X2Go Client - Usage

The x2goclient application is the client part of X2Go. It should be installed on a client computer to access an X2Go server running on another machine.

Note: Formerly, localhost access between client and server, that is X2Go client==server, was not supported, but it seems that this arrangement works quite nice nowadays (since commit 63556d2 2012-02-01, me believes). This is very useful feature for testing and keeping desktop always alive for remote and local access.

The x2goclient application provides you the possibility to access the remote running desktop, exchange files with it and redirect sound from the session on the server to your local client. x2goclient can be started via the Desktop Environment's application menu (section: Internet) or by using the command line in a shell (simply type x2goclient there and hit enter).

Quite a few options are available from command line, some of them cannot be configured from within the GUI. For further information on command line options, please check the man page of x2goclient: man x2goclient.

x2goclient has a UniX manual page.

After the installation of x2goclient an application link can be found in the menu of your Desktop Environment. On GNU/Linux systems it will be integrated into the Internet menu section.

When you launch the x2goclient for the first time, it will start the new session dialogue automatically.

When you open the graphical user interface of the x2goclient, you'll be welcomed with a form to fill in your session details. The x2goclient manages sessions for each server you want to connect to. You can make settings for each one, and we'll go through the first together.

• At first you'll choose a name for you session. Choose something catchy, like “work-serverroom” or “home-garage”.
• Then you'll need to enter how the server can be reached. You can enter an IP or a name for the host. If you choose a name, make sure it's resolvable from where you'll use the client.
• Now set the username with which you are able to connect to the server. The user must have the right to log in to the server by SSH.
• You can change the port for the server, but most probably it's the default SSH port, 22.
• Now you can set, if you want to use RSA or DSA Keys, which one to use. For example: “/home/x2gouser/.ssh/id_rsa”
• You could also just use an SSH agent if you've got that available. On Linux, the standard ssh-agent, or any agent that is compatible with it, is used. On Windows, Pageant, or any agent that is compatible with it (like KeeAgent) is used.
• There is also the availability to use a proxy to connect to the x2goserver for which you could provide a set of different credentials and key to authenticate against.
• The Session Type field is used to select your desktop environment. If your environment is not on the list, use the “Custom Desktop” option, and specify the command that starts the desktop or VM on the remote side. You can also use a specific application provided by the remote side.

The next Tab shows your connection settings:

• You can adjust the bandwidth you have to be used by the x2goclient.
• Also there is an option to actively adjust the compression methods for the image processing.

On the Settings tab you will be able to adjust your clients configuration for convenient day-to-day usage:

• A whole set of Display settings can be used to configure the display for this session permanently.
• You can set the exact keyboard layout and the language to be used for it.
• The audio settings enable you to use the remote audio system locally and hear what would normally be heard on the remote side.
• The last point in this tab enables the client side printing support to let you print locally from the remote side.

The last Tab for the session preferences is used to configure the folder sharing options:

• You can use the x2goclient to share folders between the local client and the remote side you will connect to. This enables you to share documents and files between both sides.

We now went through all the settings available to the specific session. Press okay to save it and you'll see it on the main window, in the session list.

X2Go follows the general keyboard shortcuts of the NX client. In particular:

• Ctrl + Alt + T: terminate session / disconnect
• Ctrl + Alt + F: toggle windowed/fullscreen over all screens
• Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F: toggle windowed/fullscreen on current screen
• Ctrl + Alt + M: minimize or maximize fullscreen window
• Ctrl + Alt + arrow keys: move viewport (when remote screen is bigger than client window)
• Ctrl + Alt + G: toggle autograb feature (pass all key to the x2go session when it is active; this helps with window cycling using Alt+Tab)
• more to find in “/etc/x2go/keystrokes.cfg”
• locate “README.keystrokes.gz” on your system to read the keystrokes documentation

Some of these keyboard shortcuts overlap with default shortcuts of e.g. GNOME. See Customize NX Keyboard Shortcuts for a method to change the X2Go shortcuts.