virtualbox.org

I had VB 4.3.6 working correctly on WIndows 7 Host, with two Ubuntu Guests. I had Auto-Capture Keyboard disabled in Preferences. GuestAdditions is installed on both guests. Both guests run X11/kwin. I could Alt-Tab into a guest, and use Alt-X within Emacs, and then Alt-Tab back out to other Windows apps.

Without any changes to my key modifier map in X11, this functionality changed. Now I have to enable Auto-Capture Keyboard in preferences, and use the Host key to switch on and off keyboard capturing. When the keyboard is not captured, regular keys will go into the X11 interface, but Alt-key combinations will not be passed. (I tested this with xev) Emacs will not get any Meta-key combinations (Alt key is Meta), which makes it almost unusable. Control key combinations work.

xev can see that the alt key is going down and up, but alt-x looks like an alt down, alt up sequence. When I force the keyboard to capture with the Host key, xev sees alt down, x down, x up, alt up, and Emacs gets Meta-X. Alt-Tab switches between apps within X11. If I force keyboard capture off with the host key, Alt-Tab switches between Windows apps. Mouse clicking or Alt-Tabbing into the guest window does not capture the keyboard unless Auto-capture keyboard is on.

I haven't been able to figure out what changed. One day I didn't need auto-capture keyboard, alt-tab would always go to Windows, and Meta-X always appeared in Emacs. The next day, Emacs was not getting Meta-X.

Both guests are suffering from this problem. The only thing I can think of that may have been done to both of them is an Ubuntu "apt-get update ; apt-get upgrade". I tried reinstalling VBoxGuestAdditions on both guests. Neither one recovered.

It seems like the functionality I lost is: When the guest window is focused, all key combinations except special ones like Alt-Tab and Ctrl-Alt-Del are directed into the guest. I never needed to use the Host key to get in and out of the guest.

Now I get: When the guest window is focused, single keys and control key combinations are passed into the guest and all Alt combinations are passed to Windows, including Alt-Tab and Alt-X. I always have to use the Host key to get into and out of the guest.

Enabling Auto-capture keyboard or forcing capture with the Host key redirects ALL Alt combinations into the guest including Alt-Tab (which is the one I do not want in X11).

I recovered part of the functionality. I disabled Mouse Integration and enabled Auto-Capture Keyboard. Now I can Alt-Tab into the guest VM and then have Alt-X work as I expect. Alt-Tab doesn't get me back out to the Host though. I have to click outside the guest screen, or use the Host key to disengage the keyboard from the Guest.

Ubuntu is 12.10. I suspect an OS update may have added some capability to Ubuntu to interfere with VBox keyboard capturing.

I know I had it to the point that I never saw the Ubuntu app chooser when I pressed Alt-Tab. It was always Windows, and I never had to hit the host key to switch.