Annex 0.4.2

Annex 0.4.2

Computers with No one at this screen on now update themselves, and scrolling works again on Linux with GNOME. Install this one by hand on each computer; from here on, unattended computers keep up on their own.

New

• Unattended computers update themselves. With No one at this screen on (and Check for updates on), Annex downloads a new version as soon as it's out, checks its signature, and installs it once no one has been connected for a minute. It comes back sharing, as before. If the new version doesn't start within 90 seconds, Annex puts the old one back and won't try that version again on its own. Computers with someone at the screen still ask first.
  • Mac: replaces Annex in its folder.
  • Windows: installs for the current user; an all-users install still asks.
  • Linux: a .tar.gz install updates in its own folder; a .deb or .rpm install updates through a small helper installed with Annex, so no password is needed.

Fixed

• Scrolling on Linux with GNOME. Scrolling from the viewer did nothing on GNOME (Wayland): GNOME dropped each scroll step. Annex now sends them the way GNOME expects, so the wheel and trackpad scroll again.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

What's Changed

• Linux on GNOME: scrolling scrolls again by @SkidGod4444 in #66
• Release 0.4.2 by @SkidGod4444 in #69
• No one at this screen: updates install on their own (Mac, Windows) by @SkidGod4444 in #67
• Linux: No one at this screen updates install on their own by @SkidGod4444 in #68

Full Changelog: v0.4.1...v0.4.2

Annex 0.4.1

Annex 0.4.1

A fix for a black screen when a Windows PC shares, and Mac shortcuts on a PC. Install it on both computers.

Fixed

• No more black screen from a Windows PC. On some PCs, often laptops with two graphics chips (for example AMD and NVIDIA), the session connected and the pointer moved, but no picture ever came: the PC's video encoder took every frame and sent nothing back, or never marked a full picture. Annex now finds full pictures in the video itself, and if an encoder produces nothing within two seconds it switches to H.264, then to the software encoder.

Improved

• ⌘ works like Ctrl when a Mac controls a Windows PC or a Linux computer. ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘Z, ⌘S and the rest do what Ctrl does there; ⌘Tab switches windows (Alt+Tab), ⌘Space opens Start, ⌘Q closes the window (Alt+F4), and Ctrl acts as the Windows key. Before, ⌘ arrived as the Windows key, so ⌘V opened the clipboard history. Settings → Viewing → ⌘ works like Ctrl on Windows and Linux turns it off.
• The log says why a picture doesn't arrive. If no video goes out in the first three seconds, annex.log names the likely cause, the viewer's log says the connection works but no video came, and the PC's log names the video encoder it chose.
• Saidev Dhal is credited on Windows too: the installer and Apps & features now name both makers, Nalinish Ranjan and Saidev Dhal.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

What's Changed

• Windows host: no black picture from an encoder that hides keyframes or returns nothing by @SkidGod4444 in #62
• Credits: Saidev Dhal as Windows publisher and company too by @SkidGod4444 in #63
• Mac viewer: ⌘ works like Ctrl on Windows and Linux by @SkidGod4444 in #65
• Release notes for 0.4.1 by @SkidGod4444 in #64

Full Changelog: v0.4.0...v0.4.1

Annex 0.4.0

Annex 0.4.0

Everything since 0.3.10, including 0.4.0-pre.1. Install it on both computers.

Fixed

• A Mac's screen shows up on Windows PCs that can't decode HEVC. Some PCs list an HEVC decoder that then won't start, so a Mac sending HEVC left them with no picture. Annex now checks that the decoder really starts before asking for HEVC; otherwise the picture comes as H.264.
• The notch drop on a Mac stops offering a computer that's gone. After you turned sharing off, dragging a file still opened the drop area for the computer that had been connected.

Improved

• What's new on Windows looks like the Mac's, with each version's changes in tidy groups, and it scrolls instead of growing taller than the screen.
• The rings behind "Waiting for a computer…" pulse on Windows, as on the Mac.
• The computer names on the Windows live card are clean capsules, like on the Mac, instead of a smudged grey oval.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

Full Changelog: v0.3.10...v0.4.0

Annex 0.4.0-pre.1

Annex 0.4.0-pre.1

A pre-release for testing: turn on Beta updates (About → Updates) to get it. Install it on both computers.

Fixed

• A Mac's screen shows up on Windows PCs that can't decode HEVC. Some PCs list an HEVC decoder that then won't start, so a Mac sending HEVC left them with no picture. Annex now checks that the decoder really starts before asking for HEVC; otherwise the picture comes as H.264.
• The notch drop on a Mac stops offering a computer that's gone. After you turned sharing off, dragging a file still opened the drop area for the computer that had been connected.
• What's new on Windows scrolls instead of growing taller than the screen.
• The computer names on the Windows live card are clean capsules, like on the Mac, instead of a smudged grey oval.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

Full Changelog: v0.3.10...v0.4.0-pre.1

Annex 0.3.10

Annex 0.3.10

Scrolling fixes. Install it on both computers.

Fixed

• A Mac trackpad no longer scrolls backwards on another Mac. Controlling a Mac from a Mac, the trackpad and the Magic Mouse now scroll the way they do on your own Mac. A mouse wheel on Windows or Linux controlling a Mac turns the way it does on that PC.
• Reverse Mouse Wheel is back (Settings → Advanced → Viewing, on by default). Controlling a Windows PC or a Linux computer from a Mac with natural scrolling on, a plain mouse wheel turns the way it does on a PC. The trackpad and the Magic Mouse always keep natural scrolling.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

Full Changelog: v0.3.9...v0.3.10

Annex 0.3.9

Annex 0.3.9

Everything since 0.3.8, including the 0.3.9 betas. Install it on both computers.

New

• Your shortcuts go to the computer you control. While the viewer is in front and you're controlling, they work on the other computer instead of yours. Click anywhere outside the viewer and they're yours again.
  • Mac: ⌘Space (Spotlight), ⌘Tab, ⌃← and ⌃→ (desktops), Mission Control, and the screenshot keys. Swiping to another desktop with four fingers also gives them back. Four-finger swipes stay on your Mac: macOS doesn't let any app pass them on, so use ⌃←, ⌃→ and ⌃↑ instead. ⌃⌥⇧Q disconnects.
  • Windows: the Windows key, Alt+Tab, Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Esc and Print Screen. Ctrl+Alt+Del and Windows+L always stay with your PC, as Windows requires. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q disconnects.
  • Linux: Super, Alt+Tab and your desktop's other shortcuts. They follow control as the other computer allows it or takes it back. Your desktop may ask once whether Annex can take them. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q disconnects.
  • If Annex quits unexpectedly, your shortcuts are yours again straight away.

Improved

• Scrolling turns the way it does on your Mac. The Reverse Mouse Wheel setting is gone. On a Mac, Linux or Windows computer you control, scrolling follows your Mac's own natural-scrolling setting, with a trackpad and a mouse wheel alike.
• Windows: built on the newest Windows App SDK (2.6).

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

What's Changed

• Mac: remove Reverse Mouse Wheel; scrolling turns as on this Mac everywhere by @SkidGod4444 in #56
• Mac viewer: system shortcuts go to the host; notes for 0.3.9-pre.1 by @SkidGod4444 in #57
• Bump taiki-e/install-action from 2.87.30 to 2.87.32 in the actions group by @dependabot[bot] in #59
• Bump the nuget group with 2 updates by @dependabot[bot] in #58
• Release notes for 0.3.9 (stable) by @SkidGod4444 in #61

Full Changelog: v0.3.8...v0.3.9

Annex 0.3.9-pre.2

Annex 0.3.9-pre.2

A pre-release for testing: turn on Beta updates (About → Updates) to get it. Install it on both computers.

New

• Windows and Linux shortcuts go to the computer you control, as on a Mac. While the viewer is in front and you're controlling, they work on the other computer instead of yours. Click outside the viewer and they're yours again. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q still disconnects.
  • Windows: the Windows key, Alt+Tab, Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Esc and Print Screen. Ctrl+Alt+Del and Windows+L always stay with your PC, as Windows requires. If Annex quits unexpectedly, your shortcuts are yours again straight away.
  • Linux: Super, Alt+Tab and your desktop's other shortcuts. They now follow control as the other computer allows it or takes it back, not only when the window first opens. Your desktop may ask once whether Annex can take them.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

What's Changed

• Bump taiki-e/install-action from 2.87.30 to 2.87.32 in the actions group by @dependabot[bot] in #59
• Bump the nuget group with 2 updates by @dependabot[bot] in #58

Full Changelog: v0.3.9-pre.1...v0.3.9-pre.2

Annex 0.3.9-pre.1

Annex 0.3.9-pre.1

A pre-release for testing: turn on Beta updates (About → Updates) to get it. Install it on both computers.

New

• Mac shortcuts go to the Mac you control. While the viewer is in front and you're controlling, ⌘Space (Spotlight), ⌘Tab, ⌃← and ⌃→ (desktops), Mission Control, and the screenshot keys work on the other Mac instead of yours. Click anywhere outside the viewer, or swipe to another desktop with four fingers, and they're yours again. ⌃⌥⇧Q still disconnects.
  • If Annex quits unexpectedly, your shortcuts come back on their own straight away.
  • Four-finger swipes stay on your Mac: macOS doesn't let any app pass them on. ⌃←, ⌃→ and ⌃↑ do the same on the other Mac.

Improved

• Scrolling turns the way it does on your Mac. The Reverse Mouse Wheel setting is gone. On a Mac, Linux or Windows computer you control, scrolling follows your Mac's own natural-scrolling setting, with a trackpad and a mouse wheel alike.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

What's Changed

• Mac: remove Reverse Mouse Wheel; scrolling turns as on this Mac everywhere by @SkidGod4444 in #56
• Mac viewer: system shortcuts go to the host; notes for 0.3.9-pre.1 by @SkidGod4444 in #57

Full Changelog: v0.3.8...v0.3.9-pre.1

Annex 0.3.8

Annex 0.3.8

Everything since 0.3.6, including the 0.3.7 betas. Thanks to Saidev Dhal for the logs and the testing over the internet. Install it on both computers.

Fixed

• The picture no longer freezes while the pointer keeps moving. When part of the picture was lost on the way, the viewer asked the other computer for a fresh one only once, and if that was lost too the picture stayed stuck for up to 30 seconds. The viewer now holds the last good picture and keeps asking until a fresh one arrives, usually within a second.

Improved

• A steadier picture on a fast connection. After lowering the quality because frames were lost, Annex used to climb straight back to where they were lost within 3 seconds, and lose them again. It now waits a moment, and climbs slowly near that point.
• A sharper picture over the internet. Annex used to lower the picture's quality every time a single frame got lost on the way, and was slow to raise it again, so a good internet connection could look blurry. It now ignores the odd lost frame and lowers the quality only when the connection really can't keep up.
• Fewer blocky moments. Each frame carries more repair data, so a short burst of lost packets no longer spoils it.
• HEVC on every platform. When both computers support it, the picture is sent as HEVC: sharper at the same speed. Otherwise it's H.264, as before, with nothing to set up.
  • Mac: every Apple silicon Mac, and Intel Macs that decode HEVC in hardware.
  • Windows: sending needs a graphics card with an HEVC encoder (NVIDIA, Intel or AMD); receiving needs Windows' HEVC decoder (the HEVC Video Extensions, built into many PCs and available from the Microsoft Store).
  • Linux: sending needs an HEVC encoder on the graphics chip (Intel and AMD through VA-API, NVIDIA); receiving needs a GStreamer HEVC decoder (gstreamer1.0-libav has one).
  • When several computers watch one screen, it's HEVC only while all of them support it.
  • Turn it off in Settings → HEVC if the picture misbehaves.
• More internet connections go direct, without the relay. Some internet providers share one public address among many homes, and their routers give each connection its own port. Annex now also connects to the port that computer's router really uses. Nothing new is opened to anyone: it's a path the sharing computer's own router made towards the viewer, and only packets signed with your code can point Annex to it.
• More direct connections with a code. Some internet providers forget an idle connection after a minute, so a code that waited a while before the other computer typed it ended up on the relay. While a code waits, Annex now keeps the way in open.
• The relay is only a fallback, and no longer a lesser one. Annex uses it only when the two networks block a direct connection. A relayed session now has the same quality as a direct one and no 20-minute limit. Each computer can use it for 10 sessions a day, and the sharing page shows how many are left and shows Relay next to a viewer connected through it. When they're used up, they come back at midnight UTC, or add your own relay and server in Settings → Advanced → Internet, which have no limit.
• Clearer logs for internet connections. If a connection over the internet is slow or goes through the relay, annex.log now helps find out why. Attach it to a bug report.

Still the same

Every session is end to end encrypted (TLS 1.3, checked against each computer's identity), whether it's direct or through the relay. The relay only forwards packets it can't read.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

What's Changed

• Viewer freeze fix, slower bitrate climb; notes for 0.3.8 by @SkidGod4444 in #55

Full Changelog: v0.3.6...v0.3.8

Annex 0.3.7-pre.3

Annex 0.3.7-pre.3

A pre-release for testing: turn on Beta updates (About → Updates) to get it. Install it on both computers.

Improved

• More direct connections with a code. Some internet providers forget an idle connection after a minute, so a code that waited a while before the other computer typed it ended up on the relay. While a code waits, Annex now keeps the way in open, so the two computers can still connect directly.
• See how many relay sessions are left. While a session goes through Annex's relay, the sharing page shows how many of today's 10 are left. When they're used up, it says so: they come back at midnight UTC, or you can add your own relay and server in Settings → Advanced → Internet, which have no limit.

Built by CI from this tag. Installation steps: see the README.

Windows Extend-mode driver: optional in the installer (off by default). The installer signs it on your PC
with a one-off certificate whose private key is deleted right away, so it loads without test signing.

Linux: .deb (Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry Pi OS, JetPack, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE) and
.tar.gz, for x86_64 and arm64. Install with sudo apt install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.deb or
sudo dnf install ./Annex-…-linux-<cpu>.rpm. Video needs the system's H.264 codecs: see docs/LINUX.md.

Signing: the Mac app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without
warnings. The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn the first time:
click More info → Run anyway. Annex checks every in-app update against SHA256SUMS.txt.sig.

Full Changelog: v0.3.7-pre.2...v0.3.7-pre.3