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Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard
Identify, configure, and use the best screen-sharing option for your needs, in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and 10.5 Leopard!
Screen sharing lets you control the mouse and keyboard of one computer while you sit at another computer across the room or on the other side of the world. It's great for providing remote tech support, configuring and managing a remote server, and collaborating on documents. In recent versions of Mac OS X, Apple has piled on the options, enabling screen sharing via iChat, Bonjour, directly by entering an IP address, and Back to My Mac. Plus, Skype has a screen sharing feature and various iPhone apps offer remote screen sharing.
All these screen sharing choices bring complexity, and this book helps you match your situation to the best screen-sharing option for your needs. You'll learn how to configure the software—and set up your router, if necessary. And, should something not work as expected, the book also includes problem-solving advice.
Interested in screen sharing, but only with Back to My Mac? This title has the basics about Back to My Mac, but if you want all the details—and oodles of background info and router help—check out Take Control of Back to My Mac.
More Info
Contents & Intro
What's New
FAQ
Blog
Read this book to learn the answers to questions like:
How can I share the screen of a buddy via iChat?
What are iChat's screen-sharing limitations? What are the best alternatives?
How can I give a presentation remotely using screen sharing?
What's the best way to use screen sharing to do remote tech support?
What's the best way to control an unattended Mac remotely?
How do I share screens with someone running an old version of Mac OS X?
How do I share screens with someone running Windows?
How do I wake up a remote Mac so I can share its screen?
What tricks does Apple employ to make Back to My Mac connections work?
How can I copy text from one computer to another while sharing screens?
Mac OS X's screen-sharing features aren't sufficient—what third-party software do you recommend?
Book Info
136 pages
Version 1.0
Published 04-Feb-10
3.1 MB download
ISBN: 1615420479
Free sample with Table of Contents, Introduction, Quick Start, and section starts.
About the Author
Glenn Fleishman is a technology journalist based in Seattle, where he lives with his wife and two sons, both of whom are adept at accidentally pressing the Power button on his laptop.
He’s a contributing editor at TidBITS, responsible for much of their Web and publishing infrastructure; a columnist for the Seattle Times on all things Mac related; and a regular contributor to the Economist, Macworld, and Ars Technica. He appears regularly on his local public radio station, KUOW.
This book will help you master sharing a remote computer’s screen from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (and 10.5 Leopard) and teach you how to get a reliable connection with the greatest versatility. It also explains the use of an iPhone or iPod touch for remote access. It was written by Glenn Fleishman, tech edited by Dan Frakes, edited by Tonya Engst, and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc.
Introduction
Nearly 20 years ago, working from my desktop computer, I accessed a system that was in a server room but which had no monitor attached. It was magical. I could work with the server just as if I were directly connected with a keyboard and mouse, using its programs and manipulating objects on its desktop—via a 2,400 bps modem!
That sense of wonder still pervades me when I use screen sharing today. Instead of using a 10 Mbps (fast!) local Ethernet network or dial-up software to make the connection, I use broadband feeds over the Internet to reach computers across town or 3,000 miles away.
Screen sharing gives you access to applications and data stored on another computer, even though your keyboard and mouse aren’t connected to that computer. It lets you see a remote computer screen in real time, and it may also allow you to control the remote computer.
Apple extended screen sharing from something you had to install or figure out how to use in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and earlier versions of Mac OS X to being part of the system, available on tap, in 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard.
In Leopard and Snow Leopard, screen sharing comes in several forms, and in this book I explain how to use each of them. In some cases, you must have an account and a password on each machine you want to access remotely. However, one particular method—Screen Sharing over iChat—requires just a buddy who gives you permission, at the time of access, to view or control his or her screen.
I also cover VNC, a technology that’s built into many different programs for many versions of Mac OS X and other platforms, and which is the basis of much of Apple’s screen-sharing functionality. I also explain how to use screen sharing via Skype.
Quick Start to Screen Sharing
To learn how to set up your Macintosh, iPhone, or iPod touch to view or control the screen of another computer, you’ll benefit from reading Learn the Basics of Screen Sharing carefully, in order to best match your situation to your needs. After that, focus on the material that describes the type—or types—of screen sharing that you want to do. However, if you have specific questions, each section also stands on its own.
I first discuss what you can do and what software you can use. I then explain how to establish your first connection, covering a variety of options. After all that, I provide ideas for handling situations where your Internet connection needs special configuration in order to use screen sharing.
Learn background info to configure like a pro:
Discover the many Uses of Screen Sharing.
Determine the screen-sharing technique that best matches your situation in Options for Screen Sharing and get details and reassurance Security behind Screen Sharing.
For iChat:
Set up ad hoc screen sharing with Share via iChat. You can share media or give a presentation with Use iChat Theater.
For other forms of built-in Mac OS X screen sharing:
Get started with the directions for how to Turn On Screen Sharing.
Get a handle on the basics of how to Use the Screen Sharing Application.
Make a screen-sharing connection: read Share via Bonjour, Share via Back to My Mac, or Share via a Direct Connection.
For third-party and other ways to share a screen:
Use Skype to share your screen with another Skype user, allowing remote viewing but not control, all for free. See Share via Skype.
Turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a remote-control appliance using one of several software packages. See Share with iPhone Apps.
Learn the ins and outs of VNC, connection software that works with many versions of Mac OS X, Windows, and most other operating systems. See Get Backward Compatibility with VNC.
Use third-party screen-sharing utilities other than Skype to obtain a larger set of options for remote interactions, including file transfer, or to reach otherwise unreachable computers. See Appendix A: Other Remote Access Solutions.
Solve problems:
For screen sharing with iChat or Back to My Mac, first set up your router to enable remote access. See Appendix B: Configure Your Router or Gateway. If problems persist, look for solutions in:
iChat Connection Problems
Bonjour, Direct, and VNC Connection Problems
Back to My Mac Connection Problems
Solve problems that come up if a Firewall Blocks Access or that relate to waking a sleeping computer (see Solving Sleep).
What's New in This Edition
This Snow Leopard edition has several significant changes beyond updating text to reflect new names and updating images to show new interface displays. The major changes are:
Options for Screen Sharing is revised and reorganized to make it easier for you to match your situation to your best screen sharing option.
iChat Theater lets you push live video of you to a remote party or audience alongside documents, including photos via iPhoto, presentations via Keynote, PDFs, and other formats. Apple substantially enhanced iChat Theater in Snow Leopard, and I’ve revised the topic Use iChat Theater to discuss new and changed aspects of this increasingly useful feature.
Skype’s new Screen Sharing (added in mid-2009) is thoroughly discussed as a terrific alternative for remote screen sharing, where one party lets another see (but not control) a screen. The service is free, as is Skype’s software. See Share via Skype.
I’ve added a new section on remotely controlling computers using apps on an iPod touch or iPhone. This can be invaluable when you’re away from a desktop or laptop computer and need to get information residing on that computer or make a repair. I cover Jaadu VNC and LogMeIn Ignition. See Share with iPhone Apps .
In Mac OS X 10.5.5, Apple disabled the ability to reveal hidden options in the Screen Sharing program, including those for color fidelity and a Bonjour network browser. Mac OS X 10.6 kept those hidden features disabled. Thus, I removed details about using Terminal to enable those features.
In Snow Leopard, Apple added a new Wake on Demand feature, which—if you have the right hardware—makes it easy to wake up a sleeping Mac for remote access. See Enable Wake on Demand in Snow Leopard for details.
Get Backward Compatibility with VNC is significantly updated. I removed the topic covering the Chicken of the VNC client, because Chicken of the VNC hasn’t been updated in years and lacks crucial security options. However, JollysFastVNC has risen in its place—both even have oceanic metaphors—so I added details about it. Also, I made some changes because advanced VNC information had become less useful to readers, who now have several easier options to achieve the same results.
Apple’s ever-evolving .Mac service is now called MobileMe. This new edition is updated with respect to MobileMe, and it notes some finicky details regarding .Mac accounts versus MobileMe accounts.
Leopard and Snow Leopard:
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is largely similar to its 10.5 Leopard predecessor, but includes many improved screen sharing-related features. Because Snow Leopard is an inexpensive update and most Leopard users are likely to switch, I’ve reworked this book to indicate which features are new in Snow Leopard and assume that most readers will spend most of their time with Snow Leopard.
That said, I indicate wherever possible when features work in both Leopard and Snow Leopard, and provide information about 10.4 Tiger where appropriate, too.
Will this ebook answer every question that I have about Back to My Mac?
If you are the happy-go-lucky sort whose Back to My Mac connection work smoothly and you don't have in-depth questions about the service, then, yes, it will answer all your questions. However, if you can't make the service work with the basic advice in this ebook, or if you want a fairly deep understanding of how a Back to My Mac connection is made or of security concerns relating to the service, then what you really want is Take Control of Back to My Mac. Notice that if you want this book and Take Control of Back to My Mac, you can get them together in a bundle with a discount. Look for a button for the discount in the left margin of this page. [Feb 4: Discount coming soon... we are in the process of releasing this ebook!]
What versions of Mac OS X does this ebook cover?
Good question! This ebook covers Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and 10.5 Leopard. We used to sell a Take Control ebook aimed only at screen sharing in Leopard, but the Snow Leopard edition is generally more up-to-date, with later information about topics such as Skype, VNC, and iPhone apps.
Ask a Question
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Update Plans
February 2010 -- This ebook is up-to-date, and we have no immediate plans to update the PDF. We'll reconsider if Apple rolls out new screen-sharing options, if we decide to discuss how to share a Mac's screen from an iPad, or if something else changes in the screen-sharing universe.
Screen sharing lets you control the mouse and keyboard of one computer while you sit at another computer across the room or on the other side of the world. It's great for providing remote tech support, configuring and managing a remote server, and collaborating on documents. In recent versions of Mac OS X, Apple has piled on the options, enabling screen sharing via iChat, through Bonjour, directly by entering an IP address, and via Back to My Mac. Plus, Skype has a screen-sharing feature and various iPhone apps can even enable you to control the screen of a remote Mac.
All these screen-sharing choices bring complexity, and Glenn Fleishman's new Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard helps you determine the best screen-sharing option for your needs. You'll learn how to configure the software—and set up your router, if necessary. And, should something not work as expected, the ebook also includes problem-solving advice.
This ebook is also available in a discounted bundle with the just-updated Take Control of Back to My Mac, also by Glenn, which goes beyond the basic coverage of Back to My Mac in Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard, providing details about how Back to My Mac works behind the scenes, explaining what to do if you can't get Back to My Mac working, and addressing security concerns related to Back to My Mac. Save $5 with the bundle option in the left margin of the Web page for either book.
(If you already own the Leopard edition of Glenn's "Screen Sharing" ebook, look for an email-based update message or open your existing PDF to page 1 and click Check for Updates to access an upgrade discount. If you own Take Control of Back to My Mac, note that the new version is a free update; to get it, use that book's Check for Updates page.)
With Apple's useful yet funky Back to My Mac feature, MobileMe users can share files and screens among their Macs, making it possible to grab a forgotten document or even use a work machine from home or while on the road. It sounds great, but some people have required extensive assistance to get their routers working right, or have questions about security or about extended features like remote access to drives attached to an AirPort Extreme Base Station or Time Capsule. To that end, we've just released the version 1.2 update to Glenn Fleishman's Take Control of Back to My Mac.
This book is also available in a bundle with Glenn's just-published Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard, which looks at the broad array of screen sharing options in both Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard. It covers Back to My Mac briefly, but looks more completely at connections via iChat, Bonjour, direct IP addressing, and third-party possibilities such as Skype and iPhone apps. Look for a $5 discount bundle in the left margin of the Web page for either book.
(If you already own Take Control of Back to My Mac, note that this is a free update; to get your update, open your existing PDF to page 1 and then click Check for Updates. If you own the Leopard edition of Glenn's "Screen Sharing" ebook, look on its Check for Updates page for an upgrade discount, or look in your email for an update-related message.)
Glenn Fleishman is a technology journalist based in Seattle, where he lives with his wife and two sons, both of whom are adept at accidentally pressing the Power button on his laptop.
He’s a contributing editor at