Share Desktop via Web Browser

Question

I need to share my Desktop with users that don't use Linux. I'm looking for a tool where users can hit a URL in their browser and view my desktop, like join.me for Windows.

I tried running join.me via Wine, but I get nothing but a black screen.

score 17 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 01 '21 at 13:22

17

whereby.com (formerly appear.in) works well for me so far. It's like join.me in the old days, where it used to work on Linux in the browser, and you didn't even need an account.

edited Jul 01 '21 at 13:22

Thomas Ward

74,764

answered Oct 14 '14 at 14:03

colan

1,155

Lately, I can only get it to work with Chrome though, not Chromium. – colan Feb 18 '16 at 14:38
1

It works in Firefox. There was a bug in Firefox 45 that caused it to crash; it works well in 53, but I had to install it from mozilla.org (Debian Jessie only has Firefox ESR 45) – z0r Apr 24 '17 at 01:24
It works well, but allows only 8 viewers (in the free version) or 12 viewers (in the paid version). – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 25 '17 at 13:46
1

It can only share all three monitors or a single window... why not one monitor? Also, couldn't find my microphone (I use jack... it needs to open a jack client so I can connect it). Then, when I tried it anyway with just a single window, the other computer was just saying "Connecting..." forever. Ugh. Horrible experience. – Carlo Wood Nov 05 '17 at 21:40
1

The link is now broken, the app name changed to https://whereby.com/ – WurmD Jan 25 '21 at 21:25

score 13 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 02 '14 at 10:46

13

Have you looked at Guacamole?

No client software is necessary and it serves direct to a web browser.

edited Mar 02 '14 at 10:46

Stormvirux

4,466

answered Mar 02 '14 at 07:10

Sheppy

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The installation manual is depressingly long: http://guacamole.incubator.apache.org/doc/gug/installing-guacamole.html Isn't there a simpler solution? – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 24 '17 at 16:36

score 9 · Answer 3 · answered May 15 '14 at 00:10

9

In Google hangout, you can also share your desktop to others.

answered May 15 '14 at 00:10

Cody

191

1

I could share the screen, but no keyboard controll. – Pieter Dec 31 '16 at 02:23
You can hangout with at most 10 people (including yourself): https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/hangouts/yM1kI5-B1Jo – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 27 '17 at 06:53

score 5 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 22 '18 at 13:01

5

The Jitsi video bridge is not only a video chat but also supports screen sharing. You also get a text chat and an etherpad.

There is only one downside: Chome or Chromium is required at the moment because the other browsers lack some features Jitsi is making use of. But this is just a matter of time.

edited Jan 22 '18 at 13:01

manish1706

109

answered Sep 12 '14 at 04:53

brejoc

145

1

Looks good. It's open-source and they claim to have no limit on the number of users. I have to check it – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 27 '17 at 06:58

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 21 '13 at 01:08

3

Chrome Remote Desktop will probably fit the bill for you.

Pros: It will work.
Cons: Requires Google account, etc.

answered Aug 21 '13 at 01:08

Edward Earnest

96
3

1

Yes, that should work. Problem is that I can't have users asking them to install additional software or forcing them to use Google Chrome, etc. – 0R10N Aug 21 '13 at 01:11
I suppose it will work on Chromium too. – enedil May 08 '16 at 18:18
Apparently this allows you to share your computer with a single person. – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 27 '17 at 07:35

score 2 · Answer 6 · edited Jan 21 '14 at 00:30

2

A quick Google search gave me this:

It doesn't require your users to install additional software.

VNC

The other option is to use remote desktop over VNC. While VNC is not as feature rich as TeamViewer or LogMeIn, it is readily available on Ubuntu. All you need is an IP address and optionally a password to be able to connect to a computer via VNC. In Ubuntu you need to enable remote desktop connection. Open System > Preferences > Remote Desktop and place a check against “Allow other users to view your desktop“. Optionally you may also specify a password that would be required to access the computer remotely via VNC.

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-logmein-alternatives-ubuntu/

I hope this helps.

Alternatively you can use xrdp. it uses windows 7 build in remote desktop tool to allow users to connect with you

To install it run the command

sudo apt-get install xrdp

Open Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 7.(click Start button,then search “remote” in search box)

Input the host name or IP address of your Ubuntu machine, then click Connect.

Input your user name and password of Ubuntu, then click Ok to connect.

When you're done simply run the command

sudo service xrdp stop

to stop sharing your desktop.

edited Jan 21 '14 at 00:30

blackfordtech

3
1

answered Aug 21 '13 at 01:30

Akisame

3,313
7
32
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3

Thanks for your answer. I used VNC for several years and it's ok. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the question, I need a tool where clients use their browser for viewing. Reason: clients use windows and OSX, none of them use Linux. – 0R10N Aug 21 '13 at 10:48
1

your clients can install VNC on windows. On Mac you already have a VNC client which you can run from safari with a URL like: vnc://192.168.0.100 The slightly difficult thing is to provide them with your public IP address, and have it forwarded from your router to your desktop. – phil_w Jan 25 '14 at 02:53
2

Doesn't VNC require port forwarding on the router, if the VNC server is behind a DHCP router? – johny why Oct 19 '15 at 21:21
True, but that is explained at length in the installation instructions of VNC. https://www.realvnc.com/products/vnc/documentation/5.0/guides/user/ae1017368.html#Rae94827 – Akisame Oct 27 '15 at 22:27

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 02 '17 at 09:42

2

Deadsimplescreensharing.com is an easy to use and free solution that works with chrome. You can share your screen with Mac, Windows, Linux anything with a browser.

Users can hit a URL and see your shared screen.

answered Jun 02 '17 at 09:42

ali asgher

21
1

1

Their free plan allows up to 10 participants and 40 minutes. They have paid plans that allow 30 or 150 participants. – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 27 '17 at 07:37

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 07 '16 at 18:27

0

You can try FCC freeconferencecall.com or startmeeting.com both support linux now.

answered Jun 07 '16 at 18:27

Alex

1

1

Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! You might be able to improve this answer with providing the steps needed in more detail and maybe even adding screen-shots of different parts to make it a rock solid answer. – Videonauth Jun 08 '16 at 06:17
1

I can't see the issues here. He's given links to two programs which solve the problem. It's not a link only answer, and asking someone to add a tutorial in a software recommendation seems harsh. – Tim Jun 08 '16 at 13:46
It is a link only answer, with a few words of padding. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Nov 23 '16 at 09:28
I did not find in freeconferencecall.com any mention of desktop sharing. – Erel Segal-Halevi Oct 27 '17 at 07:42

Share Desktop via Web Browser

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