How to use "screen" to mirror screens between different users

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 2
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 3

Situation

The screen command is usefull for mirroring a screen between two terminal sessions.

Resolution

In the home directory of user1 create the .screenrc file that has the following lines
multiuser on
acladd user2
As root change the permissions of /usr/bin/screen to 4755. This will add the SUID bit.
server:~ # ll /usr/bin/screen
-rwsr-xr-x 1 root root 308896 2007-05-03 07:44 /usr/bin/screen
As user1 run "screen"
From a different terminal as user2 run "screen -x user1/". The / is necessary

Now both users can see the same screen and either can type and it is visible to each user.

Additional Information

Please read the man page on screen for additional information.

Disclaimer

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