Very abnormal setup/use looking for info/help

[TheMartyJoy 0]

Hello All, I'd like to start by simply saying Hi to anyone who bothers to read this, and thanks for any input/suggestions that you can provide. I have been using synergy since the olden days, I recently purchase the new version (beginning of the year) and have been tinkering with it since then trying to get it to work just right. I have it working pretty damm well but there are some little quirks that I wouldn't mind resolving. Alright let's get to the details, so my setup is purely between two computers. The server is running on windows XP (yeah yeah I know OMG WTF win xp LOL, sadly because of the equipment in use I have to be using XP) and one client which is Windows 7 64-bit. The client/server relationship is working fine, the problem is that I'm not using "normal" hardware for the keyboard/mouse. The server has a Thermaltake MediaLab VFD that uses a IR remote. It's an iMon VFD panel just rebranded Thermaltake. The remote is called a iMon pad. The remote has two modes that you can switch between mouse mode and keyboard mode. This basically changes whether or not the navigation pad (up down left right) works as a mouse or a physical key press. So I can use the remote and when in mouse mode everything works pretty much like it's suppose to (the navigation pad at least), the think I'm trying to resolve/fix is that it appears to be that the only thing that is getting sent over is the mouse commands. Any other button on the remote just does not seem to be captured. The remote uses software by iMon to allow setting what each button would do (Example: my buttons 1-5 will do ctrl+alt+# and this is a global hotkey in my media player to rate the playing song). So on the windows XP machine this works like intended, I can easily skip, stop, pause, play, etc and then for the keys on the remote are not pure media keys I can setup either custom commands (these are global so will produce the same effect no matter what process/window has focus) and program level commands where the same button could have different results based on the application/process that has focus. When synergy sends the control over to the client machine I can use the remote as a mouse and the left click right click button do exactly what they are suppose to, but it's like the only thing I managed to get working. It's enough to let me watch netflix and shomi while sitting on the couch so at least I have that; however, the custom commands are not being registered anymore. Now I know this is by no means a normal setup and I really don't expect a fix or patch or anything like that, but if anyone in the community has any ideas of what I could try I'm all ears. From what I can see happening when I have the mouse over to the client pressing for example Channel Up (this is a custom command and it makes my VFD cycle to the next page) the server is seeing that CTRL was pressed (I only know this because I use tightvnc as the server has no display and the tightvnc viewer shows me that CTRL was pressed). When the mouse is on the server machine and I press Channel UP there is no indication that CTRL was pressed. Edit: also worth noting that synergy will actually see the keypress and display it in the log when I press channel up and the mouse is on the server and not the client. Would it be possible (not sure if it's by design or not) that as soon as I move the mouse to the client machine the keypresses on the remote are not being handle by the iMon software and instead being handled directly by Synergy? I have tried setting loggin to debug 2 and doing some key presses here and there and it does not appear as if Synergy is registering any of the key presses except for certain very specific ones (some buttons on the remote are almost hard coded like one is backspace one is space one is enter left lcick right click) all of these buttons are literally around the navigation pad and they appear to be the only buttons synergy is seeing as being pressed when the mouse is on the client. Move mouse to the server again and press any of the other buttons and Synergy is now registering a key press. If anyone has any ideas of what I can try please let me know. Anyone that took the time to read this whole post, thanks for your patience.

[the-wes 5]

Windows handles input in a sort of chain, starting from the hardware, through the device drivers, going through the various layers of abstraction, eventually ending at the API, which is where most software attaches to interact with it. It sounds to me like the software used to make your device work operates at a layer after the one Synergy attaches to, so Synergy would never see the custom commands, which require the proprietary software to generate. There is not any way I'm aware of to modify this; it's built in to the nature of how each application works. You might inquire with the manufacturer of your device to see if they have any suggestions.