Mouse cursor always reverts to a single display in a multi display setup
- @david
I recently purchased a TinyPilot Voyager2 to remotely manage a client target system. The target system is a Dell Latitude 5490 connected to an external monitor.
When I connect the TinyPilot V2 to the target system in the extended display setup, everything works fine as far as keyboard and mouse are concerned. However the issue is in the display to the KVM. For some reason, however, in an extended display setup, TinyPilot will always "lock" the mouse cursor to only one of the displays. Even if I manually move the mouse to the KVM display, as soon as I move the mouse from the monitoring system, the cursor will jump back to display 1. I'm not sure if this is a "feature" of TinyPilot, but it is somewhat inconvenient.
I can successfully use TinyPilot in a duplicated display setup, where the whereabouts of the mouse cursor is more deterministic, but the client prefers to keep the system in extended mode, which leaves me looking for a solution. Here's hoping this is something that's already been addressed! Thanks in advance!
David @david2022-11-25 12:55:18.942Z2022-11-25 15:22:38.679ZHi @azmat, sorry that you're running into this mouse issue.
It sounds like the problem could be how TinyPilot handles mouse input to the target machine. TinyPilot uses absolute positioning, rather than relative positioning. Meaning that a 0,0 position on the TinyPilot display maps to the 0,0 position on the target machine's desktop. In an extended display setup, that might not be on TinyPilot's display. We have an open GitHub issue to support relative mouse positioning, but there isn't a timeline for it yet.
TinyPilot is rarely used in extended mode setups, so I haven't seen this specific issue come up before. I tried to reproduce the issue on my own machine (using a display + TinyPilot in extended display mode), but the behaviour was slightly different to yours. However, that was on a desktop machine, rather than a laptop. Laptops (or a different operating system) may have different behaviour here too.
I'd be interested to see whether changing the position of the TinyPilot display relative to the other display(s) helps. Can you try moving your TinyPilot's display in the display settings so that it's the left-most display (or in other positions - top, bottom, right) to see if the behaviour changes?
- FIn reply toazmat⬆:@Frogger
Hi,
Recent TinyPilot purchase.
I have the identical issue. Also, using a Dell laptop with extended display to external monitor.
Any update?
David @david2024-03-12 15:23:55.349ZHi @Frogger, I'm sorry you're also running into this mouse positioning issue.
This is a relatively uncommon scenario since most TinyPilot users use their TinyPilot as the primary display, or they use a mirrored display configuration.
I've added a note to our open GitHub issue to let the team know you're interested in relative mouse mode (which should be a solution to the behavior you're experiencing.)
Relative mouse positioning isn't part of our short-term roadmap yet, but we’re always working to improve TinyPilot’s software and hardware. We prioritize features based on user demand, so we’ll definitely consider your feedback in our planning.
One workaround here might be to make your TinyPilot display the 'primary' display for your target machine, although there may be restrictions if your target machine is a laptop. Could you try testing that to see if that helps at all?
Please let me know if you have any questions.
- FIn reply toazmat⬆:@Frogger
Hi thanks so much for the response and information.
Regarding your workaround...if I make TinyPilot the primary display, yes, it seems to work.
For this specific case (i.e., laptop monitor [display 1], external monitor [display 2], TinyPilot output [display 3]), I can extend display between laptop & external monitor, then duplicate display between external monitor and TinyPilot. Additionally, what is required is that I select TinyPilot as "make this my main display"
Thanks!
- David @david2024-03-13 11:58:54.503Z
You're welcome! Thanks for those details about your setup and how you configured it for the workaround - I'm sure other users will find it useful.
Feel free to reach out again if you have any questions.