Tight VNC Server/Viewer (Now with GUI!)

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rarsa
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Tight VNC Server/Viewer (Now with GUI!)

#1 Post by rarsa »

Here is the tight vncserver for puppy.

[See here for description of Wizard]

tight VNC server is part of the tightvnc suite applications. I decided to split the viewer and the server in two different packages to make it more puppy friendly.

I still need to add the 'man' page puppy style.

It registers with pupget and adds itself to the fvwm95, icewm and Jwm menus

I translated the original vncserver perl script to run as a bash script. It is a semantic translation not a literal translation so it still needs testing although I haven't been able to break it.

To lean how to use it type vncserver -help at the console after installation.

It installs about 1.4 Mb. to the /root/my-applications/tightvnc
Plus it installs a cursor.pcf font to the /usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc

The VNC viewer is also under this thread.

===== Change log ======

# Edit March 23, 2008 -> New version uploaded
- Updated to the latest tightVNCserver version 1.3.9
- Fixed problem with Rox startup parameters as reported by paulh177

# Edit May 18, 2006 -> New installation version uploaded. (didn't change the number 1.2.9-0.7)
- Fixed the bug where /root/.vnc/xstartup was not being set as executable
- Added the .desktop file so it shows in the 109CE menu.

# Edit Oct 7, 2005 -> New installation version uploaded. (1.2.9-0.7)
- Added feedback window while starting a new display.

# Edit Sept 29, 2005 -> New installation version uploaded. (1.2.9-0.6)
- New vncserver-wizard included. Thanks to pakt for the initial prototype and for testing the alpha versions.
- The xstartup executes jwm by default
- Faster vncserver -l command
- Rox cursor and Pinboard lanunched by default on the new displays. Thanks to pakt for the advice.

# Edit Aug 7, 2005 -> New installation version uploaded. (1.2.9-0.4)
- Create ~/.vnc folder if there isn't one. (Thanks to pakt for finding the bug and sending the fix)
- Show the number of displays found when option -list selected.
- If the pid file does not exist when trying to kill the display, show a meaningfull message.
- From the menu, execute the vncserver in a xterm to give feed back to the user.

#Edit Aug 5, 2005 -> new installation version uploaded. (1.2.9-0.3)
- Fixed the vncserver installation script, It now registers into the fvmw95, icewm and jwm menus
- The vncserver script now uses the standard shell instead of bash
- Start fvwm95 as the default WM. (It can be changed by editing the ~/.vnc/xstartup file)

=====
Known bugs:
The installer does not remove the previous vncserver menu entry. If you have previously installed the vncserver, you can remove the older menu entry manually. The new entry executes the vncserver-wizard
Last edited by rarsa on Sun 23 Mar 2008, 17:49, edited 11 times in total.
[url]http://rarsa.blogspot.com[/url] Covering my eclectic thoughts
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rarsa
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Tight VNC viewer

#2 Post by rarsa »

Why tight VNC viewer if we already have "TkVNC VNC Client"?
- It supports secured servers. It will ask for the password.
- It can run in full screen. Actually you can flip between full screen and windowed
- It's a quite fast native binary
- It supports a large variety of parameters
- It provides automatic scrolling for when you are connecting to a computer that has higher resolution.
- It required just the binary and one extra library. Making it 244K to download and just 543K installed

It installs to /root/my-applications/tightvnc and creates a symlink in /root/my-applications/bin.

I am including the original README file

To learn how to use it just type vncviewer -help
To start the viewer just type vncviewer
It will prompt for the server address. use the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:p format where xxx is the IP address and p is the screen number. e.g. 192.168.1.100:1 (it goes to port 5901 of server 192.168.1.100)

Please try it and send me your comments.

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Lobster
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Controlling machines from anywhere

#3 Post by Lobster »

You are a smart Puppy

This is now linked on the wiki news page
http://www.goosee.com/puppy/wikka/LatestNews

:)
Puppy Raspup 8.2Final 8)
Puppy Links Page http://www.smokey01.com/bruceb/puppy.html :D

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dvw86
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#4 Post by dvw86 »

Not bad, not bad at all! I definitely like the TightVNCviwer better than TkVNC. I had a little trouble with the server though, but was still impressed. For some reason it opened up a whole new window session. This may be because I didn't set any options when I started it. I'll have to look into it further to find out. The Pinboard does not start on the remote window. I had to start it manually. This is probably because none of the Puppy startup scripts were ran. One other suggestion is to mention that all of the TightVNC applications need to be started from the terminal (rxvt session). You can not just click on the icon and have it work. All in all this is great, just what i was looking for. Thanks!!

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rarsa
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#5 Post by rarsa »

****EDIT
I just noticed a bug in my vncserver DotPup. It adds the vncviewer entry to the menu instead of adding the vncserver.
I will fix it tomorrow as I just came back from camping and I'm quite tired.
****

Actually they can be started from the menu.

The vncserver script runs with defaults if it is executed from the menu.

If you need to change those defaults, you just change the script. That's what's normally done in the thightVNC server original script.

If you read the top of the script you can also see that one of my TODO's is to add a configuration file where to put the defaults without having to modify the script.

As for the viewer: If you run it from the menu, it pops up a little window requesting the address. It is not clear that you have to enter address and display, that's why I explained it in my post (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:d)

Alternativelly you could change the entry in the menu to add all the parameters you normally use.

menno

small changes ?

#6 Post by menno »

It works great !

You can use it from windows and linux . With server in windows you should give only the IP without any port (or :5900) .

I thing it better to change the #!/bin/bash into #!/bin/sh (vncserver script) because older Puppy's do not have a bash .
In the server xstartup you use as window manager icewm , but this is not avaleble in all the Puppy's . Maybe it better to fill this in when your looking for what window mannager is used , as done in dotpup.sh .

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rarsa
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#7 Post by rarsa »

Thank you for your input.

Change log:

- Fixed the vncserver installation script, It now registers into the fvmw95, icewm and jwm menus
- The vncserver script now uses the standard shell instead of bash
- Start fvwm95 as the default WM. (It can be changed by editing the ~/.vnc/xstartup file)

The new version is in the same link as the previous one, the new version id is 0.3

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BlackAdder
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#8 Post by BlackAdder »

Have tried the viewer controlling an XP machine.
The only problem was with scrolling. The viewer would only scroll once in any direction and then it was stuck.
Has anyone else observed this behavio(u)r?

Guest

#9 Post by Guest »

Yes, I have.

That's why I do one of the following:

a) When setting up a linux VNC server, I set a geometry equal or smaller than the expected clients.

b) When connecting to a server that has a higher resolution, I press F8 and select 'Full screen' from the popup menu. When running in full screen, the viewer does an automatic scroll as soon as you get to the border of the screen.

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rarsa
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#10 Post by rarsa »

Oops, the previous post is mine,

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BlackAdder
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#11 Post by BlackAdder »

Thanks for that rarsa.

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pakt
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Re: Tight VNC viewer

#12 Post by pakt »

rarsa wrote:Please try it and send me your comments.
Thanks, rarsa. Nice work :). Did find two problems though -- vncserver doesn't create the /root/.vnc directory. I fixed it by adding the following (just above the 'setPassword' function):

chkDir()
{
if [ ! -d "${vncUserDir}" ]; then
mkdir "$vncUserDir"
fi
}


and in MAIN SCRIPT (just above 'setPassword'):

chkDir

The other problem I had: You said vncserver can be started from the menu. I found that to be true, but only once the password has been set. Otherwise Fvwm95 hangs -- had to Ctrl-Alt-BS and run xwin to recover.

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rarsa
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#13 Post by rarsa »

Good catch! I'll try to fix both errors.

That's what happens when you only test in the computer where you do the development. You give certain things for granted.

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gliezl
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#14 Post by gliezl »

my TkVNC VNC Client is not working. I can browse the internet. I can check my mails. I can do SSH in out servers. But tkVNC hangs. I go to FILE then CONNECT, fill in the values, then it hangs! What did I do wrong? My officemates connects via VNC using windows. Please help...

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BlackAdder
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#15 Post by BlackAdder »

The problem may be that tkVNC does not support the use of passwords; the server most likely requires a password before allowing connection.

The tightVNC viewer does support password entry, and is a dot pup downloadable from within this thread.

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gliezl
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#16 Post by gliezl »

downloaded the the pup file. installed it. even checked with dot pup manager, the applcation was installed. but when i run it, nothing happens. i just typed vncviewer 192.168.0.3:5900 then comes back to the prompt. nothing happens. :(

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rarsa
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#17 Post by rarsa »

The correct format is vncviewer 192.168.0.3:0

There is always confusion. The port is 5900, the display is :0

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#18 Post by rarsa »

Thanks you again for your input.

I have uploaded a new version of the installer.

Now it should works nicelly from the menu.

You can read the change log in the original post

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gliezl
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#19 Post by gliezl »

Ok! :D Thanks for this one. Atleast it nice to learn. Yeah, get confused about that port & display thing. I'll download your new version. I'll keep you guys posted.

Again, thank you :)

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gliezl
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#20 Post by gliezl »

I typed at the console, vncviewer 192.168.0.3:0, and still it just goes back to the prompt and nothing happen. It's supposed to prompt me a password, right? :(

Sorry, I'm quite new to this thing. Yet VNC in windows works fine in my machine. Please do assist me. Thanks :)

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