About
A. 1.0 What is Input Director?
Input Director is a Windows application that allows you to control multiple Windows systems with a single keyboard/mouse connected to one of the computers.
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A. 1.1 Why would I want to use Input Director?
Many folks have more than one computer at home these days. Input Director is one solution to avoid having to switch between one keyboard/mouse and the other (and to avoid wearing out the carpet in the process)
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A. 1.2 How is Input Director best used?
Input Director is best used when two (or more computers) monitors are sat next to each on a desk, with the master system's keyboard/mouse positioned below them. (This is a similar configuration to one computer with multiple monitors).
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A. 1.3 Who wrote Input Director?
Input Director was written by Shane Richards. To contact him regarding Input Director, head over to
here
. Feel free to email if you find any bugs, have any suggestions for new features, etc.
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A. 1.4 What is the latest version?
The current production version is v1.2.2
The latest beta version is v1.3
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A. 1.5 Where can I download Input Director?
It can be downloaded from its primary web page, which is
http://www.inputdirector.com
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A. 1.6 How is Input Director licensed?
Input Director is free for personal non-commercial use. If you are a commercial entity wishing to use Input Director, please
contact the author.
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General
A. 2.0 What are the system requirements?
Input Director requires Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008 or Windows 7 on each system. Input Director is compatible with 64bit O/Ses. The systems must be networked to each other. A keyboard/mouse is mandatory on the master system.
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A. 2.1 What is a master?
The master (system) has the keyboard/mouse attached that will be used to control it and the other systems (the slaves)
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A. 2.2 What is a slave?
A slave (system) is a system that can receive its input (mouse and keyboard) from a master. There is usually only one master and at least one slave.
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A. 2.3 Can one system be both a master and a slave?
One system can have its Input Director configuration prepared to act as a master as well as a slave. But, it cannot act as both a master and slave at the same time.
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A. 2.4 Is Input Director compatible with multi-monitor setups?
Yes.
Instructions on how to specify the number of monitors attached to each system are located here.
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A. 2.5 Is Input Director compatible with computer games?
It really depends on the game. If the game lets/requires you to use the mouse, then there may well be problems with the game when Input Director is running. Your best bet is to try the game in question and see what happens. You will probably have less trouble with games running on a slave.
Input Director updates the Capslock, Scroll Lock and Num Lock LEDs to reflect the status of the system being controlled. This feature may interfere with the controls of a game.
To switch it off, on your master, open the "Master Preferences" tab and uncheck the "Master keyboard LEDs reflect the status of the directed slave" option.
If you find that the game appears to be running okay, but you are unexpectedly transitioning from one system to another when using the mouse, you can temporarily turn off the screen-edge transitions (that is, when the cursor switches from one system to another) by right-clicking on the "ID" icon on the Windows notification status bar:
Click the "No screen-edge transitions" so that it is ticked and retry playing your game.
You can also setup hotkeys to turn screen-edge transitions off and on. To do so, open Input Director on the Master system and switch to
the 'Master Preferences' tab. The hotkeys can be set there.
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A. 2.6 Do I need to disconnect the keyboard/mouse from a slave system?
No. Input Director can quite happily control a slave system with its keyboard/mouse attached. In fact, you will most likely want to leave the keyboard/mouse attached just in case you wish to use that computer and Input Director isn't running or your Master system isn't switched on.
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A. 2.7 Is there is a 'silent' install mode?
Yes. Add the /S switch to the setup .exe file and Input Director will install or upgrade silently.
N.B. If this is an upgrade there is a possibility the installer will need to reboot the system, in which case it will do so automatically.
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A. 2.8 How do I specify how many monitors are attached to a system?
On your master system, open Input Director and switch to the "Master Configuration" tab. To specify the monitors on your master system click the "Master Monitor Setup" button.
To do the same for a slave, select the slave and click the "Edit" button.
In both cases, you will be presented with a window from which you can select the number of monitors attached. Below this choice is a representation of the monitors. Drag the monitor icons so that they
match the physical arrangement of the monitors attached to this computer:
The example above demonstrates a master system that has 3 monitors attached with 2 monitors next to each other and the 3rd positioned below the top left monitor.
Given the number of monitors and how you've positioned them, Input Director infers which physically attached monitor is represented by which monitor icon. This is the recommended option.
Alternatively you can specify to Input Director which monitor icon represents which physical monitor by using Windows monitor identification numbers.
To do so, click the "Specify which connected monitor is represented by which grid monitor using Windows monitor identification numbers" option. A number will pop-up in each monitor icon, e.g:
Move the numbered monitor icons so that they match the way that the monitors have been laid out in the Windows display properties, for example:
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A. 2.9 What is the Information Window "Make input pass-thru this window" option?
Enabling "Make input pass-thru this window" means that any clicks on the information window will pass through it to any window or the desktop below it, as if the Information Window isn't there. Once you have enabled this option you cannot resize, reposition, change the transparency of the Information Window, as you will not be able to right-click on it to bring up the context menu. To be able to change it again you must bring up the Global Preferences tab in Input Director and click the Information Window "Reset" button.
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A. 2.10 Is Input Director compatible with VPN Clients?
It is common for VPN Clients, when they are active, to block network traffic to local networks. This is usually a security policy setting and is done to stop data "leaking" between the VPN and the local area network. If this policy is in place, Input Director won't be able to operate. Have a chat with the people running the secure network your VPN is connecting to (IT Dept?) and see if they can help change the appropriate settings for you.
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A. 2.11 Does Input Director support IPv6?
No, not at this time.
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A. 2.12 My anti-virus product has flagged Input Director as a virus / trojan / keylogger?
Every so often an update to an anti-virus program will suddenly see Input
Director as a virus/spyware/trojan. These false positives occur because Input
Director has to hook into the mouse and keyboard data streams to achieve its
function and this behaviour is similar to a "keylogger" program. Usually the
anti-virus vendor will fix this in a future update to their virus
dictionary.
If your anti-virus product flags Input Director, it is recommended that you:
- Re-download Input Director from its official site and re-install it (you can safely reinstall Input Director without losing your configuration).
- Contact the anti-virus vendor and inform them that their product has flagged Input Director as suspicious
- Contact the author of Input Director and let him know too
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A. 2.13 Do I need to run the same version of Input Director on all systems?
Yes, to use Input Director you must have the same version installed on all your computers. If Input Director detects an older (or newer) version running
it will pop-up a warning message and you will not be able to control it.
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Problems
A. 3.0 Input Director is switching on/off the numeric keypad keys on my Laptop
If you're using a laptop as your Master, and your keyboard overlays the numeric keypad across other common keys, you may find that your numeric keypad suddenly becomes
active when transitioning to a slave. Input Director updates the Num Lock LED to reflect the status of the system being controlled, which can activate an overlaid numeric keypad on a laptop. To switch this feature off, on your master, open the "Master Preferences" tab and uncheck the "Master keyboard LEDs reflect the status of the directed slave" option.
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A. 3.1 I am getting a "Slave not responding" message
The first thing to do is run through the
check list relating to difficulties transitioning between systems.
If this doesn't help, the most likely problems are:
- There is a firewall, either on one of the systems or on an intervening network device (such as a modem/router) blocking the traffic. Have a look at setting up your firewall rules for Input Director
- There is a VPN client running on one of the machines. More information can be found here about VPNs
- One or more systems has multiple network interfaces (such as a wireless and wired connection). You can pick a preferred network interface under the "Global Preferences" tab on Input Director. This should be done on all computers running Input Director to ensure they all attempt to use the same network
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A. 3.2 The cursor isn't jumping to the correct system/monitor?
If you have multiple monitors attached to either your master or any of your slaves you need to tell Input Director about them.
Instructions explaining how to do so can be found here.
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A. 3.3 Input Director is running but I can't transition between systems
Things to check:
- Input Director is running on all systems (the ID icon is displayed on the Windows notification status bar)
- Input Director is enabled on all systems. One system must be enabled as the Master (and its ID icon will be red) and the rest as slaves (ID icons are green)
- On the Master, open the "Master Configuration" tab on Input Director, and click the "Scan Slaves" button. If the slave(s) are marked with a red cross then the Master has been unable to communicate with them or the slave has been unable to respond.
If you have a 3rd-party firewall running on your Master and/or Slave system have a look at this question.
- Are screen-edge transitions disabled? Right-click on the Master's Red "ID" icon on the notification status bar to bring up the context menu and confirm there isn't a tick next to "No screen-edge transitions". Nb: Disabling screen-edge transitions won't inhibit transitions via hotkeys between slaves and the master.
- On the master, has the slave you're trying to reach been marked as one to skip? Open the Master Configuration panel on the Master system and verify there isn't a tick in the "Skip" checkbox next to that slave.
- The master has been configured so that a key (or keys) must be depressed to permit a screen-edge transition to occur. Open the Master Preferences panel on the Master System and check if the "Held Keys for a Screen-edge transition" property has been set. If so, these keys will need to be held down whilst moving the mouse off the screen to transition to another system.
- If there are multiple monitors on either the master or any slave, Input Director needs to know how many monitors and their orientation, otherwise transitions between systems may not function correctly. Have a look at this question for more information.
- Have you turned on 'Use cached slave IP addresses' on the Master Preferences? This option can improve the transition speed between systems, but if one of your slave's can have its ip address changing frequently throughout the day (e.g. its wireless and its connecting/disconnecting and being allocated a different IP address everytime) then
this option should be turned off.
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A. 3.4 I can't control a slave prior to login or when the Input Director application isn't running
To control a slave before logging into it or logged in as a user not running the Input Director application, requires that
Input Director has been set to automatically run on startup and be enabled as a slave.
The
usage guide provides more information on setting startup options.
If you have set the startup options and it isn't working, the problem is most likely a firewall. During background slave mode
a special Input Director application is running called the "InputDirectorSessionHelper.exe". If a firewall
is blocking network access to it then the slave cannot be controlled. Some firewalls may not prompt you about the background application.
Have a look at this question on setting up your 3rd-party firewall and check that the firewall is
allowing both InputDirector.exe, InputDirectorClipboardHelper.exe and InputDirectorSessionHelper.exe access to the network.
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A. 3.5 Why does the cursor return to the master with 'slave unresponsive' messages?
When controlling a slave, the master monitors the slave to ensure that it is correctly processing the keyboard/mouse information sent to it over the network.
The likely causes to why Input Director is returning the cursor to the master are:
- Running Input Director over an unreliable network that is dropping data (for example a wireless network with poor connectivity)
- If the slave system is unresponsive for several seconds (usually due to a rogue application) or freezes.
By default Input Director will give a slave to 2 seconds to respond.
If the cursor is being returned to the master frequently, you can increase the time Input Director will wait:
- Open Input Director on your master
- Switch to the 'Master Preferences' tab
- Scroll down to the bottom of the panel
- Change the time to wait for a slave to respond, e.g. to 5 seconds
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A. 3.6 The cursor is moving slowly/sluggishly
If you are finding that the cursor is sluggish for the first few seconds or when transitioning to a slave:
- On the Master, open Input Director, switch to the 'Master Preferences' tab and turn on the 'Use cached slave IP address'.
- Try turning off the Cursor "Water Ripple" effect option (located at the bottom of the Global Preference panel) on that slave system. The visual transition effect can slow down the cursor, especially if its running on older hardware or many programs are running concurrently.
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A. 3.7 Using Win-L to lock a Slave locks the Master instead
If you're running Vista (or later) on your systems, you need to use the Ctrl-Win-L hotkey to
lock a slave, rather than Win-L. This hotkey can be changed under the
Master Preferences tab.
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A. 3.8 I can't resize/reposition/right-click on the Information Window?
Most likely the input pass-thru option has been enabled on the Information Window. Have a look at the
following answer.
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A. 3.9 The cursor doesn't appear on the slave even though I can control it
On a Windows 2000 slave, you must enable Mousekeys if you there isn't a mouse physically attached to the computer; otherwise the cursor won't be visible even though you can control the computer.
To enable MouseKeys, open "Accessibility Options" from the Windows Control panel, select the "Mouse" tab and enable the "Use MouseKeys" option. Click Okay and the cursor should reappear. You may need to reboot the system for the change to take effect.
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A. 3.10 Why is the cursor still moving on the master even though I'm controlling a slave?
A rare subset of software (usually games) running on the Master will hook into and monitor the position of the mouse using the same mechanism as Input Director. In these cases, Input Director is unable to supress the input from being sent to these applications.
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A. 3.11 Master Configuration issue - When I add a slave, Input Director informs me that the slave is this system and I need to add a different computer?
First thing to check - are you trying to add your master as slave under Input Director on your master? If you're not sure about how to set up Input Director have a look at the
Quickstart Install Guide.
If you are definitely adding a different system as a slave and Input Director is misrecognising that system as being the same one as your master, it is possible that the master and the slave share a common IP address (e.g. they both appear to have the same public Internet IP address). To fix this, open the "Global Preferences" tab and change the Preferred Network Interface to the Local Area Network (LAN). Input Director will then ignore other network ip addresses. You need to do this on all your Input Director computers.
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A. 3.12 My hotkey isn't working?
Ensure that you do not use a key that is part of a
key binding, in a hotkey. A bound key will always take precedence and as such the hotkey will never be triggered.
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A. 3.13 The slave's keyboard layout is still active even though I have turned on the option to use the master's layout
There are a couple of different reasons that the master's keyboard layout isn't being used on a directed slave:
- Enforcing the master's keyboard layout on console windows running on a slave can be problematic. If this is an issue, you may need to setup hotkeys within Windows on the slave so that you can fast switch to the keyboard layout of the master.
- A virtual machine (running in VMWare, Microsoft PC, etc) on your slave will use the keyboard layout configured in the guest O/S. If you're virtual machine is running Windows, one workaround is to install Input Director in the guest system and configure it to be a slave. Then use input director to transition across to it and the Master's keyboard layout should be active.
- In rare circumstances, an application running on the slave may not recognise the change in keyboard layout. This can sometimes be rectified by returning the cursor to the master and then back across to the slave.
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A. 3.14 Input Director keeps informing me there are older/newer versions of Input Director trying to connect?
If all your computers are running the same version of Input Director it is still possible to receive these warnings if your systems are connected to
a larger LAN with many connected computers, and one or more of those other computers are running different versions of Input Director.
You can tell Input Director to ignore these other systems by switching to the "Global Preferences" tab,
clicking the "Suppress Warning Messages" button down the bottom and checking the option "Hide warnings about receiving messages from older versions of Input Director".
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A. 3.15 The Google Desktop quick search hotkey doesn't work on the slave?
This appears to be either a bug or a deliberate design choice by Google to only allow a physically attached keyboard to be used to trigger the hotkey.
The workaround is to use the mouse to open the quick search box
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How do I?
A. 4.0 How do I return the cursor to the Master system?
When using Input Director, controlling a slave, it is possible that a program on the slave could cause it to freeze, crash or reboot and you find yourself
without your cursor. To return the cursor to the Master system you need to use the Master hotkey. The default is ctrl-alt-break.
It can be changed on the Master system by running Input Director and switching to the "Main" tab:
If you ever get stuck on a system, use this hotkey to return control to the Master. You can also use a slave hotkey to switch to a different slave.
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A. 4.1 How can I quickly clear the 'skip' status of a slave?
If you power on your Master before your slave system, the master can attempt to communicate with the slave before the slave has finished booting and finding its not available, mark it as one to 'skip'.
You can click the 'Scan slaves' button on the Master Configuration panel on your Master and this will re-check all your slaves. You can also
manually change the skip flag against a slave in the slave list in the bottom half of the Master Configuration panel.
A shortcut to clearing the skip flag is to setup a hotkey
for the slave. When you use a hotkey,
Input Director will attempt to switch across to the slave regardless of
whether its been set to skip or not. If it successfully transitions then the
slave is marked as 'unskipped' and you don't have to go and 'scan slaves'.
So if you want to check if a slave is up and running, try the
slave hotkey and either you'll get bumped back to the Master because Windows
hasn't finished starting up, or successfully transition and then you can use
the mouse to go backwards and forwards.
More information on slave skipping can be found
here.
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A. 4.2 How do I determine a computer's (host) name under Windows?
Windows XP:
Go to the Control Panel and double-click on "System". The System Properties window should be displayed. It has a series of tabs across the top of the window. Select the "Computer Name" tab. You should see a window similar to this:
In the example shown, the computers name is "bob" and the full computer's name is: "bob.computers.com". When entering a hostname (i.e. a computer's name) you can usually get away just entering the shortened name (e.g. "bob") if all the computers you'll be using are part of the same domain or workgroup. If this doesn't work then enter the full name (e.g. "bobs.computers.com").
Windows Vista:
Go to the Control Panel and double-click on "System". The System window should open. In the lower half of the window
will be the "Computer name, domain and workgroup settings". The computer (host) name and full name of the system are located here:
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A. 4.3 How do I setup my 3rd-party software firewall to allow Input Director Masters and Slaves communicate?
Input Director instances communicate using both UDP and TCP (by default) on port 31234 (the port number is configurable under General Preferences).
There are three executable files that need to be allowed to communicate both inbound and outbound: InputDirector.exe, InputDirectorClipboardHelper.exe and InputDirectorSessionHelper.exe. They
are located in the install directory (the default is C:\Program Files\Input Director).
Most good firewall products should prompt you the first time that one of these .exe files attempts to communication and let you decide whether to allow them to do so.
If you are running the Windows firewall on XP, 2003 or Vista, the Input Director installer will automatically add the necessary rules to let it communicate.
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A. 4.4 How do I secure Input Director?
You need to ensure that you have configured your firewall to only allow Input Director traffic to flow between those systems you have designated as your master(s) and slaves. Input Director by default receives information on port 31234 (this is configurable on the preferences panel). You should also configure your firewalls so that no external or untrusted system can communicate with Input Director. If you are unsure how to do this, ask a knowledgeable friend can help you. You are using Input Director at your own risk.
It is also worthwhile having a look at
this question on configuring 3rd-party software firewalls
You can also switch on encryption if you want to secure information sent across the network between your computers from eavesdroppers. Encryption can slow systems down. For more
information on security, have a look
here
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A. 4.5 How can I control a slave before I have logged into it?
On the slave system, start the Input Director application and switch to the "Global Preferences" tab.
You need to make sure that Input Director is set to be run on Startup and that "Input Director enabled as a slave"
is selected.
The usage guide covers startup options in more detail.
Input Director has a special background slave mode that will let you control a slave system when the Input Director application isn't running. This will work for any user logged into the
system and prior to logon. The background slave does not provide the ability to use the remote clipboard or play a macro. You need the Input Director application
running for this functionality to be available.
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A. 4.6 How do I set up Input Director so that I can use any keyboard/mouse to control any system?
Input Director has an auto-switching feature that will automatically switch a system's role between master and slave.
To use auto-switching every system has to have both its master and slave configuration set.
The usage guide covers the steps to set up auto-switching.
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A. 4.7 How do I get rid of the "Water Ripple" effect?
Open up Input Director on the system in question and switch to the "Global Preferences" tab. Uncheck the Cursor "Water Ripple" effect option
found at the bottom of the panel.
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A. 4.8 How do I stop my cursor from accidently slipping to another system?
There are several ways of stopping the cursor from leaving a system:
- If its just one system you need to temporarily stop the cursor moving away from - you can turn screen-edge transitions
off on that system by right-clicking the "ID" icon and selecting "No screen-edge transitions". This option is particularly useful if you
are about to run a mouse-driven game on your system.
- You can setup a key or keys that must be depressed to allow the cursor to move from one system to another. To setup a held key,
open up Input Director on the master and switch to the "Master Preferences" tab. Click the "Change" button next to "Held keys for a screen-edge
transition" and choose your key (or keys). The Left-Shift key is a popular choice for this setting.
- You can change the transition options (found under Master Preferences) so that the cursor must be double-tapped or it must linger next to the screen-edge for the cursor to transition across to another system. These options can complement the held key(s) option above.
- If you find that transitions near screen corners are a bother, you can switch them off from the "Master Preferences" tab, transition options panel.
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A. 4.9 How do I turn on Mirror Input Mode?
Mirror input mode allows you to broadcast your mouse gestures and keyboard input across all computers, master and slaves.
To switch it on:
- On your master system, open the Input Director application and switch to the "Main" tab
- Click the "Disable Input Director" button
- Click the "Mirror Input across Master and Slaves" button. A confirmation dialog box will pop-up.
- You may optionally configure a hotkey to fast switch between mirror and master modes
- Choose whether you wish mouse and keyboard, or just keyboard or mouse input broadcast across your systems
- Click "Ok".
To turn off mirror input mode, either click the "ID" icon on the Windows notification status bar, use your Master system hotkey or your Mirror hotkey.
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A. 4.10 How do I get rid of annoying message XXXX
Some of Input Director's more common messages and behaviours can be suppressed. Open the "Global Preferences" tab and click the "Suppress Warning Messages" button down the bottom to see what can be filtered out.
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Master Configuration
A. 5.0 When I add a slave, I get a "Hostname doesn't exist error"
When you attempt to add a slave, Input Director will check if the hostname you have entered exists. You need to re-check the name of the slave you are trying to add. Have a look at
determining a computer's name to ensure you have entered it correctly. You may need to enter the complete name of the host (e.g. if your computer is othercomp.personalnetwork.org.au, make sure enter the complete name, not just 'othercomp').
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A. 5.1 What does a green tick next to a slave's name mean?
Input Director has been able to successfully communicate with the slave
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A. 5.2 Why am I getting a red cross next to a slave's name?
A red cross indicates that Input Director on the master has been unable to communicate with Input Director on the slave.
The most probably reasons for this are:
- Input Director isn't running on the slave system
- Input Director isn't enabled as a slave on the slave system (ensure that the "ID" on the Window notification status bar is green on the slave system).
- There is a firewall somewhere between the master and the slave system that isn't letting the traffic through
- The slave's listening port (found on the preferences panel) doesn't match the slave configuration on the master.
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A. 5.3 What is slave skipping?
On the Master Configuration panel (on a Master system) a slave can be marked as skipped such as is the case with the slave "bob" in the example below:
Skipping can be used to "skip" over a slave when screen-edge transitioning from one system to the next. This is handy for dual-boot systems or when using Input Director and one of the slaves is switched off. Input Director doesn't permanently store whether a slave should be skipped and the flag will be reset if Input Director is restarted or the Master system rebooted.
There are 4 ways a slave's "skip" flag can be set:
- Clicking the "Scan Slaves" button will cause Input Director to reset all the skip flags and then set to skip those slaves that don't respond.
- If transitioning to a slave fails, Input Director will pop up a dialog box and offer to mark that slave as one to skip in future.
- Is manually set by checking its skip checkbox.
- The slave is shutdown, hibernated or rebooted
A slave's skip flag will be cleared if:
- A skipped slave has been switched to by using its hotkey. This is a handy shortcut as it means that if you have just switched a slave's machine on and you want to clear its skip flag, all you need do is hotkey across to it.
- It is manually changed by unchecking its skip checkbox.
- The slave machine is switched on or restarts after a reboot/hibernation
On the "Master Configuration" tab, you can set Input Director on the Master so on startup all slaves default to being skipped. Then the master will query and clear the skip flags for all available slaves and as they become available.
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Slave Configuration
A. 6.0 How should I decide how to limit which masters can control a slave?
Input Director supplies three alternatives to limiting which masters may control a slave.
- Allow any computer to take control - This option should only be used if your systems are on a secured network (not connected to the internet) and you trust each person who has access to your networked computers. You might choose this option if you have an isolated network of 2 or 3 computers that are all under your control.
- Allow computers only a chosen subnet to take control. This is an advance option and might be used by those comfortable in how their network is configured and know which subnet will limit access to computers they control and trust.
- Allow computers from a set list to take control - This is the recommended way of limiting which systems can act as a master, as it allows you to list precisely which computers may take control.
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A. 6.1 When I add a master, I get a "Hostname doesn't exist error"
When you attempt to add a master, Input Director will check if the hostname you have entered exists. You need to re-check the name of the slave you are trying to add. Have a look at
determining a computer's name to ensure you have entered it correctly. You may need to enter the complete name of the host (e.g. if your computer is master.personalnetwork.org.au, make sure enter the complete name, not just 'master').
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Clipboard Questions
A. 7.0 What type of data can be copy/pasted using the shared clipboard?
Input Director recognises most common data formats that are copied to the clipboard including text, csv, and bitmaps (jpeg, gif, etc). When an application, such as Microsoft Word, copies data to the clipboard, it will put onto the clipboard the range of types of data formats that it can supply that particular bit of data in.
So, if you copy a section of a word document onto the clipboard, Word will register that this data is available as text, as rich text format, as well as several internal formats. Input Director will offer to other systems (slaves/masters) those formats it supports. Most of the time, this is fairly seamless, but there are times when the information pasted ends up in a different format. For example, if the word document had a Visio object embedded in it, then the transformed pasted version may have the visio object as a bitmap.
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A. 7.1 Why do I see an "Unable to paste" message pop-up when I am not pasting?
Windows and running applications sometimes check the clipboard in the background without you prompting them. If the data isn't available
for some reason then you may see this message even if you didn't explicity try to paste.
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A. 7.2 When I paste, the machine pauses for some time
If you copy a particularly large amount of information it can take the source application some time to prepare that information before it can be sent across to the machine thats doing the pasting. In particular, Microsoft Word can defer supplying information to the clipboard until such time as an application begins a paste. If Word needs to transform the information into a different format first, then that can take some time.
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A. 7.3 Shared Copy/Paste isn't working
- Ensure that both systems (the one you're copying from and pasting to) have the "shared clipboard" checkbox selected (found on the Global Preferences tab in the Input Director application)
- The shared clipboard is not active if the slave is running in 'Background Slave' mode (this mode allows a slave to be controlled when the Input Director application isn't running. More information on this can be found here). Make sure the Input Director application is running and the "ID" icon is displayed on the Windows Notification bar and is green (meaning that it is in slave mode)
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A. 7.4 How do I do file copy/pastes?
Input Director's file copy/paste function is intended to act as a shortcut to copying files between different computers. The key requirement is that the files you are copying are available in a network shared directory on the source system and that the user logged into the machine doing the pasting has read-level access permission to that shared directory. The rule of thumb here is that if wouldn't be able to map a network drive and copy the files, then it won't work using Input Director's shared clipboard.
If you try to copy files that aren't accessible via a network share, Input Director will warn you as such when you attempt the paste. Likewise, if some of the files are network accessible and others are not, Input Director will copy over the accessible files and warn you that not all files were able to be copied.
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A. 7.5 What is the purpose of the exclude C$, D$ shares option on the preferences page?
When you select a file(s) to copy, Input Director looks to see whether that file is available in a network accessible (shared) directory. This directory needn't be the immediate parent directory of the file in question, it could be its grandparent or great-grandparent. Many Windows systems are setup with default shared directories called C$ and D$ that represent the root directory on C: and D: respectively. The default setting for these shares is that they are locked down and not publically accessible. As such, they can act as a red-herring because with this option switched off, Input Director will find that all files on the C: and D: are network accessible, even though the permissions are almost certainly such that the user doing the pasting from a remote machine will not have access. By leaving this option on, Input Director will ignore these default shares when determining if a file on the clipboard is network accessible.
You would only turn this option off if you have changed the permissions so that others can access the C$, D$ shares (this is not recommended unless you're really sure about what you're doing as it can be a security risk).
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A. 7.6 Are File Cut/Pastes supported?
No. You can copy/paste files, but not cut/paste.
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Data Encryption Security
A. 8.0 How do I switch on encryption?
The
usage guide covers how to configure encryption. Please read the instructions carefully, especially if you don't have a keyboard/mouse
plugged into your slave(s).
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A. 8.1 What information is encrypted?
When data encryption security is active on a slave then all input data (keyboard and mouse) and all clipboard data is encrypted across the network between the master and slave.
If remote clipboard data is copy/pasted from one slave to another and they both have data security active then the clipboard data will be encrypted, but if you have a mixture of
secured and unsecured slaves then copying information
from a secure slave to an unsecure slave will not be encrypted.
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A. 8.2 What ciphers does Input Director support?
Input Director currently offers the
Advanced Encryption System (AES) cipher. If you are
after a different cipher, please
contact the author as this can be probably be accommodated.
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A. 8.3 Which encryption library does Input Director use?
Input Director uses the
OpenSSL library version 0.9.8g
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A. 8.4 Why is the message "The system xxxx does not have data security and is retrieving remote clipboard data insecurely" being displayed on a slave when I paste clipboard data?
This message is alerting you that clipboard data is being copied from a secured slave to an slave without data encryption security active and thus the information being transferred is not encrypted. Input Director
will still allow the copy to occur. To avoid this occuring, all slaves need to have data security activated.
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Macros
A. 9.0 What is the intent of Input Director macros?
Input Director now has a basic keyboard macro facility, which allows the recording of keystrokes into a macro and then playing that macro back, triggered by a hotkey. It is not designed to be a fully-featured Windows Macro Automation solution. It has been designed so that a short set of keystrokes can be recorded and then played back. It provides flexibility in where those keystrokes are played back - e.g to the system with current input, only to the master system or a particular slave system, etc.
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A. 9.1 How do I record a macro?
On the Master system, open up the Input Director application. Ensure that Input Director is enabled in Master mode (click the "Enabled as Master" button from the Main tab) and switch to the "Macros" tab:
To begin recording a keyboard macro, click the "Record New Macro" button. Every key hit will now be recorded (approximately 250 keystrokes can be recorded in a single macro. Your keystrokes will still be recorded even if you switch to another slave (though if you use a hotkey to switch to a slave, the hotkey itself will not be recorded).
To stop recording return to the Macros tab on the Master system and click the "Stop Recording" button and you will be presented with the "Edit Macro" window:
If you click cancel at this point, the window will disappear and the recorded keys deleted.
Your keystrokes will be displayed in the "Recorded Keys:" textbox. To be able to play this macro you must change the Target from "Unassigned" to something valid from the list (an "Unassigned" macro is disabled). Finally, a hotkey needs to be assigned to the macro (this is the mechanism used to activate the macro). To set a hotkey, click the "Set Hotkey" button and hold down the key combination you'd like.
You can tell Input Director to include a short pause after each return, tab or space key. This may improve playback, if it is playing too quickly for some applications.
You may also like to enter a description as to what the purpose of the macro is.
Click "OK" to save the Macro.
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A. 9.2 What are the different Macro targets?
There are 8 types of macro targets:
- Unassigned - The macro has no target and is disabled.
- System with Input Focus - Whichever system has the (mouse/keyboard) input will be the one that the macro is played to.
- Master - No matter which system has the input, the macro will be played on the Master system.
- Slave with Input Focus - If the system which has the current input is a slave then the macro will be played back on it. If the master system has the input then the macro isn't played.
- All Slaves - The macro is played to all available slaves
- All Slaves and Master - The macro is played to all available slaves and the master system
- All but System w/ Input Focus - The macro is played to all available slaves and the master except for the (master or slave) system that currently has the input focus
- Slave: slavename - The macro has been bound to a particular slave. No matter which system has the input, the macro is played to its specific slave.
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A. 9.3 How do I play a Macro?
To play a macro, use the hotkey you've assigned to it to activate it. Macros will not be played if you've disabled Macros (via the checkbox on the Macros tab or the "ID" icon right-click context menu.
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A. 9.4 Can I record mouse movements/clicks?
No, Input Director's Macro system only supports recording keystrokes.
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A. 9.5 I clicked the "Stop Recording" button and the Edit Macro window didn't pop up?
The Edit Macro window will only pop up if you have recorded one or more keystrokes.
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A. 9.6 I tried to record a macro but none/not all of my keystrokes were captured?
To record keystrokes you must be recording from the Master system and Input Director must be enabled. If you clicked the "Record New Macro" button on the master system (using the keyboard/mouse attached to it) and then switched to typing on the keyboard attached to your slave computer, Input Director will not be able to capture your keystrokes. If you wish to record the keystrokes on the slave you can do so by starting macro recording and then transitioning across to the slave and typing normally (as you would do as part of the normal use of Input Director).
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A. 9.7 A recorded macro isn't playing
Things to check are:
- Make sure Macros aren't disabled on the Master. To check, open Input Director (on the master system) and switch to the "Macros" tab. Make sure the checkbox "Disable Macros" isn't set.
- Check the target on the macro in question - open Input Director (on the master system) and switch to the "Macros" tab. Double click on the problem macro to open the "Edit Macro" window. Ensure that the target isn't unassigned and that its set appropriately.
- You cannot play macros if the slave is running in 'Background Slave' mode (this mode allows a slave to be controlled when the Input Director application isn't running. More information on this can be found here). Make sure the Input Director application is running and the "ID" icon is displayed on the Windows Notification bar and is green (meaning that it is in slave mode)
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A. 9.8 What is a [Windows Focus Change]?
You may notice [Windows Focus Change] written into your recorded Keystrokes in the Edit Macro Window. Input Director does not just capture keystrokes and play them back. This is because as you are recording keystrokes, your actions may bring up new windows and you are waiting for that new window to be displayed before continuing to type .
Input Director observes when the active window that is receiving input focus changes and stores records this fact into the macro keystroke sequence. When it is playing a macro back and hits a [Windows Focus Change], it will wait for that type of window to open and is prepared to accept input, before continuing to play back the keystrokes.
An example of this is found in the following macro (which records the keystrokes to open a command prompt):
To record this macro, Windows-R was hit to open up the windows "Run" dialog box. Input Director noticed that a different window now had the input focus and stores that into the macro followed by the keystrokes for the application name "cmd" and the enter key.
When playing back this macro, Input Director simulates typing Win-R, it then waits for Run dialog box to take the input focus before playing the remaining keys.
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A. 9.9 I've recorded a macro but it doesn't play back the way I expected it to
There are many reasons why a macro may not play back correctly:
- Without realising it, the mouse was used partway through the recording to change the state of an application or which field has focus. Input Director only stores keys, so if you needed to use the mouse the macro won't run the same way when its played back.
- The macro is dependent upon something transitory. For example, if you had recorded the macro and a particular application was open, or you were running some tool that through your keystrokes you accessed and that application/tool isn't running (or is running in a different mode) then your macro may not playback correctly.
- The macro was recorded on one system and played back on another. It may be that the system you are playing the macro back on is subtly different than the one you recorded on. Input Director will record keystrokes from slaves as well as the master, so you're best recording a macro on the system you intend to play it back on. If you are recording a macro that you wish to play on multiple machines, it is best to keep it as short and simple as possible.
- Input Director captures changes in input focus (which window has the input focus) as you type your keys being recorded. It is possible that it has not accurately recorded the circumstances surrounding the keys you've hit.
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A. 9.10 I want to record a macro that does X...
Input Director's macro system is not designed to be a fully-fledged Macro Automation solution. There are many of these available (and can be found easily with your favourite search engine). If you are looking for a richer set of capabilities you are best exploring those alternatives. It may be feasible to script/record a macro in another macro system and then setup an Input Director macro to trigger it. This is advantageous if you want to activate a macro on one of your slaves as Input Director's macros can be bound to a particular slave.
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