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Allow the tool to add/edit/delete


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jeff milton

I am a super-fan of Synergy!  I have been using it since the beginning and promote it whenever possible.  

However, the 2.0 config utility/program is really horrible.  It made getting synergy running ten times more difficult!!  In fact, the only way I got synergy running was to go straight to the command line.  

What would make it a useful tool, would be the following:

Allow the tool to add/edit/delete the domain names and IP addresses.  Or at least, list the sources of the names/ips.  I changed hostname, i changed /etc/hosts, I changed /var/lib/synergy/synergy.conf (after spending to much time figuring out which was the config file I needed to change)  manually, and it STILL finds the old domain names!  I have no idea where it is getting them from, or why it is not using the hostname, /etc/hosts or the conf file as the only or at least authoritative sources.  Can you tell me where it is digging up these old, deleted, names from?

So the config tool appears now with both the correct client machine name and the old, deleted, incorrect client aching name. It does not see the server at all, ever.  But if I go to the command line "synergy-core.exe --client -f 192.168.0.25" it works fine (-f not necessary).  I am not sure what the config app is actually doing, but it should work at least as well as the command line.

The config app should include a HELP section that at LEAST shows the command line options, the location of config files, and the executable (and a link to the forums/help etc.... just standard usability stuff).  It should also show the command that is being executed, with the args (i.e. the command line equivalent), and allow the user to select different options from the "user-friendly" app, and the option to restart the client or the server with these options, with an output console.  I should NOT have to run "synergy-core.exe --client --help" to find out how to start the client, especially when the command line is the only way to get it to work.  It is hard to comprehend that 1.x was massively more convenient to configure and run than 2.0.

If the IPs are used, why should it pay any attention to the server name at all?  I assume there is a very technical reason, like something to do with distributed routing or something like that, but if that is not a necessity, get rid of that 'feature'.

Assing usability to the config app would not take away from its "user-friendly" mode and add a LOT of useful, and necessary, utility.

 

Anyway, I continue to love Synergy, but I hope upgrades will include something more usable and practical than the current config app.

 

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derek.smiley

Came here because your title says config tool, hoping to find a download link for a separate tool to configure v2; then realized that one doesn't exist.

I'm not too keen on services relying on broadcast to (i.e. Bonjour) to discover compatible clients on the network, I want to be able to define what other endpoint(s) on the network that my computer is talking to where possible... as was with version 1.x.

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  • 1 month later...
On 11/27/2017 at 3:51 PM, derek.smiley said:

Came here because your title says config tool, hoping to find a download link for a separate tool to configure v2; then realized that one doesn't exist.

Ditto!

I feel like 1.x was very robust, although I did have a few issues (namely it would butt heads with Webex and cause freezing... something the old Stop button would fix, but alas, there are no more buttons whatsoever in 2.x).

Version 2 is a huge step backward. Even the look and feel of the interface went from 'professional software' to 'high school design project'. The new UI is un-intuitive and there's just something off about the design. It looks unprofessional. Not to mention the fact that there is no configuration aside from dragging screens around that don't even snap to a grid - which leads to a fun little mini-game of lining them up properly for about 5 minutes. I'd be happy with an "Advanced" button that just popped up the exact interface from 1.x.

Add to that the fact that it's already bugging out on me... I've been running it on my 3 systems for 1 day, and this morning it keeps breaking connection between machines when I copy anything to the clipboard. I dread having to go kill services manually every time I launch a Webex now.

I have a feeling I'll be reinstalling 1.x soon.

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2 hours ago, Airwolf said:

I have a feeling I'll be reinstalling 1.x soon.

Update: It's frozen up on me several times today... Can't stand it. Reinstalled 1.x and I'll stick with it until I see vast improvements in 2.x.

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Jereme Guenther

I agree.  Version 2 is at best a beta at the moment.  Symless claims they will be changing the horrible interface hopefully in Q2 2018.  Maybe it will start to catch back up with version 1.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Nick Bolton
On 27/11/2017 at 9:51 PM, derek.smiley said:

I'm not too keen on services relying on broadcast to (i.e. Bonjour) to discover compatible clients on the network,

Actually, we don't use Bonjour or any other network discovery/broadcast system (we used it in Synergy 1 and it sucked). In Synergy 2, LAN IPs are shared via our cloud server for the handshake.

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derek.smiley
14 minutes ago, Nick Bolton said:

Actually, we don't use Bonjour or any other network discovery/broadcast system (we used it in Synergy 1 and it sucked). In Synergy 2, LAN IPs are shared via our cloud server for the handshake.

Seems like a step in the wrong direction, maybe? Instead of a local discovery mechanism, a connection to Symless' cloud servers is required? What happens in isolated environments where there is either no internet (lab enviros), or one of the computers is connected to a VPN without split tunneling, where VPN users don't have access to internet through the tunnel? Or a sandboxed VM (running NMS dahsboards, chromecasted to a wall-mounted panel) is a synergy client from my primary workstation at the office?

Ok, that third scenario is a bit of a corner-case (still valid, though), but the second scenario is more common than you think for power users, I run up against that quite often when working with clients remotely from home.

Aside from those nuances (show-stoppers) for me, calling-home should not be required for this product, especially considering its userbase. 1.8x seemed to be have use-cases for power-users and average end-users alike. Here's to hoping that some sort of unicast configuration is available once 2.x is finished.

Edited by derek.smiley
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Jereme Guenther

I would agree.  This latest version seems to be aimed at dumb users who really aren't capable of much.  Once some of the bugs in it are fixed it will probably work pretty well for that.  I was under the impression though that the main user base for this product was more technically inclined people.  Those kind of people will not be happy with the loss of control, the total dependence on the cloud, or sending internal ip's to the cloud.

Apart from the bugs that still exist.  The requirement for an active internet connection on every boot of the computer for the software to startup seems pretty excessive.  Even if someone wanted to use the cloud for initial config, once configured it should store the local ips so it does not have to go back to the cloud on boot.

Personally I think a broadcast button would be a better choice, just something that goes out and scans the local subnet for other instances of itself.

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Nick Bolton
2 hours ago, derek.smiley said:

What happens in isolated environments where there is either no internet

This edge case applies to about 1 in 1000 users. For those people, we're adding an offline mode feature that'll require you to manually enter an IP address. This is coming soon to 2.1 which will be available in about 6 months. Until then, you can get a refund and use Synergy 1.

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