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Diffstat (limited to 'x11vnc/README')
| -rw-r--r-- | x11vnc/README | 136 |
1 files changed, 112 insertions, 24 deletions
diff --git a/x11vnc/README b/x11vnc/README index f079d56..391bdda 100644 --- a/x11vnc/README +++ b/x11vnc/README @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -x11vnc README file Date: Sun Apr 3 16:28:59 EDT 2005 +x11vnc README file Date: Sun Apr 10 00:24:10 EDT 2005 The following information is taken from these URLs: @@ -97,15 +97,22 @@ x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays 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). + display (i.e. no viewer clients yet). To get X11 permissions right, you may also need to set the XAUTHORITY environment variable (or use the [12]-auth option) to point to the correct MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file (e.g. /home/joe/.Xauthority). More on this [13]below. - There will then be much chatter printed out from x11vnc, until it - finally says something like: + If you suspect an X11 permissions problem do this simple test: while + sitting at the physical X display open a terminal window + (gnome-terminal, xterm, etc). You should be able to start x11vnc + without any need for command line options in that terminal. If that + works OK then you know X11 permissions are the only thing preventing + it from working when you try to start x11vnc via a remote shell. + + When x11vnc starts up there will then be much chatter printed out, + until it finally says something like: . . 13/05/2004 14:59:54 Autoprobing selected port 5900 @@ -1021,14 +1028,24 @@ make specify it. Nearly always the correct value will be ":0" 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 [142]-auth option to point to the - correct cookie file (e.g. /home/joe/.Xauthority or /var/gdm/:0.Xauth), - or simply be sure you run x11vnc as the correct user (i.e. the user - who owns the X session you wish to view). Running x11vnc as root is - not enough: you need to know where the XAUTHORITY file for the desired - X display is. Example: + correctly. + + To make sure X11 permissions are the problem do this simple test: + while sitting at the physical X display open a terminal window + (gnome-terminal, xterm, etc). You should be able to start x11vnc + without any need for special steps or command line options in that + terminal. If that works OK then you know X11 permissions are the only + thing preventing it from working when you try to start x11vnc via, + say, a remote shell. + + How to Solve: See the xauth(1), Xsecurity(7), and xhost(1) man pages + for much info on X11 permissions. For example, you may need to set + your XAUTHORITY environment variable or use the [142]-auth option to + point to the correct cookie file (e.g. /home/joe/.Xauthority or + /var/gdm/:0.Xauth), or simply be sure you run x11vnc as the correct + user (i.e. the user who owns the X session you wish to view). Running + x11vnc as root is not enough: you need to know where the XAUTHORITY + file for the desired X display is. Example: x11vnc -display :0 -auth /var/gdm/:0.Xauth Less safe, but to avoid figuring out where the XAUTHORITY file is, if @@ -1036,24 +1053,26 @@ make should be able to attach x11vnc to the session (from the same machine). The person could then type "xhost -localhost" after x11vnc has connected to go back to the default permissions. Also, for some - situations the -users lurk= option may be of use (please read the + situations the "-users lurk=" option may be of use (please read the documentation on the [143]-users option). - To test out your X11 permissions, set DISPLAY and possibly XAUTHORITY - (see your shell's man page, bash(1), tcsh(1), on how to set - environment variables) and type xdpyinfo in the same place you will be - typing (or otherwise running) x11vnc. If information is printed out - about the X display (screen sizes, supported extensions, color visuals - info) that means the X11 permissions are set up properly: xdpyinfo - successfully connected to DISPLAY. You could also type xclock and make - sure no errors are reported (a clock should appear on the X display, - type Ctrl-C to quit it) + To test out your X11 permissions from a remote shell, set DISPLAY and + possibly XAUTHORITY (see your shell's man page, bash(1), tcsh(1), on + how to set environment variables) and type xdpyinfo in the same place + you will be typing (or otherwise running) x11vnc. If information is + printed out about the X display (screen sizes, supported extensions, + color visuals info) that means the X11 permissions are set up + properly: xdpyinfo successfully connected to DISPLAY! You could also + type xclock and make sure no errors are reported (a clock should + appear on the X display, press Ctrl-C to stop it). If these work, then + typing "x11vnc" should also work. Important: if you cannot get your X11 permissions so that the xdpyinfo or xclock tests work, x11vnc also will not work (all of these X clients must be allowed to connect to the X server to function properly). + Q-2: I can't get x11vnc and/or libvncserver to compile. Make sure you have all of the required -devel packages installed. @@ -1092,6 +1111,7 @@ make XFree86-devel zlib-devel + Q-3: I just built x11vnc successfully, but when I use it my keystrokes and mouse button clicks are ignored (I am able to move the mouse though). @@ -1131,6 +1151,7 @@ h 20/03/2005 22:33:09 No XTEST extension, switching to -xwarppointer mode for 20/03/2005 22:33:09 pointer motion input. + Q-4: Help, I need to run x11vnc on Solaris 2.5.1 (or other old Unix/Linux) and it doesn't compile! @@ -1177,6 +1198,7 @@ typedef unsigned int in_addr_t; it worked or not). If there is enough demand we will try to push clean compilations back to earlier Solaris, Linux, etc, releases. + Q-5: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating System? @@ -1225,6 +1247,7 @@ typedef unsigned int in_addr_t; resulting data.tar.gz tar file. Also, rpm2cpio(1) is useful in extracting files from rpm packages. + Q-6: Where can I get a VNC Viewer binary (or source code) for the Operating System I will be viewing from? @@ -1234,6 +1257,7 @@ typedef unsigned int in_addr_t; * [156]http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html * [157]http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/ + Q-7: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and documentation on how to use them? @@ -1241,6 +1265,7 @@ typedef unsigned int in_addr_t; -help for long descriptions about each option. The output is listed [158]here as well. + Q-8: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I start x11vnc. What can I do? Is there a config file? Or a GUI? @@ -1275,6 +1300,7 @@ display :0 "x11vnc ... -gui other:0" in the latter case the gui is displayed on other:0, not the X display x11vnc is polling. + Q-9: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the background after starting up? @@ -1284,6 +1310,7 @@ display :0 Note that under -bg the stderr messages will be lost unless you use the "[162]-o logfile" option. + Q-10: 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. @@ -1297,6 +1324,7 @@ display :0 [163]x11vnc.c file. It also has an [164]option -sigpipe exit to have x11vnc clean up and exit upon receiving SIGPIPE. + Q-11: Are there any build-time customizations possible, e.g. change defaults, create a smaller binary, etc? @@ -1318,6 +1346,14 @@ display :0 If other things (e.g. "-I ...") are needed in CPPFLAGS add them as well. + Be careful the the following two variables: HARDWIRE_PASSWD and + HARDWIRE_VIEWPASSWD. If set (remember to include the double quotes + around the string), they will be used as default values for the + -passwd and -viewpasswd options. Of course the strings will exist + unobscured in the x11vnc: the binary better not be readable by + unintendeds. Perhaps this is of use in remote access for an embedded + application, etc... + Let us know if more build-time customizations would be useful. If the system does not have the XTEST XTestGrabControl interface (some @@ -1357,6 +1393,7 @@ display :0 All of them will work with x11vnc (except x2x where it is not needed). + Q-13: I am running Win2VNC on my Windows machine and "x11vnc -nofb" on Unix to pass keyboard and mouse to the Unix monitor. Whenever I start Win2VNC it quickly disconnects and x11vnc says: @@ -1401,6 +1438,7 @@ display :0 non-zero in 8bpp PseudoColor on an obscure setup, and this option corrected the problems. + Q-15: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows messed up in x11vnc? BTW, my X display has nice overlay/multi-depth visuals of different color depths: e.g. there are both depth 8 and 24 visuals @@ -1480,6 +1518,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 [182]-overlay option works for Solaris machines with overlay visuals where most of this problem occurs. + Q-16: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id windowid option? @@ -1498,6 +1537,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 extracts the windowid. Besides "pick" there is also "id:root" to allow you to go back to root window when doing remote-control. + Q-17: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I am using the -id windowid option to view a single application window? @@ -1515,6 +1555,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 x11vnc is known to crash under both -id and -sid, so both modes are still experimental. Please report any reproducible bugs. + Q-18: My X display is depth 24 at 24bpp (instead of the normal depth 24 at 32bpp). I'm having lots of color and visual problems with x11vnc and/or vncviewer. What's up? @@ -1673,6 +1714,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 Alt. Alternatively, the [196]-clear_mods option and [197]-clear_keys option can be used to release pressed keys at startup and exit. + Q-22: Can I change settings in x11vnc without having to restart it? Can I remote control it? @@ -1718,6 +1760,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 text (i.e. not obscured like the -rfbauth VNC passwords) password options. + Q-24: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full access and the other for view-only access to the display? @@ -1745,6 +1788,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 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-25: Can I fine tune what types of user input are allowed? E.g. have some users just be able to move the mouse, but not click or type anything? @@ -1758,6 +1802,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 These settings can also be applied on a per-viewer basis via the remote control mechanism or the GUI. E.g. x11vnc -R input:hostname:M + Q-26: 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? @@ -1776,6 +1821,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 apply these security measures, they will not be done for you automatically. + Q-27: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect from? @@ -1794,6 +1840,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 [216](tcp_wrappers) and then use /etc/hosts.allow See hosts_access(5) for complete details. + Q-28: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap (tcp_wrappers) support? @@ -1814,6 +1861,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 x11vnc with libwrap support because the /usr/sbin/tcpd reference in /etc/inetd.conf handles the tcp_wrappers stuff. + Q-29: Can I have x11vnc only listen on one network interface (e.g. internal LAN) rather than having it listen on all network interfaces and relying on -allow to filter unwanted connections out? @@ -1830,6 +1878,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 option [220]-localhost now implies "-listen localhost" since that is what most people expect it to do. + Q-30: Now that -localhost implies listening only on the loopback interface, how I can occasionally allow in a non-localhost via the allowonce remote control command? @@ -1847,6 +1896,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 in on the listening interface. If you just toggle [225]-localhost on and off x11vnc should see to it that you never get into such a state. + Q-31: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH channel between two Unix machines? @@ -1857,6 +1907,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 Other secure encrypted methods exists, e.g. stunnel, IPSEC, various VPNs, etc. + Q-32: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH channel from Windows using an SSH client like Putty? @@ -1900,6 +1951,7 @@ TrueColor defdepth 24 5500 instead of 5900 (i.e. 'Source port: 5500' and 'Destination: localhost:5500' for a Remote connection). + Q-33: 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 @@ -1994,6 +2046,7 @@ exit 1 variables are set as in "-accept command" (except that RFB_MODE will be "gone"). + Q-34: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I further limit the set of Unix usernames who can connect to the VNC desktop? @@ -2045,6 +2098,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it For this to work with ssh port redirection, the ssh option UsePrivilegeSeparation must be enabled. + Q-35: I start x11vnc as root because it is launched via inetd(1) or a display manager like gdm(1). Can I have x11vnc later switch to a different user? @@ -2056,6 +2110,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it +nobody" that switches to the Unix user nobody right after connections to the X display are established. + Q-36: 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 @@ -2090,6 +2145,7 @@ exit 1 # reject it obviously re-lock the screen before disconnecting!). Instructions can be found in the source code for the utility at the above link. + Q-37: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I disconnect the VNC viewer? @@ -2138,6 +2194,7 @@ x11vnc -logfile $HOME/.x11vnc.log -rfbauth $HOME/.vnc/passwd -forever -bg plus any other options you desire. + Q-39: 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). @@ -2279,6 +2336,7 @@ rever -bg If the machine is a traditional Xterminal you may want to read [253]this FAQ. + Q-40: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(1)? How about xinetd(1)? Yes, perhaps a line something like this in /etc/inetd.conf will do it @@ -2347,6 +2405,7 @@ service x11vncservice With the contents of /usr/local/bin/x11vnc_sh similar to the example given above. + Q-41: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet in a web browser? @@ -2374,6 +2433,7 @@ service x11vncservice entirely from the viewer-side by having the jar file there and using either the java or appletviewer commands to run the program. + Q-42: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to the VNC viewer) using "vncviewer -listen" and vncconnect(1) supported? @@ -2401,6 +2461,7 @@ service x11vncservice # xprop -root -f VNC_CONNECT 8s -set VNC_CONNECT "$1" + Q-43: Can I use x11vnc as a replacement for Xvnc? (i.e. not for a real display, but for a virtual one I keep around). @@ -2443,6 +2504,7 @@ xmodmap -e "add Control = Control_L Control_R" One can use this sort of scheme to export other virtual X sessions, say Xnest or even Xvnc itself (useful for testing x11vnc). + Q-44: How can I use x11vnc on "headless" machines? Why might I want to? @@ -2539,6 +2601,7 @@ ied) done over local machine sockets it should be acceptable (see an [265]earlier question discussing -noshm). + Q-46: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources? The [266]-nap and "[267]-wait n" (where n is the sleep between polls @@ -2548,6 +2611,7 @@ ied) [268]-onetile option will use less memory and use fewer shared memory slots (add [269]-fs 1.0 for one less slot). + Q-47: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources? You can try [270]-threads and dial down the wait time (e.g. -wait 1) @@ -2561,6 +2625,7 @@ ied) the x11vnc [272]-id option) can be streamed over a LAN or wireless at a reasonable frame rate. + Q-48: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g. dialup modem), is there anything I can do to speed things up? @@ -2622,6 +2687,7 @@ ied) * Use [282]-nocursor and [283]-nocursorpos (repainting the remote cursor position and shape takes resources and round trips) + Q-49: 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? @@ -2648,6 +2714,7 @@ ied) (try to get the viewers to use different VNC encodings, e.g. tight and ZRLE). + Q-50: Does x11vnc support the X DAMAGE Xserver extension to find modified regions of the screen quickly and efficiently? @@ -2733,6 +2800,7 @@ ied) apply a patch to your VNC Viewer to extract hidden alpha channel data under 32bpp. [296]Details can be found here. + Q-52: When using XFIXES cursorshape mode, some of the cursors look really bad with extra black borders around the cursor and other cruft. How can I improve their appearance? @@ -2780,6 +2848,7 @@ ied) -alpharemove to brighten them by having x11vnc divide out the alpha value. + Q-53: In XFIXES mode, are there any hacks to handle cursor transparency ("alpha channel") exactly? @@ -2830,6 +2899,7 @@ ied) CursorShapeUpdates) will be to draw the moving cursor into the x11vnc framebuffer. This can also be disabled via -nocursor. + Q-55: 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 @@ -2839,8 +2909,9 @@ ied) support the Cursor Positions Updates for the user to see the mouse motions (the TightVNC viewers support this). As of Aug/2004 in the libvncserver CVS -cursorpos is the default. See also [305]-nocursorpos - and [306]-nocursorshape. - + and [306]-nocursorshape. + + Q-56: 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? @@ -2918,6 +2989,7 @@ ied) [313]-debug_keyboard option prints out much info for every keystroke and so can be useful debugging things. + Q-58: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">" (i.e. greater than)! Strangely, typing ">" works OK!! @@ -2978,6 +3050,7 @@ ied) Note that the [317]-debug_keyboard option prints out much info for every keystroke to aid debugging keyboard problems. + Q-59: 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 @@ -3067,6 +3140,7 @@ ied) when the Keysym is received from a VNC viewer, and only after that would -add_keysyms, or anything else, come into play. + Q-60: 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? @@ -3103,6 +3177,7 @@ ied) autorepeating so there is no big loss here, unless someone is also working at the physical display and misses his autorepeating. + Q-61: The x11vnc -norepeat mode is in effect, but I still get repeated keystrokes!! @@ -3126,6 +3201,7 @@ ied) something in your desktop is automatically turning it back on you should figure out how to disable that somehow. + Q-62: 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? @@ -3140,6 +3216,7 @@ ied) Super_R-Mode_switch,Menu-Multi_key" or use "-remap filename" to specify remappings from a file. + Q-63: 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. @@ -3157,6 +3234,7 @@ ied) cannot send Alt_L in this case, maybe -remap Super_L-Meta_L would be a better choice if the Super_L key is typically unused. + Q-64: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote machine? @@ -3202,6 +3280,7 @@ ied) local display. Especially for hand-held devices. See also [332]this FAQ on x11vnc scaling. + Q-66: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g. to make the desktop smaller). @@ -3262,6 +3341,7 @@ ied) scaling to a different factor (e.g. use "-scale_cursor 1" to keep the cursor at its natural unscaled size). + Q-67: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors joined together to form one big, single screen). @@ -3289,6 +3369,7 @@ ied) function. (This may be due to a bug in the X server for XTEST when Xinerama is enabled). + Q-68: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not Xinerama (i.e. separate screens :0.0, :0.1, ... for each monitor)? @@ -3312,6 +3393,7 @@ ied) this case (to limit each x11vnc to 3 shm segments), or even [342]-noshm to use no shm segments. + Q-69: Can x11vnc show only a portion of the display? (E.g. for a special purpose rfb application). @@ -3324,6 +3406,7 @@ ied) the [344]-id or [345]-sid options are used. The offset is measured from the upper left corner of the selected window. + Q-70: Does x11vnc support the XRANDR (X Resize, Rotate and Reflection) extension? Whenever I rotate or resize the screen x11vnc just seems to crash. @@ -3346,11 +3429,13 @@ ied) specify "-xrandr exit" then all will be disconnected and x11vnc will terminate. + Q-71: 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-72: 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 @@ -3378,6 +3463,7 @@ ied) x11vnc can poll it correctly), one can use the chvt(1) command, e.g. "chvt 7" for VC #7. + Q-73: Can I use x11vnc to view my VMWare session remotely? Yes, since VMWare is an X application you can view it via x11vnc in @@ -3421,6 +3507,7 @@ ied) to have a video card, (but need not have a monitor, Keyboard or mouse)). + Q-74: 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 @@ -3449,6 +3536,7 @@ ied) "Klipper" that do odd things with the selection, clipboard, and cutbuffers. + Q-76: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when typing tput bel in an xterm)? |