Screen sharing not working

Hi,

Can I check whether you are using iMessages as a Starting point or is it a Google (Jabber) account in the Messages App ?

In theory the Messages app should be able to start two forms of Screen Sharing.

The Method that was present in iChat and Messages upto Mavericks as the only method means working form either a visible Buddy list or the Buddies Menu - having Enabled Screen Sharing in the Video Menu (along with Audio and Video).

At Yosemite an iMessages method is added.

This means starting an iMessages text chat then using the Details option top right of the Main Chat window.

The original advice was that System Preferences > Sharing > Screen Sharing had to be Enabled and allow Anyone.

In El Capitan the Buddies Menu does not have "Start Screen Sharing" or any of the previous wording. The Video Menu does not include an option to Enable Screen Sharing. (this is only for AIM and Jabber accounts and Google is a Jabber account).

If you start an AIM or Jabber text chat then use the Details Option it will try to start an iMessages Screen Sharing.

(i.e. it is crossing over functions).

NOTE.
The iMessage method is like the FaceTime Video chat in that it is invoking an Outside App to do the task.

So...

You can in theory Screen Share Jabber to Jabber (Mac to Mac) AIM to AIM or use the Screen Sharing app via the iMessages text chat.

The next problem comes with the older iChat Method.

These don't appear to be working at the moment as all AIM and Jabber attempts go through an Apple server called SNATMAP.

This does not appear to be working properly.

It will let Bonjour Video Chats work and if you have two IDs such as two separate AIM Screen Names on two computers on your LAN then those will connect.

There are issues connecting over the Internet with Buddies.

This has been brought to the attention of the Hosts here and they state they have passed it on.

8:46 pm Tuesday; November 24, 2015

Hi,

Nope.

IF you have an iMessages ID and start an iMessages text chat then you can Start Screen Sharing to that iMessages Contact by using the Details Button.

If you have a Google ID active in Messages as the Google Account (as in logged in the talk.google.com) then you need to start from the Buddy List (the icons at the Bottom of the Buddy List Window)

This pic is my AIM list but the action is the same.

Of course in reality calling myself does not work but the Pic illustrates the icons at the bottom of the Buddy List and the Green Video Icons.

However if you have a text chat going on in Google so to speak and use the Details option then the App will try to start the Screen Sharing App and use your Apple ID to call the other person just as if you were doing it in an iMessages conversation.

The Screen Share will fail as it is unlikely the other end is using the same ID in Google and iMessages (it is possible though).

Before you could start Screen Sharing from the iMessages account the Video Menu looked like this:-

http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/versions/ichatvers4/ichatvers4pics/menus/slides/iCha t4VideoMenu.html

The Buddies Menu looked like this:-

http://www.ralphjohns.co.uk/versions/ichatvers4/ichatvers4pics/menus/slides/iCha t4BuddiesMenu.html

in El Capitan the Buddies menu looks like this:-

As you can see it has the Block Buddy and Add Buddy options as this is actually an AIM chat.

However it offers FaceTime Video and Audio and lists Screen Sharing which is now pulls from the Detail option and NOT the Buddy List icons as it did before.

However as I said earlier there is a problem using the Buddy List icons/"ichat Method" due to an issue with the SNATMAP server.

We appear to be being engineered into using the iMessage way.

9:50 pm Tuesday; November 24, 2015

Hi,

Have you tried the iMessages way of doing it rather then your Google (Talk) IDs ?

7:57 pm Wednesday; November 25, 2015

I recently found a fix for our screen sharing issue. I don't know if your issue is the same but I wanted to offer my find just in case it helps others. We tried all sorts of things. Trashing PLST files, upgrading to El Capitan on one of the machines that was on Yosemite, removed the iCloud accounts and added back in, and probably some other things over the last 2 weeks. This one check box was the fix and it made us feel really stupid. I don't understand why it works but it does.

We Enabled Bonjour in Messages Preferences.

I hope this helped someone.

Hi,

I already have Bonjour Enabled.

It has been since iChat 2.1 which is when iChat went Video capable.

This form of Screen Sharing in Bonjour is Mac to Mac on a LAN even though it uses the same Method as when you have Jabber and AIM Accounts.

In Yosemite and El Capitan the iMessages Account can invoke the Screen Sharing App (Like it can invoke FaceTime to Video Chat) which is a related but different way of Screen Sharing.

Enabling this account should not effect the abilities of the iMessages Account and you show no others.

8:59 pm Saturday; December 19, 2015

Thanks Ralph, I know it was strange. I knew it was for local screen sharing but once we turned that on, I was able to screen share with my friend and visa versa, we later tried another friend's Mac and it didn't work. We are baffled.

Hi,

And this was Screen Sharing starting from an iMessages chat in the main window and then the Detail options top right ?

That in turn would have started another app most likely shown at the right hand end of the Dock (Screen Sharing App) ?

There are occasions when changing a settings within an app can cause a sort of general kick up the rear to move things along.

In this case the info would be stored in the com.apple.ichat.plist

As far as I can tell this particular .plist holds nothing about the iMessages account though which makes it seem strange that it did seem to help.

7:31 pm Sunday; December 20, 2015