# Using KbCheck through VNC?

**URL:** <https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/using-kbcheck-through-vnc/3741>\
**Category:** Hardware\
**Tags:** keyboard\
**Created:** [March 13, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/using-kbcheck-through-vnc/3741 "2021-03-13T02:35:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ian-Max-Andolina](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/psychtoolbox.discourse.group/ian-max-andolina/32/4_2.png) [@Ian-Max-Andolina](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/u/Ian-Max-Andolina)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://psychtoolbox.discourse.group/t/using-kbcheck-through-vnc/3741/1 "2021-03-13T02:35:11Z")

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As macOS + PTB is getting more and more broken, I wanted to use my desktop development machine (Ubuntu 20.10) through VNC from my macbook at home. VNC works great, and with a windowed PTB stimuli are quite good for debugging. BUT the problem is key entry. `KbCheck` doesn’t trigger on normal keyboard input (a-z), only when modifier keys are pressed. I’ve tried to pass devicenumber -1 to -3 to ‘collect’ all devices together. Keys are seen by MATLAB and all other apps, it is just KbCheck that has problems. `GetChar` does work, but all my code relies on `KbCheck` in the lab. Has anyone else tried VNC (I’ve tried both the Apple VNC viewer and one made by RealVNC), or have any intuition as to what is going on?