Q: Screen Sharing and Unwanted Menu Bar

What remote client are you using?   I use Realvnc server and Realvnc client.

R

The realvnc client is free.  You can try the sever for free.  You can use the server for free, if you can live with the restriction that you must initiate the session from the server .  The point is to try other options and see if you can narrow down the problems.

There are other vnc clients such as chicken of the vnc.

R

I wrote up an apple script I could initiate remotely.  Worked about 85% of the time.  I'll dig it up if you like. The problem was that it uses a simulated mouse click to click on the realvnc menu item.  The menu items move.  Now, if you could figure out to fix the location of the menu item or identify where the menu item is, the script would work better.  Finding the location of the menu item might be possible, but I never learned how to read the underlying data structure. [ more like a data mess not structure ]

You can use the free realvnc client for free.  Did you try connecting to apple share? I've set the client to use key f1 to get to the menu.  That way I don't accidentally get the realvnc menu bar.

R

Hi cbird1057. If you are willing to adapt UI interaction from mouse to keyboard, you can perform menu navigation on the remote computer you are screen sharing via the keyboard . To focus the menu bar, press either Control-F2 or FN-Control -F2 depending on  whether you have selected or deselected "Use all F1, F2. etc. keys as standard function keys" from  > System Preferences > Keyboard. Type a menu name to move focus to it, or use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys. Press Return to open the selected menu. Type a menu item's name or use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to move focus. Press the Return key to choose the selected menu item. Press the Esc key to exit menu focus.

Thanks.  I'll have to try it out & post the resulting Apple Script.

R

Here is my current applescript.  What I do is to use ssh to login to my remote system.  Then, I run the following script from the command line.  My remote system is running 10.4.11.

log "  --- Starting on " & ((current date) as string) & " --- "


-- play sound seems to let a process hang around
try
    set theLoc to ((path to system folder) as string) & "Library:Sounds:"
  
  
    -- Play Sound
    -- http://microcosmsoftware.com/playsound/
  
    tell application "Play Sound"
        play theLoc & "Basso.aiff" repeat 4
    end tell
  
end try


-- Go after screen resolution
do shell script "/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType | grep 'Resolution'" -- get info
tell the result to set {DisplayWidth, DisplayHeight} to {word 2, word 4} -- get resolution
repeat with i from 1 to 20
    if DisplayWidth = 800 then
        (move mouse {474 + (i * 5), 14})
    else
        -- one icon size is about... 30 horizonal. bigger number is to the right
        (move mouse {726 + (i * 10), 11})
    end if
  
    click mouse
    delay 2
  
    tell application "System Events"
        repeat 6 times
            key code 125 -- cursor down        key code 125
            delay 1
        end repeat
        delay 2
        keystroke return
        delay 3
        -- command a to hilight input field
        repeat 12 times
            --key code 97 -- a
            --delay 1
        end repeat
        keystroke "192.168.0.100:5900"
        -- if you went to press return after typing the password
        delay 3
        keystroke return
      
        -- incase we get an error message. should probably be ok, in good case.
        delay 3
        keystroke return
      
    end tell
    delay 3
    --tell "System Events" to set frontmost of process "My Application" to true
    set currentApp to path to frontmost application
    set myPath to (path to me) as alias
    log "currentApp & myPath"
    log currentApp
    log myPath
    activate myPath
  
    set theResult to display dialog "Remote session running?" buttons {"Yes", "No"} default button "Yes" giving up after 7
    log theResult
    if button returned of theResult is "Yes" then exit repeat
  
end repeat

(*
    First, there is the XTools scripting addition, which will give AppleScript the ability to move the mouse.
  
    http://www.lestang.org/osax/XTool/
    XTool-2.0.dmg.tgz
  
    Installation :

    Drag XTool.osax from insite the image to one of the following locations (create the directory if it does not exist) :

    a : ~/Library/ScriptingAdditions/
    b : /Library/ScriptingAdditions/
    c : /System/Library/ScriptingAdditions/

    I have it in directory /System/Library/ScriptingAdditions/
    My other two directories do not exit: ~/Library/ScriptingAdditions/ &
        /Library/ScriptingAdditions/

.     Next, you will need to place a script application into your login items (System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items) that will move the mouse when you log in:







*)

The control + f2 gets me to the current running app, but ...

I am interested in getting to a menu item icon [ current name ? ]

I need to click on the vnc icon.  The only way I know how to do this is to use a cursor click.  Need someother way.

Hi rccharles. If using OS X's native Screen Sharing app, you can access menulets on the remote computer via the keyboard with Control-F8 or FN-Control-F8. You may need to press the Down Arrow key rather than Return to open the selected menulet. Toggle between Control Mode and Observe Mode with Option-Command-X. While in Observe Mode you can access the local computer's menu bar menus or its menulets via the keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts documentation:

Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

Mac keyboard shortcuts for accessibility features - Apple Support

OS X Yosemite: Create keyboard shortcuts for apps