microsoft
Mouse without borders
I see the MS Garage project "Mouse without borders" is not here in github. I think this is in every way an essential PowerToy for people with multiple Windows systems. Maybe it could also serve as a solution to another request for multiple mouse support.
Even better, add multi-OS support. Synergy is showing it's age and Logitech's solution is pretty bad to.
I completely agree. I use Mouse without Borders every single day. An outstanding utility, but would be amazing with MacOS support. I hate Mac's, but must have one for testing purposes. I do use Logitech's solution, but to say it is "pretty bad" is an understatement of epic proportions. It's time for MWB to take it to the next level. PLEASE!!!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who had this idea.
MWB desperately needs some development and better communication and this would be the perfect place for both.
Thoughts, @indierawk2k2 ?
This absolutely needs to be built as a PowerToy. This is a key tool for my day to day work.
Mouse without borders source would be awesome. I came here wondering about its security: encryption or anti-ease-dropping features. It's important with all the homework via vpn and this covid craziness. Thanks for all the work you all do!!!
I would also like to see this open-sourced. I'd like to contribute to fix a bug when I have mixed-resolution displays.
I agree! Adding Mouse without Boarders to the Microsoft PowerToy applications would be a welcome addition. Being bundled with PowerToys and open sourced would help with it's discovery by those who don't know it's usefulness and allow it to be extended/enhanced. Also, how awesome would it be to use it with a companion Windows 10 on ARM device or the Windows Duo? Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders
It's pretty discouraging that none of the active collaborators has bothered to comment on this issue.
We have been pretty transparent on the v1 roadmap. This is something we haven’t had time to investigate.
is the primary ask to make it xplat? Or just OSS it?
I just thought someone would at least say anything. It's so quiet around MWB that I thought this topic is being avoided intentionally.
For me open sourcing it -in whatever way- would be the most important part. Right now there is no visible development happening despite lots of little bugs and feature requests and no communication either. The poor people are screaming into the void in the support thread.
So however this situation can be fixed would be fine by me. I just thought that it would be the perfect candidate for open sourcing. If as part of PowerToys or as its own project isn't important. People just bring it up here because it would be a good fit and they have a chance of getting heard.
I agree that open-sourcing it it be the most important part. That way if someone wants to make it cross-platform they can contribute to do so. Whether it is part of of PowerToys or not is unimportant. Unfortunately, the support thread for Mouse without Borders on the Microsoft Garage site has been less than helpful for getting any direction.
open sourcing stuff that wasn't developed with OSS in mind takes time and discussions. how stuff is supported / tested gets very interesting as well. More so with something like MWB due to what it is.
I don't think anybody expects you to just throw the code on GitHub tomorrow but it's still good to set the right expectations just in case.
Would be nice if you guys could update this thread from time to time if there's movement behind the scenes. It's been so quiet around MWB that any new info is highly appreciated. Thank you!
I'll tell you why I posted this. I don't want to see MWB languish as an abandoned project like so many others (Pro Photo Tools, Bing Virtual Earth) from the experimental side of MS. By making it OSS it can be maintained indefinitely,
If this functionality was simply integrated into Windows as it should be MS would be forced to maintain it and any security problems that come up, but as a MS Garage app it is disposable, and at best we would get a warning not to use it anymore.
I understand the program was not originally intended to be OSS, but as it was also intended to be not supported anyway, MS and the authors can only gain from this change, as will those who want to keep using it in the future.
What are the use cases for Mouse without Borders?
I think the website describes it pretty well:
Would you want to have an incredible mouse that can seamlessly move from one machine to another? Would you want to get rid of the KVM and be more productive working with multiple machines?
Mouse without Borders is a product that makes you the captain of your computer fleet by allowing you to control up to four computers from a single mouse and keyboard. This means that with Mouse without Borders you can copy text or drag and drop files across computers.
No, that website describes how the software works. I'm looking for how people are using the software today, to understand what problems Mouse without Borders solves, why it should be considered as a new PowerToys feature, etc. (To be honest, I'm not sold this feature is needed.)
The use case for me is very specific. I have multiple machines on my desk. Desktop, Surface Book, other laptops, etc. They are all connected to different monitors. However, I don't have the desk space for the requisite mouse/keyboard combinations to deal with them all nor do I want to think about which one I'm using. I move the mouse as if it were one machine connected to multiple monitors and no other thinking is required. That, in my opinion, is the core daily driver use case and applies to an all Windows environment. I'm looking for MWB to be OSS and integrated into PoweToys for the continuity of support and roadmap. Right now I'm just living in fear of a breaking change in Windows 10 with no support or path to a fix.
@mbrittenham So for my understanding, you have several monitors, each one (or more) dedicated to other Windows devices, in front of you, right? What are you doing across these devices that necessitates the constant back and forth? What about RDP/VNC? I'm guessing a physical KVM was ruled out due to frequency of switching, is that right?
@riverar I have a desktop with two monitors from which I work at home and another laptop that I took to the office (when that was still the case). In some cases, two monitors is not enough. While I could buy a third monitor for these cases, more often than not I just take out my laptop. Mouse and keyboard across these two computers makes this workflow seamless.
@riverar yes, I need to see multiple displays so a KVM won't work and the need to switch is problematic. RDP also requires me to view everything on one machine. This affords me the seamless experience while having multiple machines for the added computing power and redundancy. I may have Teams up on two machines or the same with any of the office apps. I've had Premiere Pro editing and rendering on one system while working email on another and I don't have to context switch anything, even mentally, to go back and forth. However I don't pay a resource tax in my email while rendering video. At the same time I can see all systems simultaneously so if I were to have a monitoring dashboard or some other portal open I can keep it in view which isn't viable with a KVM or RDP session.
I also previously used the shared clipboard feature heavily but with cloud clipboard available in windows that's become less of a feature for me. Locking all systems simultaneously is nice as is unlocking all though for unlocking Windows Hello face recognition has eliminated the need for that.
In many hardware development scenarios it's better to have a dedicated machine to the hardware under development, and a machine to deal with other generic business tasks like email, conferencing, and writing. Mouse-wo-borders allows me to cut and paste code into emails and not have to switch to a 2nd mouse constantly. I have monitors dedicated to each, I open up data sheets, schematics, terminals and on both machines.
@riverar, I endorse @watermarkhu use case. And I think this became a more common scenario with people working from home with their personal and work devices. The Mouse Without Borders make this integration really seamless (If you're on windows only) and for me, that makes sense to be integrated with the power toys...
@dpKano Agreed Exactly! My only worry is security. Not sure the level used.
My use case:
I have a daily driver notebook which I use for work and everyday browsing and a media PC which is connected to my TV. I can easily control the media PC from my laptop by simply pointing the cursor to the HTPC's desktop. No second mouse or keyboard needed. I love how fast and seamless it is.
My use case is similar to others mentioned. I have 2 laptops at my desk: 1 dedicated for personal use, 1 dedicated for work use. Each has 2 or 3 dedicated monitors attached. I use a single keyboard and mouse seamlessly which not only saves me desk space but also having to physically move my hands between the two. Copy/paste of at least text is essential because I often do research from my personal computer which doesn't have the browsing restrictions and always-on VPN requirements as my work computer.
My only issue is that my work computer doesn't allow inbound connections from my personal computer so I have to initiate connections from my work computer to my personal one. Occasionally the link gets dropped and I have to manually switch to my work laptop keyboard and touchpad (uncomfortable and out of the way) to re-establish the connection. It would be nice if Mouse Without Borders could be set to automatically reconnect outbound from a specific computer when a connection gets dropped.
On Mon, Oct 5, 2020 at 7:44 PM BubiBalboa [email protected] wrote:
My use case:
I have a daily driver notebook which I use for work and everyday browsing and a media PC which is connected to my TV. I can easily control the media PC from my laptop by simply pointing the cursor to the HTPC's desktop. No second mouse or keyboard needed. I love how fast and seamless it is.
— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/issues/77#issuecomment-703964119, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AGT6UNLPITLJ2JBERSXQ7NLSJJR6HANCNFSM4HMJNLEA .
I have 2 laptops and an old tower connected, all have 2 screens, giving me 6 in total being used at the same time, all in the same room with 3 keyboards and mice. All with different versions of Windows, and anyone in this position knows how much of a pain it is to get them to communicate properly and reliably in both directions on the network. Unless I install a dedicated tool they all have that does not care what version of Windows I use, this is where MWB or a non MS RDP solution comes in.
RDP is not needed and total overkill if I am looking at the screens already. All I need is for my pointer to move to the other screens so I can interact with them. I don't need or want to see the screens on the other machines via the machine I am sat at.
It gives me a shared clipboard across the different versions of Windows. If I want to transfer lots of files I do it via the network and leave it copying, but if I just want that 1 file I am working on right this second to be on another machine, all I have to do is move the mouse to the PC I want to work on and drop it there.
If all I want to do is click on next track in WACUP or change its volume, I shouldn't have to fire up a dedicated remote session just to literally save me the bother of walking across the room to do 1 mouse click then go back to my work PC.
MWB is a simple tool and it does not do much, but what it does do is increase ease of use of a "home command-centre" and work productivity by a huge factor.
It even saves on USB sockets so you can connect other more important devices.
I think I speak on behalf of most people in this thread when I say, Install it yourself at home in a room with multiple PCs and use it for 1 week, then switch it off and see how long before you realise this should have been a basic feature of Windows for many years and living without it is not a viable option in the year 2020. Having multiple PCs in the same room and not being able to use them as if they were 1 PC with lots of screens, seems like the stone-age for those of us using MWB.
Think "Universal remote control for PCs" "One mouse to find them, one mouse to bind them all"