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How many computers do you use? I have a laptop and a fully decked out gaming rig—and it can be a pain to control them. Instead of stacking my keyboards on top of each other, there is specialized software (or hardware) I can use so that one mouse and one keyboard can work with two computers simultaneously. I'll warn you that no program works perfectly and does everything, but there are two methods that stand out from the pack: Mouse Without Borders and Synergy. If software won't cut it, you can also turn to a KVM Switch, a small piece of hardware, to get the job done.
Mouse Without Borders: Free and Easy for Windows
An Microsoft Garage project from developer Truong Do, Mouse Without Borders is a free program that shares your mouse and keyboard between Windows PCs. I found it to be easy to set up, which made it a good first step when I was just starting out with these programs. Note that it's only officially supported on Windows 10, so you might have issues on a Windows 11 PC.
Install Mouse Without Borders on the PC whose keyboard and mouse you want to use across all machines. Click No when asked if you’ve installed it on another PC to get a code. Now install the program on a second PC and enter the code when prompted. They should automatically connect to each other, no extra hassle required.
From the main Mouse Without Borders window, you can drag the computer icons to rearrange your PCs in line with how they appear in your physical space. For example, my desktop is to the left of my laptop, so I made sure the icons matched that layout. That way, my mouse could easily “hop” over to the other PC when I dragged it to the correct edge. There are some other options you can play with in this window, if you so choose.
Mouse Without Borders works well for free, but I find it’s a bit stuttery at times. On the second computer, my cursor would often be slow to respond or get stuck for a second as I moved it around the screen, which caused me to lose some precision when clicking on things. Still, clipboard sharing worked well between my two PCs, and I could drag and drop files from one machine to another with no issues.
Input Director: Mouse Without Borders Alternative
If you only use Windows machines and want something that runs a bit smoother than Mouse Without Borders, Input Director is a worthy alternative. Setup takes a bit more work, in my experience, and may be difficult for novice users. For example, it rarely finds other machines on my network when scanning, even if I type in the hostname. Typing the secondary machine's IP address worked well for me, at which point it ran beautifully.
Input Director has several extra features, including security options and customizable hotkeys. These may be a bit overwhelming for some folks, but if you know what you're doing, Input Director is maybe more reliable than Mouse Without Borders and has official Windows 11 support.
Synergy & Barrier: Smooth and Cross-Platform
Synergy is the most well-known program in this space, but it costs money, is a bit difficult to set up, and has gone through a major transition. The program used to be open source, and a fork of an older version called Barrier is available for free. You could spend $30 for Synergy, but the two are still similar enough that I recommend trying Barrier first. If it doesn't work, then you can fork over the cash for a Synergy license.
Despite the complexities, Synergy and Barrier work smoothly once everything is set up. Install the program on all the computers you want to use. (You may be asked to reboot during the process.) The program will then ask you to designate the current computer as a Server (the computer with the mouse and keyboard) or a Client (the computer you need to control).
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If you're using Synergy, it will then ask you to activate your account; copy the license key from your Symless account page and paste it into the Synergy application. Once activated, repeat this process on any Windows, macOS, or linux computers, choosing one Server and as many Client computers as you need. Barrier supports up to 15 computers, while Synergy's basic tier can work with up to three (or 15 if you upgrade to Synergy Ultimate for $50).
Once your computers have the program installed and running, you’ll need to get them talking to each other. On the server machine, click the Configure Server button. In the upper left-hand corner, you should see an icon that looks like a PC monitor—drag that onto the grid and line it up with your server PC’s icon. In my case, my client computer is a Mac mini that sits on my desk to the right of the server desktop PC, named Jotunn, so I dragged the icon one square to the right of my server PC’s icon.
Double-click on the icon you just added and type in the name of the client PC under where it says Screen Name. You’ll see it in the client’s Synergy window, where it says Client Name. Click OK, then click the Apply button to apply your settings and start the server.
At the top of the window on your server PC, you’ll see an IP address in bold; in my case, it’s 192.168.1.11. That series of numbers denotes a PC’s location on the network, and your client PC will need to know the server’s IP address to connect. Copy that address into the Server box on the client PC’s window, as shown above. (Barrier also has an Auto Config checkbox you can try, or you can turn that off and add the IP address yourself.)
Once you’ve done this, click the Start button. The two PCs should then connect, and you should be able to use the server PC's keyboard and mouse on both machines. Just drag the cursor to the edge of your main computer’s screen and it will hop over to your other PC, as if they were the same device. While you can copy and paste text between both your machines, dragging and dropping files can be a bit finicky.
Overall, I found Synergy and Barrier to be much smoother than Mouse Without Borders, which made it a bit more compelling. If you have problems, check the log; Barrier requires you to set up the log in its settings, where it will log to a file. Synergy outputs the log at the bottom of its window, which gives you much quicker access to any errors that may arise.
ShareMouse: Synergy Alternative
ShareMouse is another cross-platform option like Synergy, but it can be used for free. There’s basically no setup required since it automatically detects other ShareMouse computers on the network. However, this tier is limited to two computers (and only one screen each). To unlock additional screens, you can pay for the $99 Personal tier that will add two additional screens or the $149 Professional tier that lets you link up to nine machines and 16 monitors, along with drag and drop, clipboard sharing, shared displays, and more.
KVM Switch: The Hardware Option
Before software could easily perform this task, hardware devices known as KVM switches served a similar purpose. There are simple KVM switches that act as an A/B switch—you press a button on the device to move your keyboard and mouse from one PC to another. More expensive models, such as those offered by TESmart and CKL, may support multiple monitors, hotkey switching, and other advanced features. Many KVM switches have their own quirks, though, so you may need to read lots of reviews and do some experimentation to figure out which KVM switch is best for your use case.
Remote Desktop
It may seem silly to remote into the computer sitting next to you, but it's also very easy and allows you to control one computer with another's keyboard and mouse. If all your computers use Windows, then Microsoft’s built-in Remote Desktop tool is fantastic. For other platforms, Chrome Remote Desktop is easy to set up, and works like a charm.
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