. If your situation @@ -378,6 +401,24 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc LIBVNCSERVER_HAVE_XKEYBOARD after the rfb/rfb.h include in the x11vnc/x11vnc.c file. (This problem has been fixed as of x11vnc 0.6.2 (Aug/2004)) + + If you need to build on Solaris 2.5.1 or earlier, see [32]this + workaround FAQ. + + Building on HP-UX: For jpeg and zlib you will need to do the same + sort of thing as described above for Solaris. You set CPPFLAGS and + LDFLAGS to find them. You do not need to do any of the above + /usr/openwin stuff. Also, HP-UX does not seem to support -R, so get + rid of the -R items in LDFLAGS. Because of this, at runtime you may + need to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH to indicate the directory paths so the + libraries can be found. + + Finally, there seems to be a bug with gcc on HP-UX 11.xx: something + fails (in the gcc private header files?) and it thinks it cannot find + gettimeofday(). As a workaround add this to CPPFLAGS: + -DLIBVNCSERVER_HAVE_GETTIMEOFDAY. You may get some warnings but we + have verified that this generates working x11vnc binaries on HP-UX + hppa and ia64. _________________________________________________________________ Some Notes: @@ -386,11 +427,13 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc always a good idea to have a solid background color instead of a pretty background image. Each and every re-exposure of the background must be resent over the network: better to have that background be a - solid color that compresses very well compared to a photo image. I - suggest using xsetroot, dtstyle or similar utility to set a solid - background while using x11vnc. + solid color that compresses very well compared to a photo image. (This + is one place where the X protocol has an advantage over the VNC + protocol.) I suggest using xsetroot, dtstyle or similar utility to set + a solid background while using x11vnc. You can turn the pretty + background image back on when you are using the display directly. - I also find the [22]tightvnc encoding gives the best response for my + I also find the [33]tightvnc encoding gives the best response for my usage (Unix <-> Unix over cable modem). One needs a tightvnc-aware vncviewer to take advantage of this encoding. @@ -402,14 +445,14 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc is X11's default listening port). Had port 5900 been taken by some other application, x11vnc would have next tried 5901. That would mean the viewer command above should be changed to vncviewer - far-away.east:1. You can force the issue with the -rfbport NNNN - option. + far-away.east:1. You can force the issue with the "-rfbport NNNN" + option where NNNN is the desired port number. Options: x11vnc has (far too) many features that may be activated - via its [23]command line options. Useful options are -nap to use fewer + via its [34]command line options. Useful options are -nap to use fewer resources (it sleeps more between polls when activity is low) and -rfbauth passwd-file to use VNC password protection (the vncpasswd or - storepasswd programs, or the x11vnc [24]-storepasswd option can be + storepasswd programs, or the x11vnc [35]-storepasswd option can be used to create the password file). Algorithm: How does x11vnc do it? Rather brute-forcedly: it @@ -432,14 +475,14 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc first testing out the programs. You get an interesting "feedback" effect where vncviewer images keep popping up each one contained in the previous one and slightly shifted a bit by the window manager - decorations. There will be an even more interesting effect if -scale - is used. Also, if the XKEYBOARD is supported and the XBell "beeps" - once, you get an infinite loop of beeps going off. Although all of - this is mildly exciting it is not much use: you will normally run and - display the viewer on a different machine! + decorations. There will be an [36]even more interesting effect if + -scale is used. Also, if the XKEYBOARD is supported and the XBell + "beeps" once, you get an infinite loop of beeps going off. Although + all of this is mildly exciting it is not much use: you will normally + run and display the viewer on a different machine! SunRay notes: You can run x11vnc on your (connected or disconnected) - [25]SunRay session (Please remember to use -nap and maybe -wait 200 to + [37]SunRay session (Please remember to use -nap and maybe -wait 200 to avoid being a resource hog! It also helps a bit to have a solid background color). You have to know the name of the machine your SunRay session X server is running on. You also need to know the X11 @@ -451,7 +494,7 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc server machine has your session, you could login to all possible ones looking at the who output for your username...). - SunRay Gotcha: Note that even though your SunRay X11 DISPLAY is + SunRay Gotcha #1: Note that even though your SunRay X11 DISPLAY is something like :137, x11vnc still tries for port 5900 as its listening if it can get it, in which case the VNC display (i.e. the information you supply to the VNC viewer) is something like sunray-server:0 @@ -490,7 +533,8 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc of the /etc/X11/XF86Config file. Note that this disables 2D acceleration at the physical display and so likely defeats the purpose. Nevertheless this could be handy in some circumstances, - e.g. if the speed at the physical display was tolerable. + e.g. if the slower speed at the physical display was acceptable + (this seems to be true for most video cards these days). Unfortunately it does not seem shadowfb can be turned on and off dynamically... * Somewhat surprisingly, the X11 mouse (cursor) shape is write-only @@ -510,191 +554,202 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc Evidently a timing related bug and difficult to reproduce... * Using -threads can expose some bugs in libvncserver. - Please feel free to [26]contact me if you have any questions, + Please feel free to [38]contact me if you have any questions, problems, or comments about x11vnc, etc. _________________________________________________________________ x11vnc FAQ: - [27]Q-1: I can't get x11vnc to start up. It says "XOpenDisplay failed + [39]Q-1: I can't get x11vnc to start up. It says "XOpenDisplay failed ((null))" or "Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server". What do I need to do? - [28]Q-2: I can't get x11vnc and/or libvncserver to compile. + [40]Q-2: I can't get x11vnc and/or libvncserver to compile. + + [41]Q-3: Help, I need to run x11vnc on Solaris 2.5.1 and it doesn't + compile! If I try to run a binary built on Solaris 2.6 I get: + relocation error: file x11vnc: symbol XConvertCase: referenced symbol + not found - [29]Q-3: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating + [42]Q-4: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating System? - [30]Q-4: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and + [43]Q-5: Where can I get a VNC Viewer binary (or source code) for the + Operating System I will be viewing from? + + [44]Q-6: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and documentation on how to use them? - [31]Q-5: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I + [45]Q-7: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I start x11vnc. What can I do? Is there a config file? - [32]Q-6: Why does x11vnc exit as soon as the VNC viewer disconnects? + [46]Q-8: Why does x11vnc exit as soon as the VNC viewer disconnects? And why doesn't it allow more than one VNC viewer to connect at the same time? - [33]Q-7: I have two separate machine displays in front of me, one + [47]Q-9: I have two separate machine displays in front of me, one Windows the other X11: can I use x11vnc in combination with Win2VNC in dual-screen mode to pass the keystrokes and mouse motions to the X11 display? - [34]Q-8: I am running Win2VNC on my windows machine and trying to - create a dual-screen mode with my second display by running x11vnc - -nofb. Whenever I initiate the connection Win2VNC quickly disconnects + [48]Q-10: I am running Win2VNC on my windows machine and trying to + create a dual-screen mode with my second display by running "x11vnc + -nofb". Whenever I initiate the connection Win2VNC quickly disconnects and x11vnc says something like: rfbProcessClientNormalMessage: read: Connection reset by peer - [35]Q-9: The X display I run x11vnc on is only 8 bits per pixel (bpp) + [49]Q-11: The X display I run x11vnc on is only 8 bits per pixel (bpp) PseudoColor (i.e. only 256 distinct colors). The x11vnc colors may start out OK, but after a while the colors are incorrect in certain windows. - [36]Q-10: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows messed + [50]Q-12: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows messed up in x11vnc? BTW, I have an X display that has nice overlay/multi-depth visuals of different color depths: e.g. there are both depth 8 and 24 visuals available at the same time. - [37]Q-11: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id + [51]Q-13: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id windowid option? - [38]Q-12: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I am + [52]Q-14: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I am using the -id windowid option to view a single application window? - [39]Q-13: Can I use x11vnc to view and interact with an Xterminal + [53]Q-15: Can I use x11vnc to view and interact with an Xterminal (e.g. NCD) that is not running UNIX and so x11vnc cannot be run on it directly? - [40]Q-14: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the background + [54]Q-16: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the background after starting up? - [41]Q-15: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect + [55]Q-17: How do I stop x11vnc once it is running in the background? + + [56]Q-18: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect from? - [42]Q-16: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap + [57]Q-19: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap (tcp_wrappers) support? - [43]Q-17: Can I prompt the user at the local X display whether the + [58]Q-20: Can I prompt the user at the local X display whether the incoming VNC client should be accepted or not? Can I decide to make some clients view-only? How about running an arbitrary program to make the decisions? - [44]Q-18: How do I create a VNC password for use with x11vnc? + [59]Q-21: How do I create a VNC password for use with x11vnc? - [45]Q-19: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted + [60]Q-22: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH channel between two Unix machines? - [46]Q-20: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted + [61]Q-23: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH channel from Windows using an SSH client like Putty? - [47]Q-21: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I + [62]Q-24: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I further limit the set of Unix usernames who can connect to the VNC desktop? - [48]Q-22: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full + [63]Q-25: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full access and the other for view-only access to the display? - [49]Q-23: I use a screen-lock when I leave my workstation (e.g. + [64]Q-26: I use a screen-lock when I leave my workstation (e.g. xscreensaver or xlock). When I remotely access my workstation desktop via x11vnc I can unlock the desktop fine, but I am worried people will see my activities on the physical monitor. What can I do to prevent this, or at least make it more difficult? - [50]Q-24: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I + [65]Q-27: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I disconnect the VNC viewer? - [51]Q-25: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to + [66]Q-28: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to the VNC viewer) using "vncviewer -listen" and vncconnect(1) supported? - [52]Q-26: Sometimes when a VNC viewer dies abruptly, x11vnc also dies + [67]Q-29: Sometimes when a VNC viewer dies abruptly, x11vnc also dies with the error message like: "Broken pipe". I'm using the -forever mode and I want x11vnc to keep running. - [53]Q-27: How can I use x11vnc to connect to an X login screen like - xdm, GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, or CDE dtlogin? + [68]Q-30: How can I use x11vnc to connect to an X login screen like + xdm, GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, or CDE dtlogin? (i.e. nobody is logged into + an X session yet). - [54]Q-28: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(1)? + [69]Q-31: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(1)? - [55]Q-29: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet in + [70]Q-32: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet in a web browser? - [56]Q-30: Why isn't the mouse cursor shape (the little icon shape + [71]Q-33: Why isn't the mouse cursor shape (the little icon shape where the mouse pointer is) correct as I move from window to window? - [57]Q-31: Why does the mouse arrow just stay in one corner in my + [72]Q-34: Why does the mouse arrow just stay in one corner in my vncviewer, whereas my cursor (that does move) is just a dot? - [58]Q-32: Can I take advantage of the TightVNC extension to the VNC + [73]Q-35: Can I take advantage of the TightVNC extension to the VNC protocol where Cursor Positions Updates are sent back to all connected clients (i.e. passive viewers can see the mouse cursor being moved around by another viewer)? - [59]Q-33: Is it possible to swap the mouse buttons (e.g. left-handed + [74]Q-36: Is it possible to swap the mouse buttons (e.g. left-handed operation), or arbitrarily remap them? How about mapping button clicks to keystrokes, e.g. to partially emulate Mouse wheel scrolling? - [60]Q-34: When I drag windows around with the mouse or scroll up and + [75]Q-37: When I drag windows around with the mouse or scroll up and down things really bog down (unless I do the drag in a single, quick motion). Is there anything to do to improve things? - [61]Q-35: I have lots of memory, but why does x11vnc fail with + [76]Q-38: I have lots of memory, but why does x11vnc fail with shmget: No space left on device or Minor opcode of failed request: 1 (X_ShmAttach)? - [62]Q-36: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources? + [77]Q-39: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources? - [63]Q-37: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources? + [78]Q-40: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources? - [64]Q-38: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g. dialup + [79]Q-41: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g. dialup modem), is there anything I can do to speed things up? - [65]Q-39: How can I get my AltGr and Shift modifiers to work between + [80]Q-42: How can I get my AltGr and Shift modifiers to work between keyboards for different languages? - [66]Q-40: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">" + [81]Q-43: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">" (i.e. greater than)! Strangely, typing ">" works OK!! - [67]Q-41: I'm using an "international" keyboard (e.g. German "de", or + [82]Q-44: I'm using an "international" keyboard (e.g. German "de", or Danish "dk") and the -modtweak mode works well if the VNC viewer is run on a Unix/Linux machine with a similar keyboard. But if I run the VNC viewer on Unix/Linux with a different keyboard (e.g. "us") or Windows with any keyboard, I can't type some keys like: "@", "$", "<", ">", etc. How can I fix this? - [68]Q-42: When typing I sometimes get double, triple, or more of my + [83]Q-45: When typing I sometimes get double, triple, or more of my keystrokes repeated. I'm sure I only typed them once, what can I do? - [69]Q-43: The machine where I run x11vnc has an AltGr key, but the + [84]Q-46: The machine where I run x11vnc has an AltGr key, but the local machine where I run the VNC viewer does not. Is there a way I can map a local unused key to send an AltGr? How about a Compose key as well? - [70]Q-44: I have a Sun machine I run x11vnc on. Its Sun keyboard has + [85]Q-47: I have a Sun machine I run x11vnc on. Its Sun keyboard has just one Alt key labelled "Alt" and two Meta keys labelled with little diamonds. The machine where I run the VNC viewer only has Alt keys. How can I send a Meta keypress? (e.g. emacs needs this) - [71]Q-45: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote + [86]Q-48: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote machine? - [72]Q-46: The remote display is larger (in number of pixels) than the + [87]Q-49: The remote display is larger (in number of pixels) than the local display I am running the vncviewer on. I don't like the vncviewer scrollbars, what I can do? - [73]Q-47: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g. + [88]Q-50: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g. to make the desktop smaller). - [74]Q-48: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors + [89]Q-51: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors joined together to form one big, single screen). - [75]Q-49: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not + [90]Q-52: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not Xinerama (i.e. separate screens :0.0, :0.1, ... for each monitor)? - [76]Q-50: Why is the view in my VNC viewer completely black? Or why is + [91]Q-53: Why is the view in my VNC viewer completely black? Or why is everything flashing around randomly? - [77]Q-51: I use Linux Virtual Consoles (VC's) to implement 'Fast User + [92]Q-54: I use Linux Virtual Consoles (VC's) to implement 'Fast User Switching' between users' sessions (e.g. Betty is on Ctrl-Alt-F7, Bobby is on Ctrl-Alt-F8, and Sid is on Ctrl-Alt-F1: they use those keystrokes to switch between their sessions). How come the view in a @@ -702,13 +757,13 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc otherwise all messed up unless the X session x11vnc is attached to is in the active VC? - [78]Q-52: Does the Clipboard/Selection get transferred between the + [93]Q-55: Does the Clipboard/Selection get transferred between the vncviewer and the X display? - [79]Q-53: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when + [94]Q-56: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when typing tput bel in an xterm)? - [80]Q-54: I am using x11vnc where my local machine has "popup/hidden + [95]Q-57: I am using x11vnc where my local machine has "popup/hidden taskbars" (e.g. GNOME or MacOS X) and the remote display where x11vnc runs also has "popup/hidden taskbars" (e.g. GNOME). When I move the mouse to the edge of the screen where the popups happen, the taskbars @@ -724,10 +779,11 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc your DISPLAY environment variable or use the -display option to specify it. Nearly always the correct value will be ":0" - For the latter error, you need to set up the X11 permissions. See the - xauth(1), Xsecurity(7), and xhost(1) man pages. For example, you may - need to set your XAUTHORITY environment variable to point to the - correct cookie file (e.g. /home/joe/.Xauthority or + For the latter error, you need to set up the X11 permissions + correctly. See the xauth(1), Xsecurity(7), and xhost(1) man pages for + much info. For example, you may need to set your XAUTHORITY + environment variable (or use the -auth option) to point to the correct + cookie file (e.g. /home/joe/.Xauthority or /var/lib/xdm/authdir/authfiles/A:0-nRySEi), or simply be sure you run x11vnc as the correct user (i.e. the user who owns the X session you wish to view). Less safe, but if the owner of the X session runs xhost @@ -749,12 +805,13 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc See xauth(1) manpage for full details on how to transfer an MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE between machines and displays. - To test out your X11 permissions, set DISPLAY and type xclock in the - same place you will be typing (or otherwise running) x11vnc. If a - little clock comes up on the display, that means the X11 permissions - are OK. To test your X11 permissions when logged into the display - machine remotely, use xdpyinfo (if you see the informational output - about the display you know it connected to the X server successfully). + To test out your X11 permissions, set DISPLAY (and possibly + XAUTHORITY) and type xclock in the same place you will be typing (or + otherwise running) x11vnc. If a little clock comes up on the display, + that means the X11 permissions are OK. To test your X11 permissions + when logged into the display machine remotely, use xdpyinfo (if you + see the informational output about the display you know it connected + to the X server successfully). Important: if you cannot get your X11 permissions so that the xclock or xdpyinfo tests work, x11vnc also will not work (all of these X clients must be able to connect to the X server to function). @@ -796,27 +853,94 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc XFree86-devel zlib-devel - Q-3: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating + Q-3: Help, I need to run x11vnc on Solaris 2.5.1 and it doesn't + compile! If I try to run a binary built on Solaris 2.6 I get: + relocation error: file x11vnc: symbol XConvertCase: referenced symbol + not found + + We apologize that x11vnc does not build cleanly on older versions of + Solaris, Linux, etc.: very few users are on these old releases. Here + is a workaround for Solaris 2.5.1 (and perhaps earlier): + + First use the environment settings (CPPFLAGS, LDFLAGS, etc.) in the + above [96]Solaris build script to run the configure command. That + should succeed without failure. Then, you have to hand edit the + autogenerated rfb/rfbconfig.h file in the source tree, and just before + the last #endif at the bottom of that file insert these workaround + lines: +#ifndef usleep +struct timeval _tmp_usleep_tv; +#define usleep(x) \ + _tmp_usleep_tv.tv_sec = (x) / 1000000; \ + _tmp_usleep_tv.tv_usec = (x) % 1000000; \ + select(0, NULL, NULL, NULL, &_tmp_usleep_tv); +#endif +int gethostname(char *name, int namelen); +long random(); +int srandom(unsigned int seed); +#undef LIBVNCSERVER_HAVE_LIBPTHREAD +#define SHUT_RDWR 2 +typedef unsigned int in_addr_t; +#define XConvertCase(sym, lower, upper) \ +*(lower) = sym; \ +*(upper) = sym; \ +if (sym >> 8 == 0) { \ + if ((sym >= XK_A) && (sym <= XK_Z)) \ + *(lower) += (XK_a - XK_A); \ + else if ((sym >= XK_a) && (sym <= XK_z)) \ + *(upper) -= (XK_a - XK_A); \ + else if ((sym >= XK_Agrave) && (sym <= XK_Odiaeresis)) \ + *(lower) += (XK_agrave - XK_Agrave); \ + else if ((sym >= XK_agrave) && (sym <= XK_odiaeresis)) \ + *(upper) -= (XK_agrave - XK_Agrave); \ + else if ((sym >= XK_Ooblique) && (sym <= XK_Thorn)) \ + *(lower) += (XK_oslash - XK_Ooblique); \ + else if ((sym >= XK_oslash) && (sym <= XK_thorn)) \ + *(upper) -= (XK_oslash - XK_Ooblique); \ +} + + Then run make with the Solaris build script environment, everything + should compile without problems, and the resulting x11vnc binary + should work OK (but note the above XConvertCase only covers Latin 1). + Similar sorts of kludges can be done on other older OS (Solaris, + Linux, ...) releases. + + Please let us know if you had to use the above workaround (and whether + it worked or not). If there is enough demand we will try to push clean + compilations back to earlier Solaris, Linux, etc, releases. + + Q-4: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating System? - Hopefully the [81]build steps above and [82]FAQ provide enough info + Hopefully the [97]build steps above and [98]FAQ provide enough info for a painless compile for most environments. Please report problems with the x11vnc configure, make, etc. on your system (if your system is known to compile other GNU packages successfully). There are precompiled x11vnc binaries made by other groups available at the following locations: - Debian: (.deb) [83]http://packages.debian.org/x11vnc - - Slackware: (.tgz) [84]http://www.linuxpackages.net/ Redhat/Fedora: - (.rpm) [85]http://dag.wieers.com/packages/x11vnc/ wwexptools: (.tgz) - [86]http://www.bell-labs.com/project/wwexptools/packages.html The last - one, wwexptools, provides a variety of Unix binaries (Linux, Solaris, - HP-UX, Irix, ...) with the intent of being compatible on a wide range - of OS releases. Find x11vnc at that link and select 'download info'. + Debian: (.deb) [99]http://packages.debian.org/x11vnc + + Slackware: (.tgz) [100]http://www.linuxpackages.net/ Redhat/Fedora: + (.rpm) [101]http://dag.wieers.com/packages/x11vnc/ wwexptools: (.tgz) + [102]http://www.bell-labs.com/project/wwexptools/packages.html The + last one, wwexptools, provides a variety of Unix binaries (Linux, + Solaris, HP-UX, Irix, ...) with the intent of being compatible on a + wide range of OS releases. Find x11vnc near the bottom of that page + and select 'download info'. + + Note: it appears some of the wwexptools x11vnc binaries are not + compiled with libz and libjpeg and so the fast compression encodings: + "Tight", "ZRLE", etc are not supported by those binaries. You can see + this by looking at the x11vnc output and if it says the encoding for a + client is "hextile" then likely the fast compression encodings are + missing. If you want optimal performance on your OS, you should see + the [103]build notes above for where to download libz and libjpeg, and + then build everything with gcc. + If any of the above binaries don't work and building x11vnc on your OS - fails, and all else fails, you can contact me as I occasionally have a - test binary I could give you. + fails (and all else fails!) you can contact me as I often have a test + binary I could give you. As a general note, the x11vnc program is simple enough you don't really need to install a package: the binary will in most cases work @@ -830,12 +954,21 @@ ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc resulting data.tar.gz tar file. Also, rpm2cpio(1) is useful in extracting files from rpm packages. - Q-4: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and + Q-5: Where can I get a VNC Viewer binary (or source code) for the + Operating System I will be viewing from? + + To obtain VNC viewers for the viewing side (Windows, Mac OS, or Unix) + try here: + * [104]http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html + * [105]http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html + * [106]http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ + + Q-6: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and documentation on how to use them? - Run: x11vnc -help The output is listed [87]here as well. + Run: x11vnc -help The output is listed [107]here as well. - Q-5: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I + Q-7: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I start x11vnc. What can I do? Is there a config file? You could create a shell script that calls x11vnc with your options: @@ -861,7 +994,7 @@ display :0 At some point this config file support will be expanded. - Q-6: Why does x11vnc exit as soon as the VNC viewer disconnects? And + Q-8: Why does x11vnc exit as soon as the VNC viewer disconnects? And why doesn't it allow more than one VNC viewer to connect at the same time? @@ -872,12 +1005,12 @@ display :0 -shared option to have x11vnc allow multiple clients to connect simultaneously. - Recommended additional safety measures include using ssh (see above) - or a VPN to authenticate and encrypt the viewer connections or to at - least use the -rfbauth passwd-file [88]option to use VNC password - protection. + Recommended additional safety measures include using ssh ([108]see + above), stunnel, or a VPN to authenticate and encrypt the viewer + connections or to at least use the -rfbauth passwd-file [109]option to + use VNC password protection (or [110]-passwdfile) - Q-7: I have two separate machine displays in front of me, one Windows + Q-9: I have two separate machine displays in front of me, one Windows the other X11: can I use x11vnc in combination with Win2VNC in dual-screen mode to pass the keystrokes and mouse motions to the X11 display? @@ -887,21 +1020,21 @@ display :0 secondary display (X11). Then start up Win2VNC on the primary display (Windows) referring it to the secondary display. - This will also work X11 to X11 using [89]x2vnc, however you would + This will also work X11 to X11 using [111]x2vnc, however you would probably just want to avoid VNC and use x2x for that. For reference, here are some links to Win2VNC-like programs for multiple monitor setups: - * [90]Original Win2VNC - * [91]Enhanced Win2VNC and [92]sourceforge link - * [93]x2vnc - * [94]x2x also [95]here - * [96]zvnc (MorphOS) + * [112]Original Win2VNC + * [113]Enhanced Win2VNC and [114]sourceforge link + * [115]x2vnc + * [116]x2x also [117]here + * [118]zvnc (MorphOS) All of them (except x2x) will work with x11vnc. - Q-8: I am running Win2VNC on my windows machine and trying to create a - dual-screen mode with my second display by running x11vnc -nofb. + Q-10: I am running Win2VNC on my windows machine and trying to create + a dual-screen mode with my second display by running "x11vnc -nofb". Whenever I initiate the connection Win2VNC quickly disconnects and x11vnc says something like: rfbProcessClientNormalMessage: read: Connection reset by peer @@ -926,7 +1059,7 @@ display :0 this. Since Win2VNC does not use the framebuffer data there should be no problems in doing this. - Q-9: The X display I run x11vnc on is only 8 bits per pixel (bpp) + Q-11: The X display I run x11vnc on is only 8 bits per pixel (bpp) PseudoColor (i.e. only 256 distinct colors). The x11vnc colors may start out OK, but after a while the colors are incorrect in certain windows. @@ -945,12 +1078,12 @@ display :0 non-zero in 8bpp PseudoColor on an obscure setup, and this option corrected the problems. - Q-10: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows messed up in + Q-12: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows messed up in x11vnc? BTW, I have an X display that has nice overlay/multi-depth visuals of different color depths: e.g. there are both depth 8 and 24 visuals available at the same time. - You may want to review the [97]previous question regarding 8 bpp + You may want to review the [119]previous question regarding 8 bpp PseudoColor. If that isn't the problem, run xdpyinfo(1) to see what the default @@ -1014,20 +1147,20 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 option works for Solaris machines with overlay visuals where most of this problem occurs. - Q-11: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id windowid + Q-13: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id windowid option? Run the xwininfo program in a terminal. It will ask you to click on the desired application window. After clicking, it will print out much information, including the window id. Also, the visual and depth of the window printed out is often useful in debugging x11vnc - [98]problems. + [120]problems. When using -id windowid, note that some VNC viewers will have problems rendering screens that have a width that is not a multiple of 4. Try to manually adjust the window width before starting x11vnc -id .... - Q-12: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I am + Q-14: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I am using the -id windowid option to view a single application window? This is related to the behavior of the XGetImage(3X11) and @@ -1042,7 +1175,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 x11vnc is known to crash under both -id and -sid, so both modes are still experimental. - Q-13: Can I use x11vnc to view and interact with an Xterminal (e.g. + Q-15: Can I use x11vnc to view and interact with an Xterminal (e.g. NCD) that is not running UNIX and so x11vnc cannot be run on it directly? @@ -1060,7 +1193,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 -flipbyteorder if the colors get messed up due to endian byte order differences. - Q-14: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the background + Q-16: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the background after starting up? Use the -q and -bg options, respectively. (also: -quiet is an alias @@ -1069,7 +1202,26 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 Note that under -bg the stderr messages will be lost unless you use the "-o logfile" option. - Q-15: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect + Q-17: How do I stop x11vnc once it is running in the background? + + If the -forever option has not been supplied, x11vnc will + automatically exit after the first client disconnects. In general you + will have to kill the x11vnc process. This can be done via: "kill + NNNNN" (where NNNNN is the x11vnc process id number found from ps(1)), + or "pkill x11vnc", or "killall x11vnc" (Linux only, IIRC). + + If you have not put x11vnc in the background via the -bg option or + shell & operator, then simply press Ctrl-C in the shell where x11vnc + is running to stop it. If somehow your Keypress of Ctrl-C went through + x11vnc to the Xserver that then delivered it to x11vnc it is possible + one or both of the Ctrl or C keys will be left stuck in the pressed + down state in the Xserver. Tapping the stuck key (either via x11vnc or + at the physical console) will release it from the stuck state. If the + keyboard seems to be acting strangely it is often fixed by tapping + Ctrl, Shift, and Alt. Alternatively, the -clear_mods and -clear_keys + options can be used to release pressed keys at startup and exit. + + Q-18: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect from? Yes, look at the -allow and -localhost options to limit connections by @@ -1084,25 +1236,26 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 For more control, build libvncserver with libwrap support (tcp_wrappers) and then use /etc/hosts.allow. - Q-16: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap (tcp_wrappers) + Q-19: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap (tcp_wrappers) support? Here is one way to pass this information to the configure script: env CPPFLAGS=-DUSE_LIBWRAP LDFLAGS=-lwrap ./configure then run make as usual. This requires libwrap and its development - package (tcpd.h) to be installed on the build machine. + package (tcpd.h) to be installed on the build machine. If additional + CPPFLAGS or LDFLAGS options are needed supply them as well. The resulting x11vnc then uses libwrap/tcp_wrappers for connections. The service name you will use in /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny is "vnc", e.g.: vnc: 192.168.100.3 .example.com - Note that if you run x11vnc out of [99]inetd you do not need to build + Note that if you run x11vnc out of [121]inetd you do not need to build x11vnc with libwrap support because the /usr/sbin/tcpd reference in /etc/inetd.conf handles the tcp_wrappers stuff. - Q-17: Can I prompt the user at the local X display whether the + Q-20: Can I prompt the user at the local X display whether the incoming VNC client should be accepted or not? Can I decide to make some clients view-only? How about running an arbitrary program to make the decisions? @@ -1142,7 +1295,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 program to prompt the user whether the client should be accepted or not. This requires that you have xmessage installed and available via PATH. In case it is not already on your system, the xmessage program - is available at [100]ftp://ftp.x.org/ + is available at [122]ftp://ftp.x.org/ To include view-only decisions for the external commands, prefix the command something like this: "yes:0,no:*,view:3 mycommand ..." This @@ -1181,7 +1334,7 @@ elif [ $rc = 4 ]; then fi exit 1 - Stefan Radman has written a nice dtksh script [101]dtVncPopup for use + Stefan Radman has written a nice dtksh script [123]dtVncPopup for use in CDE environments to do the same sort of thing. Information on how to use it is found at the top of the file. He encourages you to provide feedback to him to help improve the script. @@ -1196,7 +1349,7 @@ exit 1 the command is not interpreted by x11vnc. The same environment variables are set as in "-accept command" - Q-18: How do I create a VNC password for use with x11vnc? + Q-21: How do I create a VNC password for use with x11vnc? You may already have one in $HOME/.vnc/passwd if you have used, say, the vncserver program from the regular RealVNC or TightVNC packages @@ -1216,24 +1369,26 @@ exit 1 out for the command winding up in your shell's history file (history -c is often a way to clear it). - x11vnc also has the [102]-passwdfile and -passwd/-viewpasswd plain + x11vnc also has the [124]-passwdfile and -passwd/-viewpasswd plain text (i.e. not obscured like the -rfbauth VNC passwords) password options. - Q-19: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH + Q-22: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH channel between two Unix machines? - See the description earlier on this page on [103]how to tunnel VNC via + See the description earlier on this page on [125]how to tunnel VNC via SSH from Unix to Unix. A number of ways are described along with some issues you may encounter. - Other secure encrypted methods exists, e.g. stunnel. + Other secure encrypted methods exists, e.g. stunnel, IPSEC, various + VPNs, etc. - Q-20: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH + Q-23: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH channel from Windows using an SSH client like Putty? - [104]Above we described how to tunnel VNC via SSH from Unix to Unix. - To do this from Windows using Putty it would go something like this: + [126]Above we described how to tunnel VNC via SSH from Unix to Unix, + you may want to review it. To do this from Windows using Putty it + would go something like this: * In the Putty dialog window under 'Session' enter the hostname or IP number of the Unix machine with display to be viewed. * Make sure the SSH protocol is selected and the server port is @@ -1264,14 +1419,14 @@ exit 1 you'll need to do a second login (ssh or rsh) to the workstation machine 'otherhost' and then start up x11vnc on it. - As discussed [105]above another option is to first start the VNC + As discussed [127]above another option is to first start the VNC viewer in "listen" mode, and then launch x11vnc with the "-connection localhost" option to establish the reverse connection. In this case a Remote port redirection (not Local) is needed for port 5500 instead of 5900 (i.e. 'Source port: 5500' and 'Destination: localhost:5500' for a Remote connection). - Q-21: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I further + Q-24: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I further limit the set of Unix usernames who can connect to the VNC desktop? Until the VNC protocol and libvncserver support this things will be @@ -1285,7 +1440,7 @@ exit 1 connection to make it appear to emanate from the local machine. As discussed above, ssh is useful for this: ssh -l username -L 5900:localhost:5900 hostname ... See the ssh wrapper scripts mentioned - [106]elsewhere on this page. Of course a malicious user could allow + [128]elsewhere on this page. Of course a malicious user could allow other users to get in through his channel, but that is a problem with every method. Another thing to watch out for is a malicious user on the viewer side (where ssh is running) trying to sneak in through the @@ -1322,7 +1477,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it For this to work with ssh port redirection, the ssh option UsePrivilegeSeparation must be enabled. - Q-22: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full access + Q-25: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full access and the other for view-only access to the display? Yes, as of May/2004 in the libvncserver CVS there is the -viewpasswd @@ -1348,7 +1503,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it plain text passwords from $HOME/.vnc/passwd since it is very straight-forward to work out what to do from the VNC source code. - Q-23: I use a screen-lock when I leave my workstation (e.g. + Q-26: I use a screen-lock when I leave my workstation (e.g. xscreensaver or xlock). When I remotely access my workstation desktop via x11vnc I can unlock the desktop fine, but I am worried people will see my activities on the physical monitor. What can I do to prevent @@ -1361,7 +1516,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it In any event, as of Jun/2004 there is an experimental utility to make it more difficult for nosey people to see your x11vnc activities. The - source for it is [107]blockdpy.c The idea behind it is simple (but + source for it is [129]blockdpy.c The idea behind it is simple (but obviously not bulletproof): when a VNC client attaches to x11vnc put the display monitor in the DPMS "off" state, if the DPMS state ever changes immediately start up the screen-lock program. The x11vnc user @@ -1382,7 +1537,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it re-lock the screen before disconnecting!). Instructions can be found in the source code for the utility at the above link. - Q-24: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I + Q-27: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I disconnect the VNC viewer? Yes, a user mentions he uses the -gone option under CDE to run a @@ -1394,7 +1549,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it x11vnc -display :0.0 -forever -gone 'kdesktop_lock' x11vnc -display :0.0 -forever -gone 'xlock &' - Q-25: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to the + Q-28: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to the VNC viewer) using "vncviewer -listen" and vncconnect(1) supported? As of Mar/2004 in the libvncserver CVS x11vnc supports reverse @@ -1420,7 +1575,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it # xprop -root -f VNC_CONNECT 8s -set VNC_CONNECT "$1" - Q-26: Sometimes when a VNC viewer dies abruptly, x11vnc also dies with + Q-29: Sometimes when a VNC viewer dies abruptly, x11vnc also dies with the error message like: "Broken pipe". I'm using the -forever mode and I want x11vnc to keep running. @@ -1430,11 +1585,12 @@ xprop -root -f VNC_CONNECT 8s -set VNC_CONNECT "$1" Currently (Apr/2004) the above fix only works for BSD signal systems (Linux, FreeBSD, ...) For SYSV systems there is a workaround in my - [108]x11vnc.c file. It also has an option -sigpipe exit to have x11vnc + [130]x11vnc.c file. It also has an option -sigpipe exit to have x11vnc clean up and exit upon receiving SIGPIPE. - Q-27: How can I use x11vnc to connect to an X login screen like xdm, - GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, or CDE dtlogin? + Q-30: How can I use x11vnc to connect to an X login screen like xdm, + GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, or CDE dtlogin? (i.e. nobody is logged into an X + session yet). One time only. If the X login screen is running and you just want to connect to it once: @@ -1498,7 +1654,7 @@ xprop -root -f VNC_CONNECT 8s -set VNC_CONNECT "$1" If you do not want to deal with the display manager startup scripts, here is a kludgey script that can be run manually or out of a boot - file like rc.local. [109]x11vnc_loop It will need some local + file like rc.local. [131]x11vnc_loop It will need some local customization before running. Because the XAUTHORITY auth file must be guessed by this script, use of the display manager script above is preferred. @@ -1521,7 +1677,7 @@ xprop -root -f VNC_CONNECT 8s -set VNC_CONNECT "$1" See xauth(1) manpage for full details on how to transfer an MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE between machines and displays. - Q-28: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(1)? + Q-31: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(1)? Yes, perhaps a line something like this in /etc/inetd.conf will do it for you: @@ -1567,7 +1723,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log connecting to it. Always use a VNC password to further protect against unwanted access. - Q-29: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet in a + Q-32: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet in a web browser? To have x11vnc serve up a Java VNC viewer applet to any web browsers @@ -1594,7 +1750,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log entirely from the viewer-side by having the jar file there and using either the java or appletviewer commands to run the program. - Q-30: Why isn't the mouse cursor shape (the little icon shape where + Q-33: Why isn't the mouse cursor shape (the little icon shape where the mouse pointer is) correct as I move from window to window? As mentioned above, the X11 mouse cursor shape (i.e. little picture: @@ -1621,10 +1777,10 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log problems however, and can be slower). Plans are in the works to use XFIXES for this on XFree86, Xorg, and Xsun. - Q-31: Why does the mouse arrow just stay in one corner in my + Q-34: Why does the mouse arrow just stay in one corner in my vncviewer, whereas my cursor (that does move) is just a dot? - This default takes advantage of a [110]tightvnc extension that allows + This default takes advantage of a [132]tightvnc extension that allows specifying a cursor image for the local VNC viewer. You may disable it with the -nocursor option to x11vnc if your viewer does not have this extension. @@ -1633,7 +1789,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log default for non-tightvnc viewers will be to draw the moving cursor into the framebuffer. This can also be disabled via -nocursor. - Q-32: Can I take advantage of the TightVNC extension to the VNC + Q-35: Can I take advantage of the TightVNC extension to the VNC protocol where Cursor Positions Updates are sent back to all connected clients (i.e. passive viewers can see the mouse cursor being moved around by another viewer)? @@ -1644,7 +1800,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log libvncserver CVS -cursorpos is the default. See -nocursorpos and -nocursorshape. - Q-33: Is it possible to swap the mouse buttons (e.g. left-handed + Q-36: Is it possible to swap the mouse buttons (e.g. left-handed operation), or arbitrarily remap them? How about mapping button clicks to keystrokes, e.g. to partially emulate Mouse wheel scrolling? @@ -1693,7 +1849,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log (yes, this is getting a little silly). - Q-34: When I drag windows around with the mouse or scroll up and down + Q-37: When I drag windows around with the mouse or scroll up and down things really bog down (unless I do the drag in a single, quick motion). Is there anything to do to improve things? @@ -1709,7 +1865,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log some circumstances when you want to see the visual feedback while dragging (e.g. menu traversal or text selection). - Q-35: I have lots of memory, but why does x11vnc fail with shmget: + Q-38: I have lots of memory, but why does x11vnc fail with shmget: No space left on device or Minor opcode of failed request: 1 (X_ShmAttach)? @@ -1727,7 +1883,7 @@ mp/x11vnc_sh.log 19/03/2004 10:10:58 error creating tile-row shm for len=4 19/03/2004 10:10:58 reverting to single_copytile mode - Here is a shell script [111]shm_clear to list and prompt for removal + Here is a shell script [133]shm_clear to list and prompt for removal of your unattached shm segments (attached ones are skipped). I use it while debugging x11vnc (I use shm_clear -y to assume "yes" for each prompt). If x11vnc is regularly not cleaning up its shm segments, @@ -1765,10 +1921,10 @@ ied) -fs 1.0 knocks it down to 2). If you are having much trouble with shm segments, consider disabling shm completely via the -noshm option. Performance will be somewhat degraded but when done over local machine - sockets it should be acceptable (see an [112]earlier question + sockets it should be acceptable (see an [134]earlier question discussing -noshm). - Q-36: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources? + Q-39: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources? The -nap and "-wait n" (where n is the sleep between polls in milliseconds, the default is 30 or so) option are good places to @@ -1777,7 +1933,7 @@ ied) -onetile option will use less memory and use fewer shared memory slots (add -fs 1.0 for one less slot). - Q-37: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources? + Q-40: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources? You can try -threads and dial down the wait time (e.g. -wait 1) and possibly dial down -defer as well. Note that if you try to increase @@ -1789,7 +1945,7 @@ ied) the x11vnc -id option) can be streamed over a LAN or wireless at a reasonable frame rate. - Q-38: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g. dialup + Q-41: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g. dialup modem), is there anything I can do to speed things up? Some things you might want to experiment with (most of which will help @@ -1813,7 +1969,7 @@ ied) worth it, but could be of use in some situations. VNC viewer parameters: - * Use a [113]TightVNC enabled viewer! + * Use a [135]TightVNC enabled viewer! * Make sure the tight encoding is being used (look at vncviewer and x11vnc outputs) * Request 8 bits per pixel using -bgr233 (up to 4X speedup over @@ -1849,7 +2005,7 @@ ied) * Use -nocursor (repainting the remote cursor position and shape takes resources and round trips) - Q-39: How can I get my AltGr and Shift modifiers to work between + Q-42: How can I get my AltGr and Shift modifiers to work between keyboards for different languages? The option -modtweak should be of some use for this. It is a mode that @@ -1861,12 +2017,12 @@ ied) default (use -nomodtweak to get the old behavior). This was done because it was noticed on newer XFree86 setups even on bland "us" keyboards like "pc104 us" XFree86 included a "ghost" key with both "<" - and ">" it. This key does not exist on the keyboard (see [114]this FAQ + and ">" it. This key does not exist on the keyboard (see [136]this FAQ for more info). Without -modtweak there was then an ambiguity in the reverse map keysym => keycode, making it so the "<" symbol could not be typed. - Also see the [115]FAQ about the -xkb option for a more powerful method + Also see the [137]FAQ about the -xkb option for a more powerful method of modifier tweaking for use on X servers with the XKEYBOARD extension. @@ -1874,7 +2030,7 @@ ied) -debug_keyboard option prints out much info for every keystroke and so can be useful debugging things. - Q-40: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">" + Q-43: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">" (i.e. greater than)! Strangely, typing ">" works OK!! Does your keyboard have a single key with both "<" and ">" on it? Even @@ -1927,14 +2083,14 @@ ied) the keysym comma when it comes in from a client (so when Shift is down the comma press will yield "<"). - See also the [116]FAQ about the -xkb option as a possible workaround + See also the [138]FAQ about the -xkb option as a possible workaround using the XKEYBOARD extension. Note that of Jul/2004 in the libvncserver CVS the -modtweak option is now that default. Note that the -debug_keyboard option prints out much info for every keystroke to aid debugging keyboard problems. - Q-41: I'm using an "international" keyboard (e.g. German "de", or + Q-44: I'm using an "international" keyboard (e.g. German "de", or Danish "dk") and the -modtweak mode works well if the VNC viewer is run on a Unix/Linux machine with a similar keyboard. But if I run the VNC viewer on Unix/Linux with a different keyboard (e.g. "us") or @@ -2022,7 +2178,7 @@ ied) is received from a VNC viewer, and only after that would -add_keysyms, or anything else, come into play. - Q-42: When typing I sometimes get double, triple, or more of my + Q-45: When typing I sometimes get double, triple, or more of my keystrokes repeated. I'm sure I only typed them once, what can I do? This may be due to an interplay between your X server's key autorepeat @@ -2060,7 +2216,7 @@ ied) someone is also working at the physical display and misses his autorepeating. - Q-43: The machine where I run x11vnc has an AltGr key, but the local + Q-46: The machine where I run x11vnc has an AltGr key, but the local machine where I run the VNC viewer does not. Is there a way I can map a local unused key to send an AltGr? How about a Compose key as well? @@ -2074,7 +2230,7 @@ ied) Super_R-Mode_switch,Menu-Multi_key" or use "-remap filename" to specify remappings from a file. - Q-44: I have a Sun machine I run x11vnc on. Its Sun keyboard has just + Q-47: I have a Sun machine I run x11vnc on. Its Sun keyboard has just one Alt key labelled "Alt" and two Meta keys labelled with little diamonds. The machine where I run the VNC viewer only has Alt keys. How can I send a Meta keypress? (e.g. emacs needs this) @@ -2091,7 +2247,7 @@ ied) send Alt_L in this case, maybe -remap Super_L-Meta_L would be a better choice. - Q-45: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote + Q-48: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote machine? This can be done directly in some X servers using AccessX and @@ -2113,7 +2269,7 @@ ied) are generated immediately on the x11vnc side. When the key is released (i.e. goes up) no events are generated. - Q-46: The remote display is larger (in number of pixels) than the + Q-49: The remote display is larger (in number of pixels) than the local display I am running the vncviewer on. I don't like the vncviewer scrollbars, what I can do? @@ -2131,10 +2287,10 @@ ied) There may also be scaling viewers out there (e.g. TightVNC on Windows) that automatically shrink or expand the remote framebuffer to fit the - local display. Especially for hand-held devices. See also [117]this + local display. Especially for hand-held devices. See also [139]this FAQ - Q-47: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g. to + Q-50: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g. to make the desktop smaller). As of Jun/2004 in the libvncserver CVS x11vnc provides basic @@ -2181,7 +2337,7 @@ ied) different scalings listening on separate ports (-rfbport option, etc.). - Q-48: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors joined + Q-51: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors joined together to form one big, single screen). Yes, it should generally work because it simply polls the big @@ -2208,7 +2364,7 @@ ied) function. (This may be due to a bug in the X server for XTEST when Xinerama is enabled). - Q-49: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not Xinerama + Q-52: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not Xinerama (i.e. separate screens :0.0, :0.1, ... for each monitor)? You can, but it is a little bit awkward: you must start separate @@ -2226,17 +2382,17 @@ ied) Note: if you are running on Solaris 8 or earlier you can easily hit up against the maximum of 6 shm segments per process (for Xsun in this case) from running multiple x11vnc processes. You should modify - /etc/system as mentioned in another [118]FAQ to increase the limit. It + /etc/system as mentioned in another [140]FAQ to increase the limit. It is probably also a good idea to run with the -onetile option in this case (to limit each x11vnc to 3 shm segments), or even -noshm to use no shm segments. - Q-50: Why is the view in my VNC viewer completely black? Or why is + Q-53: Why is the view in my VNC viewer completely black? Or why is everything flashing around randomly? See the next FAQ for a possible explanation. - Q-51: I use Linux Virtual Consoles (VC's) to implement 'Fast User + Q-54: I use Linux Virtual Consoles (VC's) to implement 'Fast User Switching' between users' sessions (e.g. Betty is on Ctrl-Alt-F7, Bobby is on Ctrl-Alt-F8, and Sid is on Ctrl-Alt-F1: they use those keystrokes to switch between their sessions). How come the view in a @@ -2263,7 +2419,7 @@ ied) x11vnc can poll it), one can use the switchto(1) command, e.g. "switchto 7" for VC #7. - Q-52: Does the Clipboard/Selection get transferred between the + Q-55: Does the Clipboard/Selection get transferred between the vncviewer and the X display? As of Jan/2004 in the libvncserver CVS x11vnc supports the "CutText" @@ -2273,7 +2429,7 @@ ied) want the PRIMARY selection to be polled for changes use the -noprimary option. - Q-53: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when typing + Q-56: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when typing tput bel in an xterm)? As of Dec/2003 in the libvncserver CVS "Beep" XBell events are tracked @@ -2285,135 +2441,160 @@ ied) want to hear the audio from the remote applications, consider trying a redirector such as esd. - Q-54: I am using x11vnc where my local machine has "popup/hidden + Q-57: I am using x11vnc where my local machine has "popup/hidden taskbars" (e.g. GNOME or MacOS X) and the remote display where x11vnc runs also has "popup/hidden taskbars" (e.g. GNOME). When I move the mouse to the edge of the screen where the popups happen, the taskbars interfere and fight with each other in strange ways. What can I do? - No useful answer so far. Is there a way to temporarily disable one or - both of these magic desktop taskbars? + Is there a way to temporarily disable one or both of these magic + desktop taskbars? One x11vnc user suggests: it should be + straightforward to right mouse click on the task bar panel, and + uncheck "enable auto-hide" from the panel properties dialog box. This + will make the panel always visible. References 1. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq 2. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#downloading 3. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#building - 4. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/ - 5. http://www.realvnc.com/ - 6. http://www.tightvnc.com/ - 7. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#downloading - 8. http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/freeware/ - 9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html - 10. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#accept - 11. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwd - 12. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwdfile - 13. http://sourceforge.net/projects/libvncserver/ - 14. http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=32584&package_id=119006&release_id=257442 - 15. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc.c - 16. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#binaries - 17. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/rx11vnc - 18. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/rx11vnc.pl - 19. 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http://www.deboer.gmxhome.de/ - 92. http://sourceforge.net/projects/win2vnc/ - 93. http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html - 94. http://freshmeat.net/projects/x2x/ - 95. http://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/SRC/x2x/ - 96. http://zapek.com/software/zvnc/ - 97. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#8bpp - 98. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/overlays - 99. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#inetd - 100. ftp://ftp.x.org/ - 101. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/dtVncPopup - 102. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwdfile - 103. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling - 104. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling - 105. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling - 106. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling - 107. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/blockdpy.c - 108. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc.c - 109. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_loop - 110. http://www.tightvnc.com/ - 111. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/shm_clear - 112. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#noshm - 113. http://www.tightvnc.com/ - 114. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#greaterless - 115. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#xkbmodtweak - 116. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#xkbmodtweak - 117. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#scaling - 118. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solshm + 4. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq + 5. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#contact + 6. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/ + 7. http://www.realvnc.com/ + 8. http://www.tightvnc.com/ + 9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#downloading + 10. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html + 11. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#xperms + 12. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#viewer-download + 13. http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/freeware/ + 14. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html + 15. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#accept + 16. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwd + 17. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwdfile + 18. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#allow_opt + 19. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tcp_wrappers + 20. http://sourceforge.net/projects/libvncserver/ + 21. http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=32584&package_id=119006&release_id=257442 + 22. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc.c + 23. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#binaries + 24. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html + 25. http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html + 26. http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ + 27. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/rx11vnc + 28. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/rx11vnc.pl + 29. ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/ + 30. http://www.gzip.org/zlib/ + 31. http://www.sunfreeware.com/ + 32. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solaris251build + 33. http://www.tightvnc.com/ + 34. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html + 35. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwd + 36. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/recurse_x11vnc.jpg + 37. http://wwws.sun.com/sunray/index.html + 38. mailto:xvml@karlrunge.com + 39. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-1 + 40. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-2 + 41. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-3 + 42. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-4 + 43. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-5 + 44. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-6 + 45. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-7 + 46. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-8 + 47. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-9 + 48. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-10 + 49. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-11 + 50. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-12 + 51. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-13 + 52. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-14 + 53. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-15 + 54. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-16 + 55. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-17 + 56. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-18 + 57. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-19 + 58. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-20 + 59. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-21 + 60. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-22 + 61. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-23 + 62. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-24 + 63. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-25 + 64. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-26 + 65. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-27 + 66. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-28 + 67. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-29 + 68. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-30 + 69. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-31 + 70. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-32 + 71. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-33 + 72. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-34 + 73. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-35 + 74. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-36 + 75. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-37 + 76. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-38 + 77. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-39 + 78. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-40 + 79. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-41 + 80. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-42 + 81. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-43 + 82. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-44 + 83. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-45 + 84. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-46 + 85. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-47 + 86. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-48 + 87. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-49 + 88. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-50 + 89. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-51 + 90. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-52 + 91. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-53 + 92. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-54 + 93. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-55 + 94. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-56 + 95. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#FAQ-57 + 96. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solarisbuilding + 97. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#building + 98. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#buildfaq + 99. http://packages.debian.org/x11vnc + 100. http://www.linuxpackages.net/search_view.php?by=name&name=x11vnc + 101. http://dag.wieers.com/packages/x11vnc/ + 102. http://www.bell-labs.com/project/wwexptools/packages.html + 103. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solarisbuilding + 104. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html + 105. http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html + 106. http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ + 107. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html + 108. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling + 109. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwd + 110. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwdfile + 111. http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html + 112. http://www.hubbe.net/~hubbe/win2vnc.html + 113. http://www.deboer.gmxhome.de/ + 114. http://sourceforge.net/projects/win2vnc/ + 115. http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html + 116. http://freshmeat.net/projects/x2x/ + 117. http://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/SRC/x2x/ + 118. http://zapek.com/software/zvnc/ + 119. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#8bpp + 120. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#overlays + 121. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#inetd + 122. ftp://ftp.x.org/ + 123. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/dtVncPopup + 124. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#passwdfile + 125. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling + 126. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling + 127. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling + 128. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling + 129. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/blockdpy.c + 130. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc.c + 131. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_loop + 132. http://www.tightvnc.com/ + 133. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/shm_clear + 134. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#noshm + 135. http://www.tightvnc.com/ + 136. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#greaterless + 137. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#xkbmodtweak + 138. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#xkbmodtweak + 139. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#scaling + 140. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solshm ======================================================================= @@ -2426,8 +2607,8 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays Here are all of x11vnc command line options: % x11vnc -help -x11vnc: allow VNC connections to real X11 displays. 0.6.3pre lastmod: 2004-08-2 -9 +x11vnc: allow VNC connections to real X11 displays. 0.6.3pre lastmod: 2004-12-1 +6 Typical usage is: @@ -2440,15 +2621,17 @@ Typical usage is: vncviewer far-host:0 -Once x11vnc establishes connections with the X11 server and starts -listening as a VNC server it will print out a string: PORT=XXXX where -XXXX is typically 5900 (the default VNC port). One would next run something -like this on the local machine: "vncviewer host:N" where N is XXXX - 5900, -i.e. usually "vncviewer host:0" +Once x11vnc establishes connections with the X11 server and starts listening +as a VNC server it will print out a string: PORT=XXXX where XXXX is typically +5900 (the default VNC server port). One would next run something like +this on the local machine: "vncviewer hostname:N" where "hostname" is +the name of the machine running x11vnc and N is XXXX - 5900, i.e. usually +"vncviewer hostname:0". -By default x11vnc will not allow the screen to be shared and it will -exit as soon as a client disconnects. See -shared and -forever below -to override these protections. +By default x11vnc will not allow the screen to be shared and it will exit +as soon as a client disconnects. See -shared and -forever below to override +these protections. See the FAQ on how to tunnel the VNC connection through +an encrypted channel such as ssh(1). For additional info see: http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ and http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/#faq @@ -2475,36 +2658,54 @@ Options: -id windowid Show the window corresponding to "windowid" not the entire display. New windows like popup menus, - etc may not be seen, or will be clipped. x11vnc may - crash if the window changes size, is iconified, etc. - Use xwininfo(1) to get the window id. Primarily useful - for exporting very simple applications. + transient toplevels, etc, may not be seen or may be + clipped. Disabling SaveUnders or BackingStore in the + X server may help show them. x11vnc may crash if the + window is initially partially obscured, changes size, + is iconified, etc. Some steps are taken to avoid this + and the -xrandr mechanism is used to track resizes. Use + xwininfo(1) to get the window id, or use "-id pick" + to have x11vnc run xwininfo(1) for you and extract + the id. The -id option is useful for exporting very + simple applications (e.g. the current view on a webcam). -sid windowid As -id, but instead of using the window directly it - shifts a root view to it: this shows saveUnders menus, + shifts a root view to it: this shows SaveUnders menus, etc, although they will be clipped if they extend beyond the window. -flashcmap In 8bpp indexed color, let the installed colormap flash as the pointer moves from window to window (slow). -notruecolor For 8bpp displays, force indexed color (i.e. a colormap) even if it looks like 8bpp TrueColor. (rare problem) +-visual n Experimental option: probably does not do what you + think. It simply *forces* the visual used for the + framebuffer; this may be a bad thing... (e.g. messes + up colors or cause a crash). It is useful for testing + and for some workarounds. n may be a decimal number, + or 0x hex. Run xdpyinfo(1) for the values. One may + also use "TrueColor", etc. see <X11/X.h> for a list. + If the string ends in ":m" for better or for worse + the visual depth is forced to be m. -overlay Handle multiple depth visuals on one screen, e.g. 8+24 and 24+8 overlay visuals (the 32 bits per pixel are packed with 8 for PseudoColor and 24 for TrueColor). - Currently -overlay only works on Solaris (it uses - XReadScreen(3X11)). There is a problem with image - "bleeding" around transient popup menus (but not - for the menu itself): a workaround is to disable - SaveUnders by passing the "-su" argument to Xsun - (in /etc/dt/config/Xservers, say). Also note that, - the mouse cursor shape is exactly correct in this mode. + Currently -overlay only works on Solaris via + XReadScreen(3X11) and IRIX using XReadDisplay(3). + On Solaris there is a problem with image "bleeding" + around transient popup menus (but not for the menu + itself): a workaround is to disable SaveUnders + by passing the "-su" argument to Xsun (in + /etc/dt/config/Xservers). Also note that the mouse + cursor shape is exactly correct in this mode. Use -overlay as a workaround for situations like these: Some legacy applications require the default visual be 8bpp (8+24), or they will use 8bpp PseudoColor even when the default visual is depth 24 TrueColor (24+8). In these cases colors in some windows will be messed - up in x11vnc unless -overlay is used. + up in x11vnc unless -overlay is used. Another use of + -overlay is to enable showing the exact mouse cursor + shape (details below). Under -overlay, performance will be somewhat degraded due to the extra image transformations required. @@ -2514,22 +2715,15 @@ Options: visual (some apps have -use24 or -visual options). -overlay_nocursor Sets -overlay, but does not try to draw the exact mouse cursor shape using the overlay mechanism. --visual n Experimental option: probably does not do what you - think. It simply *forces* the visual used for the - framebuffer; this may be a bad thing... It is useful for - testing and for some workarounds. n may be a decimal - number, or 0x hex. Run xdpyinfo(1) for the values. - One may also use "TrueColor", etc. see <X11/X.h> - for a list. If the string ends in ":m" for better - or for worse the visual depth is forced to be m. - --scale fraction Scale the framebuffer by factor "fraction". - Values less than 1 shrink the fb. Note: image may not - be sharp and response may be slower. Currently the - cursor shape is not scaled. If "fraction" contains - a decimal point "." it is taken as a floating point - number, alternatively the notation "m/n" may be used - to denote fractions exactly, e.g. -scale 2/3. + +-scale fraction Scale the framebuffer by factor "fraction". Values + less than 1 shrink the fb, larger ones expand it. + Note: image may not be sharp and response may be + slower. Currently the cursor shape is not scaled. + If "fraction" contains a decimal point "." it + is taken as a floating point number, alternatively + the notation "m/n" may be used to denote fractions + exactly, e.g. -scale 2/3. Scaling Options: can be added after "fraction" via ":", to supply multiple ":" options use commas. @@ -2548,6 +2742,10 @@ Options: disconnects, opposite of -forever. This is the Default. -forever Keep listening for more connections rather than exiting as soon as the first client(s) disconnect. Same as -many +-inetd Launched by inetd(1): stdio instead of listening socket. + Note: if you are not redirecting stderr to a log file + (via shell 2> or -o option) you must also specify the + -q option, otherwise the stderr goes to the viewer. -connect string For use with "vncviewer -listen" reverse connections. If "string" has the form "host" or "host:port" the connection is made once at startup. Use commas @@ -2559,21 +2757,17 @@ Options: -novncconnect VNC program vncconnect(1). When the property is set to "host" or "host:port" establish a reverse connection. Using xprop(1) instead of vncconnect may - work, see the FAQ. Default: -vncconnect --inetd Launched by inetd(1): stdio instead of listening socket. - Note: if you are not redirecting stderr to a log file - (via shell 2> or -o option) you must also specify the - -q option. - --allow addr1[,addr2..] Only allow client connections from IP addresses matching - the comma separated list of numerical addresses. - Can be a prefix, e.g. "192.168.100." to match a - simple subnet, for more control build libvncserver - with libwrap support. If the list contains a "/" - it instead is a interpreted as a file containing - addresses or prefixes that is re-read each time a new - client connects. Lines can be commented out with the - "#" character in the usual way. + work (see the FAQ). Default: -vncconnect + +-allow host1[,host2..] Only allow client connections from hosts matching + the comma separated list of hostnames or IP addresses. + Can also be a numerical IP prefix, e.g. "192.168.100." + to match a simple subnet, for more control build + libvncserver with libwrap support (See the FAQ). If the + list contains a "/" it instead is a interpreted as a + file containing addresses or prefixes that is re-read + each time a new client connects. Lines can be commented + out with the "#" character in the usual way. -localhost Same as -allow 127.0.0.1 -viewpasswd string Supply a 2nd password for view-only logins. The -passwd (full-access) password must also be supplied. @@ -2582,7 +2776,7 @@ Options: If a second non blank line exists in the file it is taken as a view-only password (i.e. -viewpasswd) Note: this is a simple plaintext passwd, see also -rfbauth - and -storepasswd below. + and -storepasswd below for obfuscated passwords. -storepasswd pass file Store password "pass" as the VNC password in the file "file". Once the password is stored the program exits. Use the password via "-rfbauth file" @@ -2591,10 +2785,10 @@ Options: should be allowed to connect or not. "string" is an external command run via system(3) or some special cases described below. Be sure to quote "string" - if it contains spaces, etc. If the external command - returns 0 the client is accepted, otherwise the client - is rejected. See below for an extension to accept a - client view-only. + if it contains spaces, shell characters, etc. If the + external command returns 0 the client is accepted, + otherwise the client is rejected. See below for an + extension to accept a client view-only. Environment: The RFB_CLIENT_IP environment variable will be set to the incoming client IP number and the port @@ -2604,7 +2798,7 @@ Options: of the tcp virtual circuit. The x11vnc process id will be in RFB_X11VNC_PID, a client id number in RFB_CLIENT_ID, and the number of other connected clients - in RFB_CLIENT_COUNT. + in RFB_CLIENT_COUNT. RFB_MODE will be "accept" If "string" is "popup" then a builtin popup window is used. The popup will time out after 120 seconds, @@ -2612,7 +2806,8 @@ Options: (use 0 for no timeout) If "string" is "xmessage" then an xmessage(1) - invocation is used for the command. + invocation is used for the command. xmessage must be + installed on the machine for this to work. Both "popup" and "xmessage" will present an option for accepting the client "View-Only" (the client @@ -2628,19 +2823,23 @@ Options: the default action (in case the command returns an unexpected value). E.g. "no:*" is a good choice. - Note that x11vnc blocks while the external command or + Note that x11vnc blocks while the external command or popup is running (other clients may see no updates during this period). More -accept tricks: use "popupmouse" to only allow mouse clicks in the builtin popup to be recognized. - Similarly use "popupkey" to only recognize keystroke - responses. All 3 of the popup keywords can be followed + Similarly use "popupkey" to only recognize + keystroke responses. These are to help avoid the + user accidentally accepting a client by typing or + clicking. All 3 of the popup keywords can be followed by +N+M to supply a position for the popup window. The default is to center the popup window. -gone string As -accept, except to run a user supplied command when - a client goes away (disconnects). Unlike -accept, - the command return code is not interpreted by x11vnc. + a client goes away (disconnects). RFB_MODE will be + set to "gone" and the other RFB_* variables are as + in -accept. Unlike -accept, the command return code + is not interpreted by x11vnc. Example: -gone 'xlock &' -noshm Do not use the MIT-SHM extension for the polling. Remote displays can be polled this way: be careful this @@ -2663,8 +2862,44 @@ Options: In general on XINERAMA displays you may need to use the -xwarppointer option if the mouse pointer misbehaves. +-xrandr [mode] If the display supports the XRANDR (X Resize, Rotate + and Reflection) extension, and you expect XRANDR events + to occur to the display while x11vnc is running, this + options indicates x11vnc should try to respond to + them (as opposed to simply crashing by assuming the + old screen size). See the xrandr(1) manpage and run + 'xrandr -q' for more info. [mode] is optional and + described below. + + Since watching for XRANDR events and errors increases + polling overhead, only use this option if XRANDR changes + are expected. For example on a rotatable screen PDA or + laptop, or using a XRANDR-aware Desktop where you resize + often. It is best to be viewing with a vncviewer that + supports the NewFBSize encoding, since it knows how to + react to screen size changes. Otherwise, libvncserver + tries to do so something reasonable for viewers that + cannot do this (portions of the screen may be clipped, + unused, etc). + + "mode" defaults to "resize", which means create a + new, resized, framebuffer and hope all viewers can cope + with the change. "newfbsize" means first disconnect + all viewers that do not support the NewFBSize VNC + encoding, and then resize the framebuffer. "exit" + means disconnect all viewer clients, and then terminate + x11vnc. +-padgeom WxH Whenever a new vncviewer connects, the framebuffer is + replaced with a fake, solid black one of geometry WxH. + Shortly afterwards the framebuffer is replaced with the + real one. This is intended for use with vncviewers + that do not support NewFBSize and one wants to make + sure the initial viewer geometry will be big enough + to handle all subsequent resizes (e.g. under -xrandr, + -remote id:windowid, rescaling, etc. + -o logfile Write stderr messages to file "logfile" instead of - to the terminal. Same as -logfile "file". + to the terminal. Same as "-logfile file". -rc filename Use "filename" instead of $HOME/.x11vncrc for rc file. -norc Do not process any .x11vncrc file for options. -h, -help Print this help text. @@ -2688,16 +2923,18 @@ Options: identical keyboards). Also useful in resolving cases where a Keysym is bound to multiple keys (e.g. "<" + ">" and "," + "<" keys). Default: -modtweak --xkb When in modtweak mode, use the XKEYBOARD extension - (if it exists) to do the modifier tweaking. This is - powerful and should be tried if there are still - keymapping problems when using the simpler -modtweak. --skip_keycodes string Skip keycodes not on your keyboard but your X server - thinks exist. Currently only applies to -xkb mode. - "string" is a comma separated list of decimal - keycodes. Use this option to help x11vnc in the reverse - problem it tries to solve: Keysym -> Keycode(s) when - ambiguities exist. E.g. -skip_keycodes 94,114 +-xkb When in modtweak mode, use the XKEYBOARD extension (if + the X display supports it) to do the modifier tweaking. + This is powerful and should be tried if there are still + keymapping problems when using -modtweak by itself. +-skip_keycodes string Ignore the comma separated list of decimal keycodes. + Perhaps these are keycodes not on your keyboard but + your X server thinks exist. Currently only applies + to -xkb mode. Use this option to help x11vnc in the + reverse problem it tries to solve: Keysym -> Keycode(s) + when ambiguities exist (more than one Keycode per + Keysym). Run 'xmodmap -pk' to see your keymapping. + E.g. "-skip_keycodes 94,114" -add_keysyms If a Keysym is received from a VNC viewer and that Keysym does not exist in the X server, then add the Keysym to the X server's keyboard mapping. @@ -2716,8 +2953,8 @@ Options: form: key1-key2,key3-key4,... See <X11/keysymdef.h> header file for a list of Keysym names, or use xev(1). To map a key to a button click, use the - fake Keysyms "Button1", ..., etc. - E.g. -remap Super_R-Button2 + fake Keysyms "Button1", ..., etc. E.g. "-remap + Super_R-Button2" (useful for pasting on a laptop) -norepeat Option -norepeat disables X server key auto repeat -repeat when VNC clients are connected. This works around a repeating keystrokes bug (triggered by long processing @@ -2725,7 +2962,7 @@ Options: either from large screen changes or high latency). Note: your VNC viewer side will likely do autorepeating, so this is no loss unless someone is simultaneously at - the real X display. Default: -repeat + the real X display. Default: -norepeat -nofb Ignore video framebuffer: only process keyboard and pointer. Intended for use with Win2VNC and x2vnc @@ -2750,26 +2987,35 @@ Options: network traffic by not having to send the cursor image every time the pointer is moved), in which case these extensions are used (see -nocursorshape and -nocursorpos - below). For other viewers the cursor shape is written - directly to the framebuffer every time the pointer is - moved or changed and gets sent along with the other - framebuffer updates. In this case, there will be - some lag between the vnc viewer pointer and the remote - cursor position. + below to disable). For other viewers the cursor shape + is written directly to the framebuffer every time the + pointer is moved or changed and gets sent along with + the other framebuffer updates. In this case, there + will be some lag between the vnc viewer pointer and + the remote cursor position. If the X display supports retrieving the cursor shape - information from the X server, then the default - is to use that mode. On Solaris this requires - the SUN_OVL extension and the -overlay option to be - supplied. (see also the -overlay_nomouse option). (Soon) - on XFree86/Xorg the XFIXES extension is required. - Either can be disabled with -nocursor, and also some - values of the "mode" option below. + information from the X server, then the default is + to use that mode. On Solaris this can be done with + the SUN_OVL extension using -overlay (see also the + -overlay_nomouse option). A similar overlay scheme + is used on IRIX. Xorg (e.g. Linux) and recent Solaris + Xsun servers support the XFIXES extension to retrieve + the exact cursor shape from the X server. If XFIXES + is present it is preferred over Overlay and is used by + default (see -noxfixes below). This can be disabled + with -nocursor, and also some values of the "mode" + option below. The "mode" string can be used to fine-tune the displaying of cursor shapes. It can be used the following ways: + "-cursor arrow" - just show the standard arrow + nothing more or nothing less. + + "-cursor none" - same as "-nocursor" + "-cursor X" - when the cursor appears to be on the root window, draw the familiar X shape. Some desktops such as GNOME cover up the root window completely, @@ -2786,21 +3032,24 @@ Options: more feedback about the cursor shape. "-cursor most" - try to show as many cursors as - possible. Often this will only be the same as "some". - On Solaris if XFIXES is not available, -overlay mode - will be used. + possible. Often this will only be the same as "some" + unless the display has overlay visuals or XFIXES + extensions available. On Solaris and IRIX if XFIXES + is not available, -overlay mode will be attempted. +-noxfixes Do not use the XFIXES extension to draw the exact cursor + shape even if it is available. -nocursorshape Do not use the TightVNC CursorShapeUpdates extension even if clients support it. See -cursor above. -cursorpos Option -cursorpos enables sending the X cursor position -nocursorpos back to all vnc clients that support the TightVNC CursorPosUpdates extension. Other clients will be able to see the pointer motions. Default: -cursorpos --xwarppointer Move the pointer with XWarpPointer(3X) instead of XTEST - extension. Use this as a workaround if the pointer - motion behaves incorrectly, e.g. on touchscreens or - other non-standard setups. Also sometimes needed on - XINERAMA displays. +-xwarppointer Move the pointer with XWarpPointer(3X) instead of + the XTEST extension. Use this as a workaround + if the pointer motion behaves incorrectly, e.g. + on touchscreens or other non-standard setups. + Also sometimes needed on XINERAMA displays. -buttonmap string String to remap mouse buttons. Format: IJK-LMN, this maps buttons I -> L, etc., e.g. -buttonmap 13-31 @@ -2830,12 +3079,24 @@ Options: improves response on slow setups, but you lose all visual feedback for drags, text selection, and some menu traversals. --old_pointer Do not use the new pointer input handling mechanisms. - See check_input() and pointer() in source file for - details. --input_skip n For the old pointer handling when non-threaded: try to +-pointer_mode n Various pointer update schemes. The problem is pointer + motion can cause rapid changes on the screen, e.g. a + window drag. Neither x11vnc nor the bandwidth to the + vncviewers can keep up these rapid screen changes: + everything bogs down when dragging or scrolling. + Note that most video h/w is optimized for writing, not + reading (a 50X rate difference is possible) and x11vnc + is reading all the time. So a scheme has to be used to + "eat" much of that pointer input before re-polling the + screen. n can be 1 to 4. n=1 was the original scheme + used to about Jan 2004. n=2 is an improved scheme. + n=3 is basically a dynamic -nodragging mode: it detects + if the mouse drag motion has paused and refreshes + the display. n=4 is TBD. The default n is 2. +-input_skip n For the pointer handling when non-threaded: try to read n user input events before scanning display. n < 0 means to act as though there is always user input. + Default: 10 -debug_pointer Print debugging output for every pointer event. -debug_keyboard Print debugging output for every keyboard event. @@ -2843,11 +3104,14 @@ Options: times for more output. -defer time Time in ms to wait for updates before sending to client - [rfbDeferUpdateTime] Default: 30 + (deferUpdateTime) Default: 30 -wait time Time in ms to pause between screen polls. Used to cut down on load. Default: 30 -nap Monitor activity and if low take longer naps between polls to really cut down load when idle. Default: off +-sb time Time in seconds after NO activity (e.g. screen blank) + to really throttle down the screen polls (i.e. sleep + for about 1.5 secs). Use 0 to disable. Default: 60 -sigpipe string Broken pipe (SIGPIPE) handling. "string" can be "ignore" or "exit". For "ignore" libvncserver @@ -2867,6 +3131,311 @@ Options: -fuzz n Tolerance in pixels to mark a tiles edges as changed. Default: 2 +-gui [gui-opts] Start up a simple tcl/tk gui based on the the remote + control options -remote/-query described below. + "gui-opts" is not required: the default is to start + up both the gui and x11vnc with the gui showing up on + the X display in the environment variable DISPLAY. + + "gui-opts" can be a comma separated list of items. + Currently there are only two types of items: 1) a gui + mode and 2) the X display the gui should display on. + The gui mode can be "start", "conn", or "wait" + "start" is the default mode above and is not required. + "conn" means do not automatically start up x11vnc, + but instead just try to connect to an existing x11vnc + process. "wait" means just start the gui and nothing + else (you will later instruct the gui to start x11vnc + or connect to one.) + + Note the possible confusion regarding the potentially + two X displays: x11vnc polls one, but you may want the + gui to appear on another. For example, if you ssh in + and x11vnc is not running yet you may want the gui to + come back to you via your ssh redirected X display + (e.g. localhost:10). + + Examples: "x11vnc -gui", "x11vnc -gui localhost:10", + "x11vnc -gui :10", "x11vnc -gui wait,:10", + "x11vnc -gui <x11vnc-opts...>" + + If you do not specify a gui X display in "gui-opts" + then the DISPLAY environment variable and -display + option are tried (in that order). Regarding the x11vnc + X display the gui will try to connect to, it first + tries -display and then DISPLAY. For example, "x11vnc + -display :0 -gui otherhost:0", will remote control an + x11vnc polling :0 and display the gui on otherhost:0 + + If you do not intend to start x11vnc from the gui + (i.e. just remote control an existing one), then the + gui process can run on a different machine from the + x11vnc server as long as X permissions, etc. permit + communication between the two. + +-remote command Remotely control some aspects of an already running + x11vnc server. "-R" and "-r" are aliases for + "-remote". After the remote control command is + sent to the running server the 'x11vnc -remote ...' + command exits. You can often use the -query command + (see below) to see if the x11vnc server processed your + -remote command. + + The default communication channel is that of X + properties (specifically VNC_CONNECT), and so this + command must be run with correct settings for DISPLAY + and possibly XAUTHORITY to connect to the X server + and set the property. Alternatively, use the -display + and -auth options to set them to the correct values. + The running server cannot use the -novncconnect option + because that disables the communication channel. + See below for alternate channels. + + For example: 'x11vnc -remote stop' (which is the same as + 'x11vnc -R stop') will close down the x11vnc server. + 'x11vnc -R shared' will enable shared connections, and + 'x11vnc -R scale:3/4' will rescale the desktop. + + Note: the more drastic the change induced by the -remote + command, the bigger the chance for bugs or crashes. + Please report reproducible bugs. + + The following -remote/-R commands are supported: + + stop terminate the server, same as "quit" + "exit" or "shutdown" + ping see if the x11vnc server responds. + Return is: ans=ping:<xdisplay> + blacken try to push a black fb update to all + clients (due to timings a client + could miss it). Same as "zero", also + "zero:x1,y1,x2,y2" for a rectangle. + refresh send the entire fb to all clients. + reset recreate the fb, polling mem, etc. + id:windowid set -id window to "windowid" + sid:windowid set -sid window to "windowid" + flashcmap enable -flashcmap mode. + noflashcmap disable -flashcmap mode. + notruecolor enable -notruecolor mode. + truecolor disable -notruecolor mode. + overlay enable -overlay mode (if applicable). + nooverlay disable -overlay mode. + overlay_cursor in -overlay mode, enable cursor drawing. + overlay_nocursor disable cursor drawing. same as + nooverlay_cursor. + visual:vis set -visual to "vis" + scale:frac set -scale to "frac" + viewonly enable -viewonly mode. + noviewonly disable -viewonly mode. + shared enable -shared mode. + noshared disable -shared mode. + forever enable -forever mode. + noforever disable -forever mode. + deny deny any new connections, same as "lock" + nodeny allow new connections, same as "unlock" + connect:host do reverse connection to host, "host" + may be a comma separated list of hosts + or host:ports. See -connect. + disconnect:host disconnect any clients from "host" + same as "close:host". Use host + "all" to close all current clients. + If you know the client internal hex ID, + e.g. 0x3 (returned by -query clients and + RFB_CLIENT_ID), you can use that too. + allowonce:host For the next connection only, allow + connection from "host". + allow:hostlist set -allow list to (comma separated) + "hostlist". See -allow and -localhost. + Do not use with -allow /path/to/file + Use "+host" to add a single host, and + use "-host" to delete a single host + localhost enable -localhost mode + nolocalhost disable -localhost mode + accept:cmd set -accept "cmd" (empty to disable). + gone:cmd set -gone "cmd" (empty to disable). + noshm enable -noshm mode. + shm disable -noshm mode (i.e. use shm). + flipbyteorder enable -flipbyteorder mode, you may need + to set noshm for this to do something. + noflipbyteorder disable -flipbyteorder mode. + onetile enable -onetile mode. (you may need to + set shm for this to do something) + noonetile disable -onetile mode. + blackout:str set -blackout "str" (empty to disable). + See -blackout for the form of "str" + (basically: WxH+X+Y,...) + Use "+WxH+X+Y" to append a single + rectangle use "-WxH+X+Y" to delete one + xinerama enable -xinerama mode. (if applicable) + noxinerama disable -xinerama mode. + xrandr enable -xrandr mode. (if applicable) + noxrandr disable -xrandr mode. + xrandr_mode:mode set the -xrandr mode to "mode". + padgeom:WxH set -padgeom to WxH (empty to disable) + If WxH is "force" or "do" the padded + geometry fb is immediately applied. + quiet enable -quiet mode. + noquiet disable -quiet mode. + modtweak enable -modtweak mode. + nomodtweak enable -nomodtweak mode. + xkb enable -xkb modtweak mode. + noxkb disable -xkb modtweak mode. + skip_keycodes:str enable -xkb -skip_keycodes "str". + add_keysyms enable -add_keysyms mode. + noadd_keysyms stop adding keysyms. those added will + still be removed at exit. + clear_mods enable -clear_mods mode and clear them. + noclear_mods disable -clear_mods mode. + clear_keys enable -clear_keys mode and clear them. + noclear_keys disable -clear_keys mode. + remap:str set -remap "str" (empty to disable). + See -remap for the form of "str" + (basically: key1-key2,key3-key4,...) + Use "+key1-key2" to append a single + keymapping, use "-key1-key2" to delete. + norepeat enable -norepeat mode. + repeat disable -norepeat mode. + bell enable bell (if supported). + nobell disable bell. + sel disable -nosel mode. + nosel enable -nosel mode. + primary disable -noprimary mode. + noprimary enable -noprimary mode. + cursor:mode enable -cursor "mode". + show_cursor enable showing a cursor. + noshow_cursor disable showing a cursor. (same as + "nocursor") + xfixes enable xfixes cursor shape mode. + noxfixes disable xfixes cursor shape mode. + cursorshape disable -nocursorshape mode. + nocursorshape enable -nocursorshape mode. + cursorpos disable -nocursorpos mode. + nocursorpos enable -nocursorpos mode. + xwarp enable -xwarppointer mode. + noxwarp disable -xwarppointer mode. + buttonmap:str set -buttonmap "str" empty to disable + dragging disable -nodragging mode. + nodragging enable -nodragging mode. + pointer_mode n set -pointer_mode to n. + input_skip n set -input_skip to n. + debug_pointer enable -debug_pointer, same as "dp" + nodebug_pointer disable -debug_pointer, same as "nodp" + debug_keyboard enable -debug_keyboard, same as "dk" + nodebug_keyboard disable -debug_keyboard, same as "nodk" + defer:n set -defer to n ms,same as deferupdate:n + wait:n set -wait to n ms. + nap enable -nap mode. + nonap disable -nap mode. + sb:n set -sb to n s, same as screen_blank:n + fs:frac set -fs fraction to "frac", e.g. 0.5 + gaps:n set -gaps to n. + grow:n set -grow to n. + fuzz:n set -fuzz to n. + progressive:n set libvncserver -progressive slice + height parameter to n. + file:name run -remote commands from file "name", + one command per line,blank and # skipped + noremote disable the -remote command processing, + it cannot be turned back on. + + The vncconnect(1) command from standard VNC + distributions may also be used if string is prefixed + with "cmd=" E.g. 'vncconnect cmd=stop'. Under some + circumstances xprop(1) can used if it supports -set + (see the FAQ). + + If "-connect /path/to/file" has been supplied to the + running x11vnc server then that file can be used as a + communication channel (this is the only way to remote + control one of many x11vnc's polling the same X display) + Simply run: 'x11vnc -connect /path/to/file -remote ...' + or you can directly write to the file via something + like: "echo cmd=stop > /path/to/file", etc. + +-query variable Like -remote, except just query the value of + "variable". "-Q" is an alias for "-query". + Multiple queries can be done by separating variables + by commas, e.g. -query var1,var2. The results come + back in the form ans=var1:value1,ans=var2:value2,... + to the standard output. If a variable is read-only, + it comes back with prefix "aro=" instead of "ans=". + + Some -remote commands are pure actions that do not make + sense as variables, e.g. "stop" or "disconnect", + in these cases the value returned is "N/A". To direct + a query straight to the VNC_CONNECT property or connect + file use "qry=..." instead of "cmd=..." + + Here is the current list of "variables" that can + be supplied to the -query command. This includes the + "N/A" ones that return no useful info. For variables + names that do not correspond to an x11vnc option or + remote command, we hope the name makes it obvious what + the returned value corresponds to (hint: the ext_* + variables correspond to the presence of X extensions): + + ans= stop quit exit shutdown ping blacken zero refresh + reset close disconnect id sid flashcmap noflashcmap + truecolor notruecolor overlay nooverlay overlay_cursor + overlay_yescursor nooverlay_cursor overlay_nocursor + visual scale viewonly noviewonly shared noshared + forever noforever once deny lock nodeny unlock connect + allowonce allow localhost nolocalhost accept gone shm + noshm flipbyteorder noflipbyteorder onetile noonetile + blackout xinerama noxinerama xrandr noxrandr xrandr_mode + padgeom quiet q noquiet modtweak nomodtweak xkb noxkb + skip_keycodes add_keysyms noadd_keysyms clear_mods + noclear_mods clear_keys noclear_keys remap repeat + norepeat bell nobell sel nosel primary noprimary + cursorshape nocursorshape cursorpos nocursorpos cursor + show_cursor noshow_cursor nocursor xfixes noxfixes xwarp + xwarppointer noxwarp noxwarppointer buttonmap dragging + nodragging pointer_mode input_skip debug_pointer dp + nodebug_pointer nodp debug_keyboard dk nodebug_keyboard + nodk deferupdate defer wait nap nonap sb screen_blank + fs gaps grow fuzz progressive noremote + + aro= display vncdisplay desktopname desktop auth + rootshift scale_str scaled_x scaled_y scale_numer + scale_denom scale_fac scaling_noblend scaling_nomult4 + scaling_pad scaling_interpolate inetd safer unsafe + passwdfile using_shm logfile o rc norc h help V version + lastmod bg nofb sigpipe threads clients client_count + pid ext_xtest ext_xkb ext_xshm ext_xinerama ext_overlay + ext_xfixes ext_xdamage ext_xrandr rootwin num_buttons + button_mask mouse_x mouse_y bpp depth indexed_color + dpy_x dpy_y rfbport rfbwait rfbauth passwd alwaysshared + dontdisconnect httpdir enablehttpproxy + +-noremote Do not process any remote control commands or queries. + + A note about security wrt remote control commands. + If someone can connect to the X display and change the + property VNC_CONNECT, then they can remotely control + x11vnc. Normally access to the X display is protected. + Note that if they can modify VNC_CONNECT, they could + also run their own x11vnc and have complete control + of the desktop. If the "-connect /path/to/file" + channel is being used, obviously anyone who can write + to /path/to/file can remotely control x11vnc. So be + sure to protect the X display and that file's write + permissions. + +-unsafe If x11vnc is running as root (e.g. inetd or Xsetup for + a display manager) a few remote commands are disabled + (currently: id:pick, accept:<cmd>, and gone:<cmd>) + because they are associated with running external + programs. If you specify -unsafe, then these remote + control commands are allowed when running as root. + When running as non-root all commands are allowed. + See -safer below. +-safer Even if not running as root, disable the above unsafe + remote control commands. + +-deny_all For use with -remote nodeny: start out denying all + incoming clients until "-remote nodeny" is used to + let them in. + These options are passed to libvncserver: @@ -2895,9 +3464,6 @@ yms (the -flashcmap only matters on old 8-bit X displays) - [2]Back to main x11vnc page - References 1. mailto:xvml@karlrunge.com - 2. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html |