Observing Another User's Desktop

When you use Timbuktu Pro to observe a remote computer, its desktop is displayed in a screen-sharing window on your screen. The window is updated as the other computer's desktop changes. You can see the activity on the remote computer, but you cannot control it. The Observe service is useful for diagnosing problems on a remote computer or giving a presentation.

If the remote computer's screen resolution is higher than yours and you maximize your Observe window, the AutoScroll feature is enabled so that you can view the entire remote desktop.

To observe another user's desktop

  1. Select the remote computer or establish a Dial Direct connection.

  2. From the Services menu, choose Observe. Or click the Observe service button.

    Timbuktu Pro displays the remote computer’s desktop in a screen-sharing window. You will be able to observe the screen only.

  3. Click on a screen-sharing window to make it the active window. To return to your own computer, click outside the screen-sharing window.

  4. To stop controlling or observing, choose Close from the system menu of the screen-sharing window, or click its Close box. Timbuktu Pro closes the window and ends the connection.

If a screen-sharing window doesn't open, you may have one of the following problems:

While observing a remote computer, you can start another service with the same computer. Click the Observe system menu to start another service. You may also observe more than one computer at the same time. Follow the same connection procedure for all computers.