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1 2 Previous Next 18 Replies Last post: Nov 17, 2007 10:29 PM by rcardona2k  

Fusion's handling of Fullscreen is driving me INSANE! posted: Jul 10, 2007 8:57 PM

Click to view thully's profile Novice 35 posts since
May 3, 2007
Since Beta 3, I have really found Fusion to be a great way to try out a bunch of OSes inside OS X without partitioning. However, one thing is really driving me NUTS - VMware Fusion's handling of fullscreen virtual machines.

For one thing, if a VM is fullscreen and you either 1) put the system into suspend or 2) switch away from and hide the VM ("Hide VMware Fusion" in the application menu), Fusion switches from fullscreen to windowed mode for no real reason whatsoever. What really bugs me is that Parallels - though it gets a whole lot wrong - manages to get this right, as it is quite easy to one-keystroke switch between VMs.

Additionally, when running fullscreen there is no way - short of removing VMware Tools and losing all of the features it provides - to prevent the VMware Fusion menu bar from appearing. This is not a big deal in Windows, but is in Ubuntu Linux, as applications are launched from a menu bar *at the very top of the screen*. The only suggestions I've received are to move/enlarge the menu bar, which is hardly a fix - in fact, that means I have less screen real estate to work with...

Finally - though this is a common complaint - whenever I start a VM, I'm stuck with Windowed mode as the default, and there is no way to make it Fullscreen or Unity. Parallels can do this, so I don't see why Fusion can't.

While these are all minor issues, the combination of them has made using Fusion much more frustrating than it could be. In Fusion, I find myself constantly having to press the "Fullscreen" button and move my mouse to avoid the Fusion menu bar. It almost has the feeling that the software wants to enforce *it's* preferred settings (windowed mode, Fusion controls always accessible) on me.
Click to view sculi2000's profile Enthusiast 54 posts since
Dec 22, 2006
I love Fusion and rely on it to do my job. That being said, the only thing I have to say about this post is "Amen".
Click to view bgertzfield's profile Master 1,120 posts since
Sep 7, 2005
All very good feedback for sure. Please do file a Support Request for these features so they get tracked for a future release!
Click to view ashwinds's profile Lurker 4 posts since
Jul 5, 2007
I use fusion with virtue desktop with a separate desktop for fusion and have had a similar problem.

Ever so often (not always), fusion will come out of full screen into windowed mode, usually happens when I am switching between desktops with CMD+Tab.

I am not sure what the pattern is. But one thing happens more often than not: If I switch with CMD+Tab while fusion is switching from windowed to full screen, it will fall back to windowed. HTH.
Click to view vinayv's profile Hot Shot 136 posts since
Oct 13, 2006
So as far as the full screen menu bar thing... we are looking at ways to improve the interaction for this. It will not be fixed for 1.0, but if we fix it, we want to get it right, so we are making sure we get the right interaction model for the VM. We targeted Windows guests, but we are re-visiting the problem.

If you have a second monitor, going full screen on the second monitor (move the single window over the second monitor then go full screen) will result in no menubar popping action. But of course, this requires that you have a second monitor.
Click to view vinayv's profile Hot Shot 136 posts since
Oct 13, 2006
well, with regards to the window resizing thing, we're looking at it. Basically, we kick out of full screen whenever the full screen window gets moved. We are looking at improving this behavior, but I can't say much beyond that.

The cmd-Tab thing you're talking about is unlikely. I say this because we are trying to be a good mac citizen and that means that we behave like other mac programs. But since you bring it up, we'll add to the list of things to revisit for future releases.
Click to view keratacon's profile Lurker 1 posts since
Sep 30, 2007

It would also be nice if while in fullscreen, the mouse remained captured in the guest. I've been attempting to play an older game under a Windows XP and the game is unplayable since it keeps loosing mouse focus.

Also it would be nice to be able to actually fullscreen resolutions less than the full resolution of the monitor (stretch pixels I guess)

Click to view etung's profile Guru 11,094 posts since
Oct 15, 2006
keratacon wrote:

It would also be nice if while in fullscreen, the mouse remained captured in the guest.


Did you try setting vmmouse.present and pref.motionUngrab as described in the release notes?

Also it would be nice to be able to actually fullscreen resolutions less than the full resolution of the monitor (stretch pixels I guess)

See A Power User's Guide to VMware Fusion: Fit Full Screen
Click to view murreyaw's profile Hot Shot 232 posts since
Jan 26, 2007
That is what worked for me.
Click to view 17maf's profile Novice 25 posts since
Nov 12, 2007
Same here, VMWare often loses fullscreen mode.
Switching by given shortcuts does not wor here,
only via menu.

The worst thing for me, which I think is related to this,
is that my desktop icons won't keep their position after
each start of XP.






Thanks,

Micha

Mac Pro 8 core, VMWare Fusion 1.1, 12 GB, OS X 10.5, XP Pro SP2,

Click to view mac.pro.user's profile Novice 19 posts since
Nov 17, 2007
I'm currently evaluating VMWare Fusion 1.1.62573 due to a recent comparison by CNET regarding performance. I am an experienced Windows user who recently "made the switch". Actually, I've been using Macs since the days of AUX on the Mac II. Anyways, I digress...

System: Mac Pro Dual Quad 3.0Ghz Xeon, 4GB, (3) 500GB, 30" Display, OS X 10.5.1

Use: VMware Fusion with a Bootcamp dedicated disk running Windows XP SP2 with all updates.

Initial observations: There is some clear advantages, but there are MANY, MINOR, ANNOYANCES!

PROS:

a) Superior performance of Fusion as opposed to Parallels.

b) Clean integration of Unity with Finder dock.

CONS:

a) Fusion can't seem to remember what screen resolution I set!

b) Fusion arbitrarily rearranges desktop icons (most likely a symptom of screen resolution change) Icons near the task bar inexplicably move up on restart or on mode changes.

c) Screen resolution modes are broken. When setting screen resolution, Fusion sometimes (or sometimes not) automatically reduces horizontal size to account for status bar. Also, Fusion uses different desktop icon grids for different screen resolutions, resulting in some icons actually resting behind the task bar if they should be placed too close to the task bar.

c) Fusion Virtual Machine Library window won't "go away" when using Unity mode. The Virtual Machine Library window should hide when switching to Finder or any other app. Like most all other Mac apps behave. I'm left having to minimize it which is an annoyance.

d) Fusion switches to max resolution when OS X wakes from sleep and Fusion was left in Unity mode prior to OSX sleep.

e) Fusion should have an option for startup mode. Unity, Windowed, Full Screen. And... remember it!

Overall, the CONS make Fusion seem like beta software. I want to use Fusion because of performance alone, but these usability issues need to be fixed. Who wants to subject themselves to constant frustrations and annoyances. I want a stable system which I don't have to think about, so I can concentrate on getting actual work done.

In conclusion, these issues taken as a whole is a deal killer. I'm looking for a PC replacement which can "cleanly" integrate with OS X which does not require a reboot. Fusion comes close but there is more work to be done.

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