No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

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Jackge
Posts: 4
Joined: 25. Apr 2020, 20:47

No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by Jackge »

I tried to search for this issue but could not find any solutions yet. So here goes:

I upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04 yesterday (clean minimal install), before I was using Ubuntu 19.04 where I was using virtualbox 5.2 without any problems for more than a year (first I was running Ubuntu 18.04).

Now I installed virtualbox 6.1 using apt-get using the repo in the documentation.

Now I have the awkward problem that I have a mouse problem, more specifically: No mouse clicks are working inside the virtualbox manager (not the guest windows but the virtualbox manager). Not only that, every other problem so far has had no issues with the mouse and clicks. Even the Ubuntu window frame around the virtualbox manager window (to close the virtualbox manager or move it on the screen) responds fine to the mouse clicks. I can move the mouse around in the virtualbox manager and see the buttons (export or import or new, etc) inside the virtualbox manager window do slightly change color on hover with the mouse cursor over them. But clicking then does not do anything. The virtualbox manager does not respond to mouse clicks, I can use keyboard shortcuts but that is all. I can't launch new or import or export virtual machines in virtualbox manager or really comfortably use virtualbox.

I am posting it to see if anyone else also is experiencing this issue.

Maybe an important detail: I am using a Wacom Intuos Pen Tablet as a mouse. I do not have any other mouse attached to the computer.

Thanks!
Jackge
Posts: 4
Joined: 25. Apr 2020, 20:47

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by Jackge »

OK, I dived a bit deeper and it looks like that the virtualbox manager does not registers clicks from the Wacom tablet as mouse clicks (unlike every other program, including virtualbox 5.2 before on Ubuntu 19.04 and 18.04).

When I plug in a normal mouse into the USB I am able to access the menu options and buttons inside the virtualbox manager window, but still not with the Wacom tablet.
Jackge
Posts: 4
Joined: 25. Apr 2020, 20:47

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by Jackge »

Today confirmed another dev has the same problem with virtualbox 6.0.14 (r132055) on Ubuntu 19.10 with a Wacom tablet.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
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Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by scottgus1 »

Jackge wrote:Maybe Definitely an important detail: I am using a Wacom Intuos Pen Tablet as a mouse. I do not have any other mouse attached to the computer.
.....
When I plug in a normal mouse into the USB I am able to access the menu options and buttons inside the virtualbox manager window, but still not with the Wacom tablet.
FTFY. Using an unusual input device is certainly an important factor
Jackge wrote:Today confirmed another dev
Is this one of your co-workers or a Virtualbox developer?
Jackge wrote:I upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04 yesterday
Virtualbox for Ubuntu 20.04 is not released yet, see https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads.
Jackge wrote:I installed virtualbox 6.1 using apt-get using the repo in the documentation.
Which documentation is this? If you downloaded Virtualbox from the Ubuntu repository, then you have their fork, not official Virtualbox. We don't know how to handle the forks, just the official Virtualbox from the Linux Downloads link above.

After clearing up whether the version installed is the fork and switching if it is, I would suggest to search the Bugtracker, then post if no other ticket is there.
Jackge
Posts: 4
Joined: 25. Apr 2020, 20:47

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by Jackge »

Thanks for getting back to me.

To answer your question:
1. Well, a Wacom tablet is a wildy used and common input device among developers. It is very good in preventing repetitive strain injury when working a lot on the computer for hours on end. Also a lot of designers live by it for obvious reasons. So I think the word "unusual" is a bit of a leap.
2. Normal developer, not a rookie.
3. I know (which is surprising but not the issue), the other dev used it with virtualbox 6.0.1 on Ubuntu 19.10 so it seems it is independent of Ubuntu distribution and since it was not an issue with virtualbox 5.2.
4. I tried virtualbox from the Ubuntu repo, the Debian repo mentioned on https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads for 19.10 and the 19.10 deb file. All had the same issue.


Now for the good news, I found a workaround and the probably cause of the issue (given that the workaround seems to work). It seems an issue with virtualbox using an older version of QT. This is a known bug with QT and they have pushed a fix not too long ago. See also https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-77826 - so when virtualbox updates to the next QT (5.14.1) version it should hopefully be fixed.

Key is adding

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QT_XCB_TABLET_LEGACY_COORDINATES=1
to the command loading virtualbox on the command line.

In the meantime, for other wacom users who encounter the same issue, this workaround (not fix) I implemented to go around the problem for now:

1. go to /usr/share/appliactions/ in your terminal
2. copy the shortcut:

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sudo cp virtualbox.desktop virtualbox-fix.desktop
3. Next open the new launcher:

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sudo pico virutalbox-fix.desktop
4. Change the content to the following:

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[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Name=Oracle VM VirtualBox-fix
GenericName=Virtual Machine
Type=Application
Exec=bash -c 'QT_XCB_TABLET_LEGACY_COORDINATES=1 VirtualBox %U'
Keywords=virtualization;
MimeType=application/x-virtualbox-vbox;application/x-virtualbox-vbox-extpack;application/x-virtualbox-ovf;application/x-virtualbox-ova;
DocPath=file:///usr/share/doc/virtualbox-6.1/UserManual.pdf
Icon=virtualbox
Categories=Emulator;System;
Actions=Manager;
StartupWMClass=VirtualBox Manager
Comment=Run several virtual systems on a single host computer

[Desktop Action Manager]
Exec=bash -c 'QT_XCB_TABLET_LEGACY_COORDINATES=1 VirtualBox'
Name=Open VM Manager
Note: I deleted the following line:

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TryExec=VirtualBox
Amd I edited the following fields:

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Name=Oracle VM VirtualBox-fix
This allows us to separate the icon from the default icon and use this one in our favorites in the dock.

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Exec=bash -c 'QT_XCB_TABLET_LEGACY_COORDINATES=1 VirtualBox %U'

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Exec=bash -c 'QT_XCB_TABLET_LEGACY_COORDINATES=1 VirtualBox'
That's all. Now you can add the launcher to your favorites, find it under default applications in the properties windows, etc. When virtualbox updates then this launcher should remain unaffected and until virtualbox updates QT to 5.14.1 this should work fine and is parallel of the normal launcher.

If you encounter this issue for other programs as well, you can try out the same workaround.
muttsnutman
Posts: 3
Joined: 23. Apr 2018, 21:04

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by muttsnutman »

I am experiencing what appears to be the exact same problem since upgrading to Ubuntu 20.04.
Using both the Virtualbox download and the Ubuntu repository version, the effect is the same. The Manager gui does not respond to clicks made with the Wacom pen, although the surrounding Window buttons (min/max/close) still work and demonstrate that the pen is actually working.
The Tablet and pen work fine in Firefox, Arduino IDE, Gimp etc., but do NOT work in Virtualbox 6.1, or within any of my VM's.
None of my hardware has changed so this is definitely a consequence of upgrading to 20.04 and presumably is due to Virtualbox relying on a removed package?
I will try the temporary change to configuration suggested above and report back.
muttsnutman
Posts: 3
Joined: 23. Apr 2018, 21:04

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by muttsnutman »

I can now confirm the suggested workaround above resolves the problem in my installation detailed below.

Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS
VirtualBox Graphical User Interface Version 6.1.10_Ubuntu r138449
© 2004-2020 Oracle Corporation (Qt5.12.8 )
blueskies7
Posts: 1
Joined: 2. Apr 2021, 10:09

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by blueskies7 »

Omg, what a freak issue. I ran into the exact same thing. I recently upgraded to Linux Mint 20 running with Virtualbox 5.something and ran into this (Intous tablet). I also run Linux Mint 20 with Virtualbox 6 on my laptop and have the same issue there (Bamboo tablet). So there ya go. Thank you so much for this workaround, was about to pull my hair out.
muttsnutman
Posts: 3
Joined: 23. Apr 2018, 21:04

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by muttsnutman »

It's a real shame that 3 years down the line, the same problem is still happening and Oracle appear to have done nothing about it...
BIG thumbs up to Jackge for the workaround which I am still using.
fth0
Volunteer
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: No mouse clicks in virtualbox manager 6.1 on Ubuntu 20.04

Post by fth0 »

muttsnutman wrote:It's a real shame that 3 years down the line, the same problem is still happening and Oracle appear to have done nothing about it...
I don't understand your reasoning, because I think there is nothing to do for Oracle:

Jackge recognized the problem as a bug inside QT 5.12/5.13, which was probably fixed in QT 5.14.1. Ubuntu 20.04 comes with QT 5.12.8 (?), and VirtualBox uses the QT library from the Linux host.
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