How to control two Macs with one mouse and keyboard using teleport

Use the mouse and keyboard from one Mac to control a second Mac on the same network.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Two or more Macs running MacOS X
• teleport software http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/

1. Assume for this tutorial that Mac #1 is the machine with the keyboard and mouse you will use to control the other Macs. Mac #2 is the machine that will be controlled by Mac #1.
   
   Download the teleport software and unzip it by double clicking on the file. You can get the software here: http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/
   
   Open the 'teleport' folder and double click the 'teleport-prefPane' to install the application. Repeat this on both Macs.

2. You will now have a teleport System Preference Pane on both Macs. Click 'Teleport' to select the software.

3. Both Macs need to be on the same network and have the 'Activate teleport' checkbox checked in the 'teleport' System Preference.

4. 
   Giving Teleport Access to your other Mac

   Both Macs also need permission to communicate with one another. How that is done depends on the version of MacOS X that you are using.
   
   On Tiger, open your System Preferences, click the 'Sharing' preference pane and then click the 'Firewall' tab. Click the 'New' button and select 'Other' from the 'Port Name' pulldown menu. In the 'TCP Port Number(s)' text field type '44176-44177'. Type 'Teleport' in the description text field and then click 'Ok.' Once that's done, make sure the 'Teleport' entry is checked in the menu below where you see 'Personal File Sharing.'
   
   On Leopard, as soon as you check 'Activate Teleport' you will prompted with a window that says 'Do you want the application "teleportd.app" to accept incoming network connections?' Answer 'Always Allow' so that you can control the machine from another Mac.

5. On Mac #2 click the 'Share this Mac' check box to make it available to the teleport software on Mac #1. You may need to wait a few moments before the Macs 'see' one another on your network.

6. 
   This is how the monitor icons should look after they're setup as described

   On Mac #1, with the 'teleport' Preference Pane selected, click the 'Layout' tab. The window below the tabs should be divided into two halves. You should see a small icon that represents the monitor of Mac #2 at the top of the window. The box in the bottom half represents the monitor you have on Mac #1. There will be multiple icons if you have more than one monitor. Click and drag the monitor icon of Mac #2 and drag it down to the left of monitor icon for Mac #1 (see screen shot).

7. You should now see the monitor icons for Mac #1 and Mac #2 side by side in the bottom half of the screen. Close System Preferences.

8. To 'teleport' between your Macs, move your mouse to the left of your screen on Mac #1. Mouse and keyboard control should switch to Mac #2. You now have control of Mac #2 using Mac #1's keyboard and mouse.
   
   You can return to Mac #1 by moving the mouse to the right of the screen on Mac #2.

Tips & Warnings

• If the Macs will not connect to one another through teleport double check their firewall settings and make sure they're both on the same network
• You can position the shared monitors however you want
• You can drag and drop files between your Macs by clicking and dragging files on one Mac to the edge of your screen and dropping them on the other Mac
• Use the 'Synchronize pasteboard' option in the 'teleport' menu at the top right of your Mac to copy text from one Mac to another
• You can use a keyboard shortcut to enable switching between Macs in the 'Options' tab so you only 'teleport' when that key is pressed
• Check the 'readme' file that comes with the teleport download for additional configuration options and removal instructions
• You may want to disable teleport when you're not using it. This can be done in the 'Teleport' System Preference as well as the 'Teleport' menu at the top right of your screen
• Make sure you only allow access to your own Macs