Did you ever have to work on two computer systems at the same time? Maybe two systems placed next to each other on a computer desk, or a desktop PC and a mobile computer? Switching between both systems is not the most comfortable thing to do considering that you have to move either your body or the input devices to control the second computer system.
Input Director offers a solution; The free software program
can be used to to control multiple computers running the Windows operating system with a single keyboard and computer mouse. The software is installed on all computer systems that need to be remotely controlled with a single keyboard and mouse combination. The computer with the connected input devices is configured as the master, all other systems as slaves. It is theoretically possible to configure a second master and multiple slaves if necessary.
The configuration on the Slave system authorities master systems to control it. The position of the Slave monitor and the Slave system need to be configured on the Master system.
Why is the location of the slave monitor important? Because it enables one of the ways to move the mouse over to the monitor of the slave system. This works similar to multi-monitor systems where the mouse is moved over the border of the monitor to show up on the second monitor.
Another interesting feature is the shared clipboard which becomes available on all systems connected with each other.
Master configuration screen
Slave configuration
The Slave system can be configured to allow control from a specific network address or hostname, to improve security.
The application supports data encryption to encrypt all network traffic. Available for selection are 128-bit, 192-bit or 256-bit AES keys.
Input Director offers several features that go beyond the core functionality, including:
- Synchronizing screensavers and shutdown of all systems. Master systems can force slave systems to shutdown.
- Support of different keyboard layouts
- Hotkeys to switch control immediately so that the mouse and keyboard input is moved to another computer and monitor.
- Hotkeys to lock slaves or all computers at once
- Auto-switching of roles, enables master mode on slave systems if the mouse is moved to them.
- Support for keyboard macros and key bindings. Macros can be run on a single system, or broadcast to all computer systems.
Input Director’s strength is that it is easy to setup and use, with enough advanced features to make the application attractive to experienced computer users who need features like encryption, different keyboard layouts or macros. The ability to run macros on all systems at once offers interesting options, for instance for testing and benchmarking.
Users who download Input Director should take a look at the quickstart guide and the advanced configuration guide posted on the developer website.
Input Director is compatible with all versions of Windows from Windows 2000 to Windows 7. (via)
