BoxView

Set up your Mac

Turn on Screen Sharing, choose how BoxView logs in, and get the Mac ready to wake and to reach from away.

BoxView connects to the Screen Sharing that comes with macOS. You turn it on once, at the Mac.

Turn on Screen Sharing

  1. On the Mac, open System Settings › General › Sharing.
  2. Turn on Screen Sharing. Your Mac may ask for your password.
  3. Click ⓘ next to Screen Sharing and check who may connect: All users, or only your own user.

On macOS 12 and earlier, open System Preferences › Sharing and tick Screen Sharing; the options are under Computer Settings….

Choose how BoxView logs in

Each Mac you add in BoxView has a Log in as setting:

Log in asWhat you need on the Mac
Mac UserNothing more. Use the user name and password you log in to the Mac with.
VNC PasswordIn the Screen Sharing options, turn on VNC viewers may control screen with password and set a password.
Ask to ShareIn the Screen Sharing options, turn on Anyone may request permission to control screen. Someone must be logged in at the Mac to accept.

Mac User is the usual choice: it can open your own session even when someone else is using the Mac, and it's needed for file transfer.

Secure Connection (optional)

To send everything through SSH, turn on Remote Login in System Settings › General › Sharing as well. See Secure Connection (SSH).

Wake a sleeping Mac (optional)

BoxView can wake a Mac before connecting, using Wake-on-LAN:

  1. On the Mac, turn on Wake for network access (System Settings › Energy, or Battery › Options on a laptop).
  2. In BoxView, edit the Mac and enter its MAC address in Wake MAC: six pairs of hex digits, like AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF. You'll find it in System Settings › Network › your connection › Details › Hardware.

The Mac's card then shows Asleep when it doesn't answer, with a Wake button.

From outside your home network

BoxView connects straight to the Mac, without a relay of its own. From outside the Mac's network you need a way in, such as:

  • A VPN to your home or office network. Use the Mac's IP address or full host name: names ending in .local only work on the Mac's own network.
  • An SSH server you can reach from the internet, with BoxView's Secure Connection.