Written for Synergy 1 (v1.21.4), checked 3 October 2026.
This page shows where everything is in the Synergy 1 window, its menus and its tray icon. To connect your computers for the first time, follow: How to configure Synergy 1
The main window
Computer name and address
The top of the window shows This computer's name: followed by the name the other computers know this one by. To change it, stop Synergy 1 first, then click Edit Computer Name, type the new name and press Enter (Esc cancels). A name can use letters, numbers, _ and -, up to 255 characters, with no spaces. The button is hidden while Synergy 1 is running.
On the server, the line below shows the address clients can connect to: Suggested IP:, or Using IP: when you picked an address in Preferences. Hover over it to see every address the computer has. No IP Detected means the computer has no active network connection.
Server or client
- Use this computer's keyboard and mouse (make this computer the server): pick this on the computer whose keyboard and mouse you want to share. It shows Configure Server, where you arrange your computers and add hotkeys, and a small button beside it, Export server configuration, that saves your layout as a text configuration file.
- Use another computer’s mouse and keyboard (make this computer the client): pick this on every other computer. Type the server's name or IP address in Connect to:. You can list several, separated by commas, and the client tries each one. Configure Client holds the options for this client.
Changing the mode stops Synergy 1 if it's running.
Start, stop and restart
On the server, click Start to begin sharing; the button then reads Stop. On a client the same button reads Connect and Disconnect. Restart restarts Synergy 1 while it's running, which applies changes such as a new layout. Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+S starts or restarts, Ctrl+T stops (Command instead of Ctrl on macOS).
The first time a server starts, Synergy 1 activates your license. How that works: How license activation works in Synergy 1 and Synergy 3
Status bar
- The status text says what Synergy 1 is doing, for example Synergy is waiting for clients on a server, or Synergy is connected as client of followed by the server's address on a client. On a server with clients connected it lists them.
- The padlock shows whether the connection is encrypted. Hover over it to read Encryption Enabled (after the TLS version) or Encryption Disabled.
- The fingerprint button (View local fingerprint) opens Local Fingerprints, which shows this computer's fingerprint so you can compare it when another computer asks you to trust it. It only appears while TLS encryption is on. More about this: Encryption and fingerprints in Synergy 1
- Update available appears when a newer version is out. Click it to open the download page.
- Settings migrated appears once after an upgrade from Synergy 1.20. Click it to see where your old settings were backed up. If your settings look wrong after that upgrade, see: Re-run the settings migration after upgrading from Synergy 1.20 to 1.21
Log
Choose View > Log to show or hide the log under the window. The buttons in the log's title bar detach it into a window of its own (Detach from window) or close it (Close Log). The search button (Search) opens a Find... box with Find next and Find previous. To save the log to a file for our support team, see: Saving the Synergy 1 log to file
Menus
| Menu | Item | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| File | Start (Connect on a client), Restart, Stop (Disconnect on a client) | The same as the buttons in the window. |
| File | Quit | Closes Synergy 1 completely, so it stops sharing. |
| Edit | Preferences | All the app's settings. Each one is explained in: Synergy 1 Preferences: every setting explained |
| View | Log | Shows or hides the log. |
| Help | About Synergy... | Your version, edition and serial key, with Copy version info for support requests and Change to enter a different serial key. |
| Help | Get help | Opens our help page in your browser. |
| Help | Clear settings | Deletes all settings and restarts Synergy 1. Read the warnings first: Reset Synergy 1 or find its settings files |
| License | Change serial key | Enter a new serial key, for example after an upgrade. The steps: Enter or change your serial key in Synergy 1 |
On macOS, Preferences, About and Quit are in the Synergy menu at the top of the screen instead of the Edit, Help and File menus.
Tray icon
Synergy 1 keeps running when you close its window, with its icon in the notification area (the menu bar on macOS). Right-click the icon (click it on macOS) for Start, Restart, Stop, Minimize to tray or Open Synergy, and Quit. On Windows and Linux, clicking the icon shows or hides the window. To make closing the window quit Synergy 1 instead, change When the main window is closed in Preferences on the Window tab.
On Linux with GNOME, the tray icon only shows once a tray extension such as AppIndicator support is installed.