Menu-bar shortcut key

[bajx]

In VMWare Workstation there are shortcut keys to power on a vm, power off a vm, create a new virutal machine, go to full screen mode, go to windowed mode, switch among open virtual machines while mouse and keyboard input are grabbed.. WHERE IS THE SHORTCUT KEY TO SHOW THE MENU BAR?

If you run a VM in fullscreen (who doesn't??), the VMWare Workstation menu bar takes up a ton of valuable space at the top of the screen - the kind of space needed to see browser tabs or to see remote desktop sessions or to deal with Webex.. If you PIN it, you get to see it all the time - but you can no longer get to anything 'behind' it. If you 'UNPIN' it, it disappears into a menu that has an abnormally long timer and a seemingly 1 in 4 chance of opening when moving the mouse to the top of the screen. If you have a 2nd monitor positioned above the monitor where your VM is running fullscreen with the VMWare menu bar auto-hidden, you have to hope that the correct item (your VM) has focus, no weird programs that mess with focus are running in your VM, and you have to move the mouse with the precision of a surgeon to get it on the sliver that is a whole 1/4 of a pixel and hold it there for the abnormally long timer to get a 1 in 4 chance of opening the menu. If you have used VMWare Workstation a lot over the years, you have wasted valuable life waiting and hoping for that menu bar to appear.

Is there a shortcut key to pop up the menu bar? If so, why does no Google search have anything close to the right answer? If there is not a shortcut key to pop up the menu bar, why the hell not? Let me push a key and get an INSTANT bar..

I seriously have installed some sketchy software directly on my host machine just because I didn't want to have to play the menu bar game. I know I can 'exit fullscreen' with a shortcut key.. but WHY? What if I just want to get to the toolbar and disable a NIC?

Also.. some other shortcut keys that should exist but apparently do not:

- minimize VM

- cycle through running VM's

- pop up list of all VM's

Also, whoever has been deciding that a 'show menu bar' shortcut does not need to exist in VMWare Workstation, but does apparently need to exist in VMWare Fusion, please admit that you just love torturing people through UI annoyances.

[bajx]

Seriously.. no one else wants a keyboard combination to force the menu bar to show itself?

[wila]

Hi,

I'm not aware of the option (it might somehow exist, but don't know for sure) and this is not really an answer to your question, but it is related.

One thing that might be of interest for you is to try out vmware-kvm in the VMware bin folder.

It doesn't get you a menu shortcut key, but it is a full screen interface for using your VM's. It also allows you to loop through your VM's (and also your host) by pressing just a single button.

Some links:

https://blogs.vmware.com/workstation/2014/03/whats-cool-vmware-kvm-utility.html
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/15.0/vmware-kvm.pdf

--
Wil

[bajx]

It's been about 6 months and this issue is still driving me nuts. There really should be a hotkey in VMWare Workstation to show the menu bar. Let me auto-hide it - and then push the hotkey instead of having to position the mouse pointer perfectly. Lack of a hotkey when a person has a multiple monitor configuration with one monitor above the running VM causes the auto-hide menu to be a complete finicky disaster.

Seriously.. CTRL+M > Show Menu Bar.. How is this not already in VMWare Workstation but is in VMWare Fusion?

I should not have to 'exit fullscreen' just to see a menu bar - especially if I am running certain development software that wants to rearrange everything on a resolution change.

[wila]

Hi,

FWIW, I don't think this option exists in Fusion either.

You're probably confused by the Show/Hide menu bar in Full Screen option.

What it does is to completely hide the menu bar if you toggle it. That way you cannot even drop the menu bar at all in full screen mode.

--
Wil

[Spellbinder9000]

I was having this problem also.  When a VM is open in full screen it is difficult to get the menu to drop down to exit full screen.  I have dual monitors with one above the other and it is near impossible to get the menu to drop down from the top if the VM is open on the bottom display.

Please try CTRL-ALT-Enter to exit full screen mode and display the menu.

[stuckj2]

I found this while trying to find a solution for exactly the same thing. I use my VM on my laptop monitor with an external monitor above it. I connect a USB trackpad directly to the VM so I can get gestures and more detailed scrolling since VMWare doesn't emulate a trackpad (which is a separate thing that would be REALLY helpful). Whenever the host sleeps, e.g., when I get a cup of coffee (short sleep time), the trackpad is disconnected, and trying to re-connect it requires this stupid menu juggling act.

Found a solution in the comments of this SO post: https://superuser.com/q/1475595

TL;DR, hit your key combo for releasing key capturing (Ctrl-Alt by default) then press, Alt-M (or another letter to get to another menu item) to open the VM menu. This pops the bar into view with the VM menu opened. Do whatever you want on the bar from there.

Almost as good as a hotkey, but requires 2 keystrokes.