mouse issues in Ubuntu 7.10

[mykmelez]

I've noticed three issues with mouse behavior since upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04 to 7.10:

1. the scrollwheel doesn't work;

2. moving the pointer all the way to the left or right of the screen disables input redirection, turning the pointer into a hand and making it necessary to re-grab input to use the mouse or keyboard in the VM;

3. moving or clicking a button on the mouse sometimes creates artifacts around the area of the pointer which remain until I move the pointer away from that area or let go of the mouse button.

The third issue is merely cosmetic, and the second is annoying but manageable. The first issue, however, is significant, since I normally use the scrollwheel all the time.

Anyone know what might be causing these issues or how to fix/work around them?

Note: I have reinstalled the tools since upgrading the OS, and the only notable issue there is that the following message appeared during the tools installation process:

>Detected X.org version 1.3.

>No drivers for X.org version: 1.3.

[rcardona2k]

The artifacts around using menus (mostly what I've seen) is a known-to-VMware issue. The scroll wheel is an X configuration issue, change the mouse driver from ps/2 to imps/2 in Xorg.conf. On issue 2, are you using Ubuntu in full-screen mode?

[mykmelez]

The artifacts around using menus (mostly what I've seen) is a known-to-VMware issue.

Ok, great. It's the least of my problems, so I'll just ignore it.

>The scroll wheel is an X configuration issue, change the mouse driver from ps/2 to imps/2 in Xorg.conf.

Yup, that fixed it, thanks. Still, it seems like there's a bug here, since I didn't have this problem when VMWare tools configured X in 7.04.

>On issue 2, are you using Ubuntu in full-screen mode?

Yes, I'm using it in full-screen mode on a Dell FPW2005 monitor with a 1680x1050 native resolution. The Mac OS X monitor applet in the menu bar confirms that OS X is set to 1680x1050, and xrandr confirms that X is set to the same resolution. My Ubuntu desktop appears to cover the entire screen.

I can reproduce the problem with the bottom edge of the screen. And I can also reproduce the problem in windowed mode if I place the window at the edge of the screen (or even over the edge, so part of the window is off screen). When I move the pointer to the edge of the screen, it changes into a hand, and input redirection stops.

But I can't reproduce it with the top edge, which works as expected (the VMWare Fusion menu appears, the pointer turns into a Mac OS X pointer, then it turns back into an Ubuntu pointer when I move the pointer back down). And I can't reproduce it when moving the cursor to an edge of the VM window that isn't up against an edge of the screen. In that case, the pointer correctly turns into a Mac OS X pointer and then changes back into an Ubuntu pointer if I move it back into the window.

So the problem only manifests itself when the VM is up against one or more edges of the screen and I move the pointer to one of those edges.

[rcardona2k]

Yup, that fixed it, thanks. Still, it seems like there's a bug here, since I didn't have this problem when VMWare tools configured X in 7.04.

It's not so much a bug, as a problem with configuring a minty new OS. Ubuntu 7.10 is days old in final release form. VMware will probably adjust the Tools installer to handle configuring X properly on this OS.

Yes, I'm using it in full-screen mode on a Dell FPW2005 monitor with a 1680x1050 native resolution. The Mac OS X monitor applet in the menu bar confirms that OS X is set to 1680x1050, and xrandr confirms that X is set to the same resolution. My Ubuntu desktop appears to cover the entire screen.
I can reproduce the problem with the bottom edge of the screen. And I can also reproduce the problem in windowed mode if I place the window at the edge of the screen (or even over the edge, so part of the window is off screen). When I move the pointer to the edge of the screen, it changes into a hand, and input redirection stops.
But I can't reproduce it with the top edge, which works as expected (the VMWare Fusion menu appears, the pointer turns into a Mac OS X pointer, then it turns back into an Ubuntu pointer when I move the pointer back down). And I can't reproduce it when moving the cursor to an edge of the VM window that isn't up against an edge of the screen. In that case, the pointer correctly turns into a Mac OS X pointer and then changes back into an Ubuntu pointer if I move it back into the window.
So the problem only manifests itself when the VM is up against one or more edges of the screen and I move the pointer to one of those edges.

I remember this issue from awhile back. Going off memory, it's something to do with autograb. I know there are several threads around gaming that raised the issue. If someone doesn't beat me to it, I'll update this message a little later this evening with a reference to a solution.

[mykmelez]

Thanks Richard, I appreciate the help. FWIW, the input redirection issue only cropped up for me in version 1.1beta1. I didn't see it in version 1.0 and earlier versions.

[rcardona2k · Accepted solution]

I have a feeling all of these issues are rooted in adjustments needing to be made to VMware Tools for Gutsy. I found the thread I remembered: In it Eric says to try setting pref.motionUngrab = "FALSE" in your user preferences (~/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/preferences). This information is also in the "Customizing the virtual machine's mouse settings for playing games" in the Release Notes

Edit: Updated obsolete preferences path.

[mykmelez]

I found the thread I remembered: In it Eric says to try setting pref.motionUngrab = "FALSE" in your user preferences (~/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/preferences).

Yup, that worked great. Thanks for the tip!

Any downsides to this setting I should be aware of?

[mykmelez]

Any downsides to this setting I should be aware of?

I found a downside: after making the change, I couldn't access the Fusion menubar anymore. Fortunately, I found another way to fix the problem: I followed the instructions in http://communities.vmware.com/message/780207 to get vmware-config-tools to recognize my X server version, and now everything works fine.