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scritch
Contributor
Contributor

Wacom Tablet does not move the cursor under Ubuntu Linux 7.04

I managed to make my Wacom tablet recognized by the virtual machine using the indications at http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=576929

However, I have a problem: the Linux cursor does not move when I move my stylus. I am sure the tablet is recognized because I can use it to select something or even draw with pressure sensitivity. But not seeing where the (tablet) cursor is is quite problematic.

After uninstalling the VMWare tools, the tablet can be used once again to move the cursor. So I think everything is the fault of some driver installed by the VMWare tools to be able to move the cursor inside the virtual machine without having to first click on it for it to grab the mouse. I do not care if I have to click each time in the window and have the cursor grabbed, but the other VMWare tools are still very useful, especially the fact to be able to freely resize the virtual machine window.

So how could I disable just this non-grabbing functionality of the tools? Or better, is there any way to have both the non-grabbing and the cursor moved by the tablet?

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scritch
Contributor
Contributor

After reading some other posts I learned about the settings recommended for games to have the mouse cursor grabbed that was indicated in the release notes :

In the virtual machine directory, add the following line to the end of the virtual machine's configuration (.vmx) file:

vmmouse.present = "FALSE"

In your home directory, add the following line to the end of the file ~/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/preferences:

pref.motionUngrab = "FALSE"

And after doing it the tablet does move the cursor correctly. I do understand why I have to change a parameter of the VM (however not having to edit the VMX by hand would be better), but not why we also have to edit the global preferences. Isn't it cumbersome when you have multiple VMs? And isn't there a way that does not require me to disable the grabbing?

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

Does it work if you don't edit the global preferences? For games, you don't want the game to suddenly lose track of the mouse if you exit the window, but it's fine for your case.

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scritch
Contributor
Contributor

Yes, indeed it works: when I move the mouse out of the VM window it does ungrab and I can't move the cursor out of the window with just the tablet, that is great. I thought I had tried it but I must have made a mistake last time. Thank you.

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