Screen Sharing

Definitely recommend ConnectWise’s ScreenConnect most. TeamViewer is good, too, as it allows for local use (VNC without www). Parsec is good for low latency things like editing or gaming. JumpDesktop is even better for editing and “virtual” displays. You can also share a screen via iMessage on a mac desktop, this is especially good for Family Tech Support™.

On a local network, you can screen share from Mac to Mac directly via the Screen Sharing utility. It is fantastic. RIP Back To My Mac.

ScreenConnect allows you to create a branded client application, send commands to a computer without logging in, and has ‘backstage’ mode which gives you access to a few select system resources without the host display seeing things. 

In Screen Share world, “Host” means the computer you are remotely screen sharing to (what’s not in front of you physically), and “Client” means the computer you are remotely screen sharing from (in front of you physically). 

ScreenConnect has a max count of screens, but allows for Mosaic (odd resolutions). Parsec seems to have a higher max screen count, but does not allow for odd resolutions. In other words, you might need Parsec to set up a multi-display server, but once a Mosaic is set up, you want to use ScreenConnect. There’s also a bug where certain configs on Hosts do not work on Mac clients. 

Parsec Specific Gotchas

Incredibly convoluted setup process. 

Once you have an account all set up and you want access from your client:

1. Download and install Parsec on target (host) computer
2. Click “Setup as Team Computer”
3. Input your Team ID (from Parsec dashboard online, top left)
4. Input your Secret Key (provided when you first setup Parsec, I reco putting this as a note in your Parsec 1Pass)
5. In the Dash, assign the computer to a group (first create a group)
6. Now reload the Parsec App on your receiving machine