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Ok, interesting outcome, and coincidental timing..
I had not noticed this previously or using any other software, but over the last few days I have been running a test network environment using VMware Fusion, sometimes very erratically when the cursor is within the virtual machine screen space it flickers between a normal and huge cursor for a few seconds (it’s using VMware Tools so the cursor transition from host to guest screens is fluid/automatic).
It looked very familiar to what I see with the NoMachine + OBS Studio combination (though I have never seen that flicker).
OBS Studio is running in the background when this happens – I have yet to test whether the VMware Fusion “cursor flicker” goes away without it running, it happens very rarely and erratically so it’s a hard one to test.
I have put off upgrading OS X but this is inevitable at some point in the near future, will be interesting to see if the issue persists or changes after that. If I get any further useful information I will share with the community on here.
Hopefully this thread may be useful as it stands if anyone else experiences this behaviour.
No problem – have sent this off now in archive split across a few emails – details in the first email.
Hope that all makes sense! And is helpful.. 🙂
Thanks for that.. I ran the command to enable logs but then double checked based on the info in that latest knowledge base you sent the link too.. That appears to work as expected as those debug flags mentioned were un-commented in the .cfg files just as outlined in the manual procedure.
So then I connected and went through some normal processes re-producing what I see.. Then archived the log directory manually.
I have sent this attached to email with some additional details of the exact process I went through – sent reply to your original email with the links for the debug package.
Let me know if you have any problems receiving this.
Apologies for the delayed response – have had some server moves happening in a data centre and it’s been madness.
I did get the debug package thank you and downloaded as soon as I received your email.. Finally today I got around to the install!
All the terminal stuff executes as expected and it says the procedure to collect logs finished successfully but there is no log archive in that output folder on my MacBook.
I thought it might have something to do with permissions on the directory and messed around with that but to no avail. So then tried uninstalling the application and reinstalling using the debug package but despite saying it completes there is nothing in that log archive directory.
I will play around a bit more and see if I can figure out what’s not happening.
No problem, happy to help – I would certainly be willing to install the debug package to collect more info.
Just let me know what I need to do.
I received an upload error – that the .nxr screen recording file type is not permitted for security reasons – have re-encoded as .mp4 package and attached.
I took the screen shots as you suggested using the ‘Take a screenshot’ button and attached them labelled accordingly.
With the Show Remote Cursor option OFF there only appears to be a hand, this is the correct remote cursor as seen directly on the MacBook screen (it’s Help Desk software in Chrome and should be a hand when floating over tickets). However on my Windows remote session screen the huge cursor is still there, it just doesn’t show in the screen shot using that button.
With the Show Remote Cursor option ON another huge pointer appears in the screen shot (over the top of the hand) using that ‘Take a screenshot’ button.
The recorded session is also attached, the motion seen at the beginning is moving the cursor with Show Remote Cursor OFF, the pause seen in the middle is me going into the menu and turning that option ON then the cursor comes back into view and moves around a little more.
The recording doesn’t show any difference – I did try this method originally, but since it didn’t reflect what I actually see on screen I ended up using other 3rd party screen capture software on my Windows machine to capture the previously submitted file – this was the only way I could get a recording of what I actually see.
Screen capture attached – it’s all stretched as I didn’t change the resolution after connecting, but it’s exactly the same no matter what resolution you set the MacBook too, I tried several and that makes no difference to the pointer effect..
When I drag the cursor nothing changes, you still see both pointers.
With ‘Show remote cursor pointer‘ option enabled I see three pointers – two huge ones and one normal one – when I drag the cursor with this option it goes back to two pointers (one huge and one normal), when I stop dragging it becomes three pointers again (two huge ones and one normal).
I would certainly be willing to trial a fix on my machine.
The cursor on the MacBook is normal size and changes depending on screen region, the “local cursor” seen on NoMachine client remains the huge pointer and never changes shape.
Apologies for the dodgy screen shots taken on my phone – see attached, the edit bar (edit.jpg) + select hand (hand.jpg) + resize arrows (resize.jpg) which can be seen “behind” the huge cursor are what’s seen on the MacBook screen at normal size (makes no difference with lid open or closed), the huge pointer is always on top of this seen only on the NoMachine client screen.
If I close and re-open OBS the “local cursor” still remains the same (though now normal size) pointer shape no matter what screen region (hand-after.close+re-open.OBS.jpg) but the MacBook cursor still changes as expected depending on screen region (again makes no difference with lid open or closed).
Hope that all makes sense.
There are a few utilities running in the background which aren’t native Apple, but you wouldn’t think these have any effect – Dropbox, ExpanDrive, Paragon NTFS for Mac, Oracle Java.
Then there are the non-Apple apps which DO contribute to the remote session and how it behaves – NoMachine, SwitchResX, Amphetamine (not previously mentioned but doubtful this is a contributor), and supposedly OBS Studio.
The process I go through is as follows:
- MacBook is at resolution typically used for the notebook display – 1920 x 1200 – lid is open ready for normal use, OBS is running, and a few Chrome windows
- Connect using NoMachine (it’s configured to use custom resolution 3440 x 1440 but I could never get this to work in conjunction with SwitchResX despite various configuration so you get 2048 x 1280(!?!) stretched to fit full screen)
At this stage the huge hand/pointer is present – looks ever bigger because of the stretched resolution.
- Use SwitchResX custom saved configuration to switch to 3440 x 1440
Huge hand/pointer also resizes and is now in correct aspect ratio but still huge.
- Set Amphetamine to start ‘indefinitely’ (only used to stop the MacBook sleeping if/when you close the lid, none of the other features are touched)
- Close the lid if desired – typically I prefer this for desktop space and NOT to look at the windowed cinemascope like effect on the notebooks screen
- Quit OBS (and re-launch only if necessary)
It’s only at this last stage when I quit OBS the huge hand/pointer disappears immediately and left with only one normal size pointer. If I re-open it a second pointer turns up again but normal sized as mentioned.
Interestingly, leaving OBS open after quitting and re-launching, then if I quit the established NoMachine remote session on Windows but at some point reconnect a remote session (having not touched OBS) I get the two normal size pointers. To get the huge pointer back I need to quit NoMachine remote connection AND quit and re-launch OBS on the MacBook, then connect remote session to get the huge pointer – I’m not sure what that means but it seemed significant – it’s like OBS (or something) “remembers” it was quit and re-launched inside a remote session until it’s launched from scratch on the notebook without an active remote connection.
I can’t think of anything else that’s different from a typical install, only other running application when I connect is (typically) Google Chrome with a few windows and tabs open and that’s it! Other background stuff is all native Apple – Time Machine (not actively running), Siri, etc.
If I happen across anything else I will post an update. It does seem to be very reliably repeatable on my current OS X system (though I have also not seen the huge hand again since my original post, it’s been a huge pointer each time).
It happened again – only this time it was a huge cursor not hand over the small/normal cursor.
If anyone else happens across this it turns out it may be very simple.. I was running OBS Studio on the MacBook Pro before I remote connected with NoMachine.
After connecting and getting the huge cursor, if I quit OBS everything goes back to normal – just one small/normal cursor!
If I re-launch OBS (while remotely connected with NoMachine and the full screen 3440×1440 as described above), I get a secondary cursor but they are both the same small/normal size.
Another couple of screen shots attached – 1st single cursor (OBS not open), 2nd two cursors (OBS re-launched after NoMachine connection – I was moving the mouse as they don’t track exactly the same but very close).
So it’s workable if OBS must be running for any reason – you just need to quit and re-launch after the NoMachine session is established.
I hope this is useful if anyone else every comes across this – easy once you know the solution – very frustrating when you don’t!
Attachments:
I have no idea why this changed again.. At least I know I’m not going crazy..
This remote cursor is now only a single remote normal size arrow! (happy days! for now..)
Screenshots attached, one not moving, other circling the mouse and thus the repeats and ghost pointer, and comparison Finder shot.
I did have some issues with my Windows machine and network interface – but I would think that totally un-related to NoMachine (it did include several restarts of Windows – the MacBook has not been restarted since my original post).
If anyone can shed some light on this in case it reverts to having the “huge hand pointer” as well as the remote arrow – it would be nice to know why it happens and how to stop it! 🙂
