Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

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Perryg
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by Perryg »

Actually some work has been done on this feature FWICT. It is no where near where it needs to be due to other issues but the framework seems to be kind of established in the code including some kind of what looks like a white hat back door that mpack was eluding to. When will it happen? maybe someday, maybe never. That's the part that everyone needs understand. Kind of like LPT support. The framework is there it just needs to be written and cross platformed. It has been suggested that it will work as is on Linux hosts, but I have not tested this yet. Here again this has been available for as long as I can remember.

Now to the real reason for me posting. If someone wants to take the code and make it happen then go for it. The source is freely down-loadable and has little to no restrictions as long as you submit changes you would like VirtualBox to include in the official version under the MIT license. Those that think this is or should be a drop in the bucket to do then go for it. The difference in VBox (IMHO) and others is this product is free and community driven. Other than that this has been or will be nothing more than a whipping post for complaints with nothing achieved.

Note: Keep in mind that with this level of integration your duty time will be measured in man-months and not man-hours if you are familiar with the code, and man-years if not.
swimmer70002
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by swimmer70002 »

Nooo!!! Please don't implement this feature, or instead modulate it to 'Extensions' and require it to be disabled by default. Viruses, especially zero-day viruses, will soon evolve and propogate by the copy-paste or drag-click into a virtual os. It's only a matter of time. This isn't an issue of convenience, it's an issue of security. It's the same fundamental reason why Linux, except now Ubuntu, is and will always be more secure than Windows.
knyq
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by knyq »

Use Dropbox. It is free. Good painless workaround for now.
mpack
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by mpack »

knyq wrote:Use Dropbox. It is free. Good painless workaround for now.
Free but slow, and not practical for very large files in the xGB range. It also potentially involves revealing private data to a third party. Encryption would fix the latter, but I wouldn't bet on novices getting that right.

Anyway, this thread has not specifically been about copying files, it has been about using the drag and drop metaphor to do it. If all you want to do is manually copy files between guest and host then the obvious solution would be VirtualBox shared folders. These are not as fast as true shared folders (but MUCH faster than using Dropbox), but on the other hand they're more secure and easier to set up.
Technologov
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by Technologov »

I understand that many people would like to see this feature implemented.

But I have a serious question: How many of you would agree to sponsor development of this feature in your own way ?
It doesn't have to be big sum, since we are many.

I'm ready to shell at least $30 for this feature.
If we have enough paying people, "Drag and Drop in VirtualBox" could become a reality.
twistedlincoln
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by twistedlincoln »

I'll pledge $50.
odoyle81
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by odoyle81 »

I'll pledge $50 million!
come on guys!
Perryg
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by Perryg »

odoyle81 wrote:I'll pledge $50 million!
come on guys!
Is the check in the mail?
mpack
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by mpack »

Hmm, I'd wait until that cheque clears before I did anything else...
Xympa
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by Xympa »

Almost 5 years after the start of this topic the status remains the same?
michaln
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by michaln »

The situation is as follows:

1) Users who want drag & drop are unwilling or unable to contribute anything.

2) Paying customers whose feature requests have priority do not care for drag & drop.

That has indeed not changed in years.
mpack
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by mpack »

Xympa wrote:Almost 5 years after the start of this topic the status remains the same?
If you read the thread then you may understand the reasons that lead to the reluctance to implement this feature. Those reasons are still valid after five years, and may well remain valid after 50 years.
ekerazha
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by ekerazha »

VirtualBox supports clipboard sharing for text, we could develop a small application which Base64-encodes files and copy the resulting string to the clipboard, then on the guest system it reads the string from the clipboard and Base64-decodes it into a file. It's ugly but it should work, this way you could copy-paste files between host and guest systems.
Martin
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by Martin »

As far as I know the clipboard has a size limit which would limit your approach to small files.
mpack
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Re: Drag and Drop in VirtualBox?

Post by mpack »

And the procedure would be so cumbersome that ISTM shared folders would be easier.
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