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1 2 Previous Next 21 Replies Last post: Nov 5, 2007 5:28 PM by Doghouse Reil…  

VM Mouse Driver Crippled? posted: Nov 3, 2007 2:15 PM

Click to view Doghouse Reilly's profile Novice 11 posts since
Nov 3, 2007
I'm otherwise happy with Fusion but, like every other virtualization solution ever created, it doesn't seem to recognize that mice now have more than two buttons. Is there any way, within Fusion, to enable the back/forward buttons on an MSFT mouse? Or even of making the "Snap To Default Dialog Choice" option work?

I'm assuming that using MSFT's own IntelliMouse software is out, because the driver expects to talk to the OS, not the VM.

Am I wrong? If not, and the Fusion driver is, in fact, so limited, what's the answer? I can't imagine that an object so literally essential to operating a computer (or VM) gets so little respect. All I want is the same functionality in one environment as the other--or as the original, non-VM version. Is that so hard?

Maccies have a useful phrase that also make a pretty fair target for any developer to shoot for:

It Just Works.

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

1. Nov 3, 2007 2:49 PM in response to: Doghouse Reil…
Click to view etung's profile Guru 11,094 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
A key point of virtualization is that the guest does not get to see the actual hardware. If you examine the mouse that the guest sees, it's a 2 button + scrollwheel PS/2 device, not your actual mouse, so your extra mouse buttons have nowhere to map to. You can connect the mouse directly to the guest, but it's a bit clunky - read A Power User's Guide to VMware Fusion and be sure you understand the drawbacks of doing this.

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

3. Nov 3, 2007 8:26 PM in response to: Doghouse Reil…
Click to view etung's profile Guru 11,094 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
Your request for more buttons is noted.

I'm confused about what sort of response would have satisfied you - I explained the current state of things, which you seem to have taken as a massive personal attack. You are correct, it would be entirely possible to emulate a mouse with more buttons. I don't know the exact challenges in doing so, but I do imagine it's more than just changing a "2" to a "4" somewhere.

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

4. Nov 3, 2007 8:37 PM in response to: etung
Click to view Rzn8tor's profile Hot Shot 231 posts since
Jun 10, 2007
I've requested support for four buttons in the past, but I'll reiterate here. The OP was requesting a change in functionality, not a description of the current design.

Like everything else I suspect this feature is a matter of priority. Is there anyone else who cares about the extra buttons?

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

5. Nov 3, 2007 8:47 PM in response to: Rzn8tor
Click to view etung's profile Guru 11,094 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
The OP asked if there was a way to use more buttons and whether the emulated mouse driver is limited in this fashion; I answered that is it not currently possible and explained the current limitations.

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

7. Nov 4, 2007 1:56 AM in response to: Doghouse Reil…
Click to view rrdharan's profile Expert 462 posts since
Dec 16, 2004
I believe this is fixed in Fusion 1.1. If you don't want to upgrade to the RC, you can add this option to your VM's config file (the .VMX file inside the VM bundle) and you should get what you want:

mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE"

This option will enable a virtual USB mouse which our backend emulation will use preferentially over the virtual PS/2 mouse. The virtual USB mouse should pass through up to 6 buttons.

A note of caution: the above option is not officially supported in Fusion 1.0, but it should work fine for what you want.

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

11. Nov 4, 2007 5:16 AM in response to: Doghouse Reil…
Click to view etung's profile Guru 11,094 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
The vmx file is not sorted; position doesn't matter. Since you're seeing the HID compliant mouse, I think the config file option worked (this item didn't appear in my tree before I added the setting).

Re: VM Mouse Driver Crippled?

12. Nov 4, 2007 10:55 AM in response to: rrdharan
Click to view Rzn8tor's profile Hot Shot 231 posts since
Jun 10, 2007
rrdharan wrote:
I believe this is fixed in Fusion 1.1.

I'm running 1.1 and it still doesn't appear to work. What do I need to do to activate this feature?

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