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DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

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Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#81

Post by al_borland »

imzadi wrote: post #17

I need this. I have a 49" monitor and sharing the screen is such a pita

I have a 43” and keep my laptop screen open for when I need to share my screen. The issue is when I have to share code, because my font is huge in my editor. I could scale up and down I guess, but I really don’t like messing with stuff once I have it how I like it.

More and more I’ve gotten lazy and share my main screen. My editor is big enough for people to see, but browsers are an issue. I have less of an issue zooming those as needed.

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#83

Post by eqvinox »

generalizations wrote: post #82

I wonder if something like this could be done on Linux with xorg hackery (probably involving xvfb?). Definitely seems handy.

You can just start Xephyr, it gives you an X server in a window. Needs a few lines of setup around it to get a window manager or desktop session on that window.

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#84

Post by eqvinox »

marcodiego wrote: post #26
neallindsay wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linux users probably already have some weird workflow with X11 virtual buffers to do this.

Xnest is probably enough. I've used it for similar purposes a few times. Don't know the equivalent for Wayland though.

Xnest got replaced by Xephyr AFAIK. But same thing at the end of the day.

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#85

Post by eqvinox »

bitbang wrote: post #32
_6GoofyWizard9_ wrote: post #5

Very nice idea! It would be nice to be able to do the same on Linux and/or Windows, too!

This has been possible on Linux (Wayland + pipewire) for a couple years now.

It has been possible on Linux for way longer than that, Xnest dates back to when it was still XFree86 rather than Xorg. Quick googling has Xnest and Xephyr mentioned in 2012 changelogs (X11R7.7), but those aren't even "creation" changelogs. (I can't easily dig up when they were created…)

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#86

Post by tasn »

craftkiller wrote: post #71
tasn wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just realized formatting is a bit broken. :( Fixed: #!/bin/bash swaymsg create_output OUTPUT=$(swaymsg -r -t get_outputs | jq '.[].name' | grep HEADLESS | tr -d '"') # No need to reduce res, it defualts to 1080p # swaymsg output "$OUTPUT" resolution 1280x720 wl-mirror "$OUTPUT" swaymsg output "$OUTPUT" unplug

You can do code blocks on HN by prefixing your lines with four spaces. #!/bin/bash swaymsg create_output OUTPUT=$(swaymsg -r -t get_outputs | jq '.[].name' | grep HEADLESS | tr -d '"') # No need to reduce res, it defualts to 1080p # swaymsg output "$OUTPUT" resolution 1280x720 wl-mirror "$OUTPUT" swaymsg output "$OUTPUT" unplug

Oh, thanks! I remembered there was something, skimmed through https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc and completely missed it.

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#87

Post by nikeee »

albert_e wrote: post #52
madman2k wrote: post #45

Nice. I'm testing it watching a YouTube video in "full screen" in its window, while also leaving room for a browser and email window on that monitor.

This is an excellent use case that I also often felt the need for. You can remove all the YT clutter this way, have all the controls and keyboard shortcuts, and extensions like Video Speed Controller still functional while precisely controlling the position and size of the video. Would be great for following long lectures and tutorials. any good solution for this for a Windows machine?

I use the pip functionality of Firefox for that. It works on every html video and ironically, you can make it full screen.

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#88

Post by eqvinox »

Linux/X11:

  #!/bin/sh
  
  new_disp=:2
  size="1600x900"
  
  unset XDG_SEAT XMODIFIERS GTK_IM_MODULE
  
  set - "$@" \
   -noreset -br -ac -dpi 120 \
   -xkb-layout us \
   -screen "$size" \
   "$new_disp" \
   #
  
  Xephyr "$@" &
  sleep .5
  
  export DISPLAY="$new_disp"
  
  metacity &
  urxvt &
Metacity is kinda deprecated but still my "simple WM" of choice. You may need to set an xauth key for :2. ("xauth add :2 . ")

(Script slightly edited & shortened, probably broke something :D)

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#89

Post by xp84 »

conductr wrote: post #34

I think the problem I have is more so that people want my font sizes to be 3x what I have them. Usually I’m presenting a spreadsheet (financial statements and such) and people ask me to zoom in. Which I can but it breaks the whole thing and throws me off because I can no longer read my document anymore and I’m trying to present it. For that reason, I evangelize that attendees use the Zoom feature on their device if i…

As someone often on the receiving end of screenshares, I cannot recommend enough that you do not maximize your shared window itself unless it's absolutely necessary. On a typical 15" laptop, 2/3 the width and ¾ the height is great. (for a 4K/5K monitor this will probably be a smaller fraction). Even assuming everyone else has eyesight on par with your own, it's wise to leave room for the chat on one side and a toolbar on the bottom. (And please never maximize a shared window on those 21:9 displays; that is so painful for everyone on a laptop. We get giant black bars at top and bottom, and your text at like 2px.)

People can zoom, yes, but it's going to require scrolling which can be distracting even if it's set to "follow pointer" -- and your pointer may be zipping all over (like, going to the toolbar when the users are looking at a row near the bottom of the screen).

I know it is a challenge to limit yourself to a small canvas -- we all love using a big screen for certain tasks -- but I believe it's going to be easier and make for a more engaging and productive session when you control both the viewport size and the scroll position at all times. One nice thing about Zoom is that it is dynamic, so if you are sharing a window and you realize you need more horizontal real-estate for a certain part of your preso, you can momentarily resize your window for that, and then go back to a more manageable size when done, with no re-sharing needed.

Re: DeskPad – A virtual monitor for screen sharing

#90

Post by intull »

transfire wrote: post #9

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could adjust resolution per window? On a 4k monitor some applications have tiny text and icons, and no way adjust that I can find.

I like the idea! Rooting for whoever in the universe working on it! Meanwhile, I think you could actually "mimic" this by using OBS as a virtual camera and use multiple layers to selectively share windows. You can set an output video size, and scale different layers/windows individually.
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