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I have 2 Physical machines , sitting next to each other, each one has 2 monitors , and all the monitors are arranged arranged like this from left to right : Monitor 1,2, belong to Machine 1, monitor 3,4 belong to Machine 2.

Is it possible to Remote Desktop to machine 1 from Machine 2 and use the monitors that are for Machine 1 for Machine 1 , and Monitors for Machine 2 from Machine 2 while working on Machine 2?

If this can not be done with Remote Desktop Connection, is there an alternative way of running 2 machine on 4 monitors with one set of Keyboard and Mouse as if it is all just one machine? by that I mean if the 2 Left monitor belong to machine 1 and the 2 right monitors belong to machine 2, then one would seamlessly move around the monitors with mouse and interact with whatever the underlying physical machine is for the current monitor that is on?

Both machines are Windows 7 Enterprise.

intika
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jimjim
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5 Answers5

18

Solution

There are many applications made for that purpose. You just need to install them on your different machines and your Mouse/Keyboard will be available for both.

There is also a hardware alternative like a "Keyboard/Mouse Switch".

Softwares

  • Synergy
  • ShareMouse
  • Input Director
  • Mouse without Borders
  • Multiplicity
  • Teleport
  • SynergyKM
  • Mouse Broadcaster

Links

Alternativeto

Lifehacker Article

Mouse Sharing

Guidingtech Article

intika
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7

Have you looked at Mouse without Borders? Or the non-free Synergy Project?

cdavid
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3

I have 4 PC's running 8 monitors and Synergy runs across the lot no problem. All PC's are running windows 7 but I used to run Win XP as well on the same network

Ken
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2

Use remote desktop in multi-monitor mode:

mstsc /span

If you have trouble with this open mstsc, set up connection, click Advanced->Save As, edit the resulting .RDP file, and add this line at bottom of file:

span monitors:i:1
RJFalconer
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1

+1 for Input Director.

Synergy/Synergy+ gave me some troubles, but Input Director has been a stable experience on my setup (2 laptop PCs, 1 tower PC, 5 monitors). YMMV, of course. I can slide my mouse cursor across monitors like one giant tiled desktop. Input Director defines connected computers as master-slave.

From a single keyboard, I can control a slave computer as if I was at the physical keyboard connected to it -- if I hit Alt-PrtSc, it captures the window of the slave computer. Ctrl-Shift-Esc brings up Process Hacker (Task Manager) on the slave computer.

My recall on this next point may be faulty, and if so, disregard it: I seem to recall that Synergy didn't allow me to freely use all keystroke combinations the way ID does, which is one reason I prefer ID.

user275514
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