Media key support on macOS

[nbolton]

https://github.com/symless/synergy-enterprise/issues/55

Imported issue:

• Author: Douglas Mayle
• Date: 2012-09-19 02:29:36
• Legacy ID: 3375

Steps to reproduce:

Synergy Mac Clients do not currently support Media keys for a couple of reasons:

1. The Synergy keymap is built up from keyboard layouts, and keyboard layouts don't contains multimedia keys.
2. CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent is unable to create a multimedia event, probably for the same reason as above.

I handle the first problem by manually adding these keys to the s_controlKeys structure. To handle the second problem, I wrote a separate application to listen in on and serialize these multimedia events. I then wrote a patch to build a custom event from these serialized events in the case of volume up, down, and mute. To my knowledge, this is the only way possible to simulate these keypresses (the other solution I've seen is to watch for these keypresses, and directly interact with the sound system, which introduces all sorts of edge cases not worth dealing with)

I can't see how to attach a file, so I'm pasting the contents of the patch into the 'Additional comments' section.

I believe I'm leaking CFDataRef's, though since I'm unsure as to the required lifetime with regards to posting the event, I've left it as an exercise for whomever accepts this patch. I'm not a Mac application developer, and given the number of times I press Vol Up/Down/Mute before launching, I'm okay with the leaks on my system, as long as the volume keys work.

Versions and operating systems:

I have only tested this on OSX Mountain Lion as a client, talking to a Linux (Ubuntu) server. The Linux server is running 1.4.10, and my patch was against trunk.

Temporary workarounds:

None

Additional comments:

Index: src/lib/platform/COSXKeyState.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/lib/platform/COSXKeyState.cpp   (revision 1659)
+++ src/lib/platform/COSXKeyState.cpp   (working copy)
@@ -36,6 +36,20 @@
 static const UInt32 s_superVK    = kVK_Command;
 static const UInt32 s_capsLockVK = kVK_CapsLock;
 static const UInt32 s_numLockVK  = kVK_ANSI_KeypadClear; // 71
+
+const UInt8 VolUp_Press[] = { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x35, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x38, 0x44, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x44, 0x92, 0x20, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x39, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x3A, 0xB0, 0xAB, 0x9F, 0x70, 0x00, 0x00, 0x17, 0x86, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x3B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x33, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6A, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x80, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x53, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x40, 0x54, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0B, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+
+const UInt8 VolUp_Release[] = { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x35, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x38, 0x44, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x44, 0x92, 0x20, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x39, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x3A, 0xA9, 0xFE, 0x64, 0xF0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x17, 0x86, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x3B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x33, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6A, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x80, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x53, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x40, 0x54, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0A, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+
+const UInt8 VolDown_Press[] = { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x35, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x38, 0x43, 0xFE, 0x00, 0x00, 0x44, 0x9E, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x39, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x3A, 0x8C, 0x11, 0x65, 0xC0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0xCE, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x3B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x33, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6A, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x80, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x53, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x40, 0x54, 0x00, 0x01, 0x0A, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+
+const UInt8 VolDown_Release[] = { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x35, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x38, 0x43, 0xFE, 0x00, 0x00, 0x44, 0x9E, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x39, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x3A, 0x91, 0xCD, 0xB8, 0x60, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0xCE, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x3B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x33, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6A, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x80, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x53, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x40, 0x54, 0x00, 0x01, 0x0B, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+
+const UInt8 Mute_Press[] = { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x35, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x38, 0x43, 0x99, 0x80, 0x00, 0x44, 0x5A, 0x40, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x39, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x3A, 0x25, 0x88, 0x1E, 0xD8, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0xFC, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x3B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x33, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6A, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x80, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x53, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x40, 0x54, 0x00, 0x07, 0x0A, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+
+const UInt8 Mute_Release[] = { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x35, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x37, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x38, 0x43, 0x99, 0x80, 0x00, 0x44, 0x5A, 0x40, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xC0, 0x39, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x3A, 0x2B, 0xBA, 0x93, 0xA8, 0x00, 0x00, 0x18, 0xFC, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x3B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x33, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x34, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6A, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x6B, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x80, 0x00, 0x01, 0x40, 0x53, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x08, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x40, 0x54, 0x00, 0x07, 0x0B, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+
+
 #else
 // Hardcoded virtual key table on 10.4 and below.
 static const UInt32 s_shiftVK    = 56;
@@ -103,6 +117,11 @@
    { kKeyKP_Divide,    kVK_ANSI_KeypadDivide },
    { kKeyKP_Subtract,  kVK_ANSI_KeypadMinus },
    { kKeyKP_Enter,     kVK_ANSI_KeypadEnter },
+
+        // Multimedia keys with virtual key codes
+   { kKeyAudioUp,      kVK_VolumeUp },
+   { kKeyAudioDown,    kVK_VolumeDown },
+   { kKeyAudioMute,    kVK_Mute },
 #else
   // Hardcoded virtual key table on 10.4 and below.
    // cursor keys.
@@ -490,9 +509,35 @@
            LOG((CLOG_DEBUG1 "  %%%%%%%%03x (%%%%%%%%08x) %%%%%%%%s", keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_button, keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_client, keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_press ? "down" : "up"));

        // let system figure out character for us
-       ref = CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(0, mapKeyButtonToVirtualKey(
-                                   keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_button),
-                               keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_press);
+       if (mapKeyButtonToVirtualKey(keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_button) == kVK_VolumeUp) {
+           if (keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_press) {
+               CFDataRef data_press = CFDataCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, VolUp_Press, sizeof(VolUp_Press));
+               ref = CGEventCreateFromData(kCFAllocatorDefault, data_press);
+           } else {
+               CFDataRef data_release = CFDataCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, VolUp_Release, sizeof(VolUp_Release));
+               ref = CGEventCreateFromData(kCFAllocatorDefault, data_release);
+           }
+       } else if (mapKeyButtonToVirtualKey(keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_button) == kVK_VolumeDown) {
+           if (keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_press) {
+               CFDataRef data_press = CFDataCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, VolDown_Press, sizeof(VolDown_Press));
+               ref = CGEventCreateFromData(kCFAllocatorDefault, data_press);
+           } else {
+               CFDataRef data_release = CFDataCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, VolDown_Release, sizeof(VolDown_Release));
+               ref = CGEventCreateFromData(kCFAllocatorDefault, data_release);
+           }
+       } else if (mapKeyButtonToVirtualKey(keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_button) == kVK_Mute) {
+           if (keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_press) {
+               CFDataRef data_press = CFDataCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, Mute_Press, sizeof(Mute_Press));
+               ref = CGEventCreateFromData(kCFAllocatorDefault, data_press);
+           } else {
+               CFDataRef data_release = CFDataCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, Mute_Release, sizeof(Mute_Release));
+               ref = CGEventCreateFromData(kCFAllocatorDefault, data_release);
+           }
+       } else {
+           ref = CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(0, mapKeyButtonToVirtualKey(
+                                       keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_button),
+                                   keystroke.m_data.m_button.m_press);
+       }
        if (ref == NULL) {
            LOG((CLOG_CRIT "unable to create keyboard event for keystroke"));
        }

[nbolton]

• Author: Douglas Mayle
• Date: 2013-02-01 18:32:43

Do you have any timeline on incorporating this? I was thinking of fixing some more Linux/OS X issues, but have been holding off since I didn't want to maintain my own source tree (I'd have to incorporate this patch, but develop against mainline while ignoring the patch... :-( )

[nbolton]

• Author: Douglas Mayle
• Date: 2013-10-17 22:35:59

I've noticed that you've released a new version. Any chance this will get into the next one?

[nbolton]

• Author: James Vautin
• Date: 2014-01-14 02:46:19

+1 .. this would be VERY useful! and it's already done and working!

[nbolton]

• Author: Nathan Rijksen
• Date: 2014-03-10 01:40:13

Please devs, spare a few minutes of your time to integrate this patch. It adds significant functionality to your product.

[nbolton]

• Author: Chaim Leib Halbert
• Date: 2014-03-12 08:46:22

+1 Pretty please!

[nbolton]

• Author: pipedowndjh .
• Date: 2014-05-05 17:28:22

+1 Please do add this.

[nbolton]

• Author: Artur Wi?niewski
• Date: 2014-05-28 12:52:43

+1 it's not that long time to incorporate this!

[nbolton]

• Author: Leonard Jonathan Oh
• Date: 2014-07-04 19:49:42

+1

[nbolton]

• Author: Scott Kingsley Clark
• Date: 2014-09-19 20:29:50

So much +1 on this, I just revisited Synergy after getting a dual computer setup at home and got a Premium account. Happy to pay more if it gives you some time for this.

[nbolton]

• Author: Nick Buraglio
• Date: 2014-09-25 15:25:51

+1 Same here. I keep going back to Teleport but I have a system that gets left out in that case. I'd consider adding to the bounty for the apple server meta key bits.

[joanmarie]

+1. I just used one of my Premium votes for this (as "#3305"). But the resulting vote link brings up this search. Please associate my Premium vote with this and not the multitouch support. :)

[ManjotS]

Please fix this

[3nki]

+1

[nbolton]

@XinyuHou @speaker - could one of you turn this into a PR please?

[andrewbolster]

Sorry to butt in but is it not more sustainable to add a "passthrough" option in the hotkey setup instead of hard-coding a key table?

In my case (#4365) my "media keys" aren't standard but are just ergonomically convenient for my keyboard.

This would need a bit more engineering to have the hotkey dialog not actually bind to key combinations until after configuration, but would at least be setup in the config file.

Also this solution breaks the use case where the media is playing on the client not the server, which could surprise some people.

[jpoet]

I just started using Synergy, and Synergy handling the media keys would make it much more useful to me.

andrewbolster, I see that #4365 was closed, but I can't tell why. Do you know if this has been fixed some other way?

[jpoet]

Douglas Mayle, you mention that your fix requires a combination of the patch plus another application. I see the patch, but I don't see where to get the application. Is there some place I can get it?

[kyrsjo]

This enhancement would be great, especially if I could set the media keys (the volume & mute!) to always be sent to a specific machine, i.e. the machine which has the speakers.

The track skip buttons are perfect for changing which computer I'm working on, so please make it possible to specify which buttons should be forwarded...

Setup: Linux server/mac client (this works flawlessly, the other way not so well).

[davecotter]

also add cmd-option-escape :)