Share your desktop
You can let other people view and control your desktop from another device with a desktop viewing application. Configure Desktop Sharing to allow others to access your desktop and set the security preferences.
If you want to log in to your user account remotely, see Remote Login.
Open the Activities overview and start typing System.
Select Settings ▸ System from the results. This will open the System panel.
Select Remote Desktop to open the Desktop Sharing panel.
To let others view your desktop, switch on Desktop Sharing. This means that others will be able to try and connect to your device and view your screen.
To let others interact with your desktop switch on Remote Control. This may allow the other person to move your cursor, run applications, and browse your files, depending on the security settings which you are currently using.
Connecting
The How to Connect section displays the Hostname and Port that can be used on the connecting device. Click the button next to each entry if you want to place it in the clipboard. A connection can also be established using your IP address.
If you also enable Remote Login, it will set its port number to 3389. This means Desktop Sharing will use a different port, for example, 3390.
If the port number is not 3389, specify it when connecting.
When the other device is successfully connected to your desktop, you
will see the Screen is being shared icon
in your system status area.
If the text set as Device Name can be edited, you can change the name of your device on the network.
Authentication
The Login Details section displays the user name and password to be used in the client software used for connecting to your desktop.
Click Verify Encryption to display the encryption fingerprint. Compare it with the value displayed by the client when connecting: they should be identical.
Clients
To connect to your desktop from another device, the following clients are known to work.
- From Linux:
Remmina, a GTK client, is available as a package in most distributions, and also as a flatpak. Use default settings, particularly Color depth “Automatic” in the connection profile settings.
Connections, a GTK client, is available as a package in most distributions, and also as a flatpak.
xfreerdp is a command line client available as a package in most distributions. The option /network:auto should be passed to the client on the command line.
- From Microsoft Windows:
mstsc is the built-in Windows client. Default settings are recommended.
- From Linux, Windows, or macOS:
Thincast is a proprietary client. The Linux version is available as a flatpak. Default settings are recommended.
Checking connection
-
In your chosen client, enter the Hostname or IP address.
If the port number differs from 3389, specify it (address:port).
On many networks you need to add a “.local” suffix to the computer's name for the connection to work.
Fill in the user name and password for Desktop Sharing.
Stop sharing your desktop
To disconnect someone who is viewing your desktop, follow the steps below.
Click the system menu on the right side of the top bar.
Click Screen is being shared.
Click Turn off.