Written for Synergy 3 (v3.7.2) and Synergy 1 (v1.21.4), checked 3 October 2026.
Product: Synergy 1 and Synergy 3
Operating system: Windows
If a full screen game or remote desktop window minimizes when you move to another computer, stop Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 taking the foreground window. Do this on the Windows computer whose keyboard and mouse you share (the server):
- Synergy 1: click Configure Server, go to the Advanced tab, tick Don't take foreground window (Windows only), then click OK.
- Synergy 3: go to Miscellaneous and make sure Take foreground window (more reliable input capture) is turned on. It's on by default. Despite its name, in Synergy 3 (v3.7.2) turning this switch on is what stops Synergy 3 taking the foreground window.
Many full screen applications, particularly games (and remote desktop windows), automatically minimize when they're no longer the active (foreground) application on Microsoft Windows. The server computer normally becomes the foreground when you switch to another screen, in order to more reliably capture all user input, which makes those full screen applications minimize.
With this setting, Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 may not work correctly when certain programs, particularly the command prompt, are in the foreground when you switch to other screens. Simply make a different program the foreground before switching to work around that.