A standard terminal connection to aurora won't allow you to run programs that open their own windows. That means no graphical programs will run (if you try, you'll get error messages about a "HeadlessException") and you're stuck with the keyboard-only version of emacs.
Fortunately there is a solution. You can run a program on your computer that communicates with aurora (via a protocol called X Windows) that will open windows on behalf of the programs running on aurora. Each operating system has its own version; on Windows it is Xming and on Mac it is Xquartz.
Once you've got the X server installed and running, you can issue the command unalias emacs to convert the text-only emacs editor to the GUI version. (You'll need to do this every time you log in. You can also run the GUI version directly by putting quotes around the emacs in your command.)
Installation and Use
Download the appropriate program via the link above and install it on your computer. Then follow the instructions for your operating system below.
Windows
- Launch the Xming program before making the ssh connection
- In your ssh client program (e.g., Putty) configuration, enable X11 port forwarding (Connection -> SSH -> X11).
- Connect as normal
Mac
- Launch the XQuartz app before making the ssh connection
- From the Terminal window, connect with a modified command to indicate secure port forwarding:
ssh -Y cs212x-xx@aurora.smith.edu