Moving from VMWare, Is it possible to...

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rhaces
Posts: 5
Joined: 3. Apr 2015, 16:00

Moving from VMWare, Is it possible to...

Post by rhaces »

So I'm just moving from VMWare to VirtualBox (5.2). I'm running a Linux Host (Ubuntu 17.10) and Win10 Guest. Everything so far seems to be good however there are a couple feature that I'm used to with VMWare that I cannot find a way to have them in VirtualBox and is making my life hard:

- Mouse outside the VM should return all inputs to host: So normally I'm workign with a VM and many other apps in my host, and usually I interact at the same time with my VM and one app in my host. VMWare can grab the keyboard input into the VM when you mouseover the vma, and similar to that, it can release the keyboard input to the host once your mouse is out of the VM. This is very useful because I can be working in my VM and want to type (or do an ALT Tab) in my Host app, I don't need to go a do a click outside the VM, all I need is to move the mouse pointer out of the VM and my host has the inputs.
- Allow Host windows on top of active VM: Similar to the point above, I can be working with my VM and an app on my host, and there are times that I do not have multiple monitors, so VMWare allows me to have a window in front of the VM and it remains in front of it even if I click my VM desktop, so I can be working in my vm and see my host app at the same time.

Is any of these two features possible in Virtualbox? honestly I have not find a way to do it.
BillG
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Re: Moving from VMWare, Is it possible to...

Post by BillG »

There are two important things when you move from one virtualization system to another. You should always remove the optimisation tools (VMTools or whatever) before you move and install those for the new system when you arrive. Did you remove VMTools? Have you installed the VirtualBox Guest Additions?
Bill
rhaces
Posts: 5
Joined: 3. Apr 2015, 16:00

Re: Moving from VMWare, Is it possible to...

Post by rhaces »

Yes I definitely did, it was the very first thing after successfully migrated my VM. In fact, I can move my mouse pointer out of the VM without needing to press the host key combination, which I believe is something can only happen when you install the VirtualBox Guest Additions, right?
Last edited by socratis on 25. Oct 2017, 04:36, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed unnecessary verbatim quote of the whole previous message.
socratis
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Re: Moving from VMWare, Is it possible to...

Post by socratis »

No, actually not. The moving in and out of the VM window can happen even if you don't have the GAs installed, as long as you've selected anything except the "PS/2 mouse" option. If you've selected a USB Tablet or multi-touch tablet, you have seamless movement of the mouse. Look at the system tray for the VirtualBox icon.
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