Quick Switch Mode in Workstation 8

[0xG]

"You don't need it".

*sigh*

[Drinkypoo201110]

A new "feature"?

I am going back to v7. This is apalling.

[satya1]

0xG wrote:

"You don't need it".

*sigh*

0xG wrote:

"You don't need it".

*sigh*

hi are you facing any problem while using quick switch option ?

Yours,

Satya

[continuum]

> hi are you facing any problem while using quick switch option ?

just FYI - this feature no longer exists in WS 8

[Drinkypoo201110]

Just bitching.

They removed Quick Switch because - according to all documentation I can find - "You don't need it".

So now I have to spend my time resizing application windows every time I switch running VMs.

This was a very short-sighted move.

[j_mosk]

The lack of quickswitch mode makes ZERO sense to me.

It's the mode I use exclusively during live demonstrations.

I can quickly.. switch between machines in near full screen mode. Seeing EXACTLY the machines I want to go to.

In Full Screen mode.. this is not possible.

I have <-- and --> only.. or "Tabs" to dropdown machines, and when I click --> or <--- I hit unwanted guests. ick.

To "quick switch" to another machine, I need TWO CLICKS.. Tab, then GUEST.

Quickswitch.. it was ONE click.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE -- Bring back Quickswitch !!

[admin]

Part of Workstation 8's mantra was "simplicity" ... we spent a lot of effort on cleaning up the menus and reducing the crazy number of "modes" in Workstation (Normal, Quick Switch, Full Screen, Exclusive Mode, etc, etc) ...

Each mode had different strengths and different weaknesses. E.g. No Multiple Monitors in Quick Switch mode and No full menu system in Full Screen mode. You even said it yourself with "near full screen mode". Near - but not quite. This is precisely what we wanted to avoid. Not only was this confusing to some people, but all of the different modes (and therefore code paths) meant more development time, more testing time ... time that could be better spent on other features.

We combined everything into the new Full Screen and removed many of the "gotchas" and disadvantages of each mode. We're not saying that it is perfect and didn't have the development time to do everything that we liked, but we tried!

Know that your feedback is important and that the new user interface in Workstation will continue to improve and incorporate what our users want.

[admin · Accepted solution]

What do you mean, Drinkypoo2011... "So now I have to spend my time resizing application windows every time I switch running VMs."?

The combining of Quick Switch into Full Screen mode, should *not* have affected this.

The new Full Screen mode = the v7 Full Screen mode + a full menu system + full toolbar system. (But minus the on-screen tabs as another user, j_mosk, noticed).

But the basic mechanics of the VM console between the two modes is the same.

Maybe you could elaborate?

[admin]

Oh, and regarding the < > cycle buttons cycling through "inactive VMs" ... you can change this behavior.

In your preferences.ini file:

pref.commandBar.cycleVM = "TRUE"

... will make the buttons cycle like they did in Workstation 7 - running VMs only.

[j_mosk]

I slept on this all night and tried to drink in your perspective.

Good news: I get your perspective. I see where you're coming from and why the decisions were made.

Bad news: I'm still not happy.  Full screen mode simply doesn't allow for me to perform stand-up demonstrations in the most fliud, unobtrusive manner like QuickSwtich mode did.

Good news: I think we CAN have a middle ground here. You can get what you want (unified code base in Full Screen mode) and I can get what I want in an "almost QuickSwitch" mode at the same time with a very simple tweak.

Here is my proposed solution:

-In Full Screen mode, in the area to the LEFT of the arrows, there is currently the NAME of the actively showing guest.

-Keep this as-is, but when you HOVER on that computer name, you see:

   a) An active list  list of ACTIVE VMs running (listed Alpha by name) and ...

   b) A thumbnail view of those VMs to the right of each of those names.

I tried to mock up what this might look like (super rough, but you should get the idea.)

This gets us both what we want:

-You can keep Full Screen mode genuinely "full screen" and have a unified code base.

-I get the fluid "quick switch" I'm after by simply moving my mouse to the top, seeing a dropdown list of active VMs and their pictures/active state and selecting one.

If I want to use the "Tab" menu to click upon either active or Inactive VMs, that's available to me too.. but, during presentations and demos... I wouldn't need to use that. During demos I would simply use my proposed solution:  hover over the EXISTING computer name, see a dropdown of names / thumbnails of RUNNING VMs, and quick-switch into it.

Please let me know your thoughts, and I have given this considerable thought time before posting. Thanks.

[Drinkypoo201110]

1) You no longer have "direct access" to another VM. You can cycle through them using the <- -> buttons, but that's sequential access. Sucks.

2) Or, you can shrink the window of the current VM using one of the options that you indicated. Problem is,

     2a) it requires multiple clicks where one was enough

     2b) application windows are resized and desktop icons are shuffled, especially on W7. This is a HUGE PITA.

"Simplifying" the product (aka "Dumbing Down") is a typical Microsoft move. I'm sorry, but it reeks of arrogance - your users are not always too stupid to figure out for themselves. Give us a break, please! Some of us use the product all day, maybe under more conditions than you...

At the very least you should leave these features under some "Advanced" menu options.

[0xG]

By the way, "upgrading" (I don't agree that it really is) from V7 to V8 utterly trashes your VMnet configuration.

[RDPetruska]

0xG wrote:

By the way, "upgrading" (I don't agree that it really is) from V7 to V8 utterly trashes your VMnet configuration.

Uninstalling/Reinstalling, no matter WHAT version, *ALWAYS* resets the virtual network adapters and configuration back to factory defaults.  This has been this way since version 1.  This allows users who have messed things up to return to a known working networking system.

[0xG]

I guess that makes it OK?

[RDPetruska]

0xG wrote:

I guess that makes it OK?

I wasn't stating whether or not it was OK.  Just stating that that's the way it has always worked... and has nothing to do explicitly with upgrading from version 7 to version 8, in case other people stumbled upon this thread and read that.

If you have made custom changes to your virtual networks, it is always a good idea to back them up before doing an uninstall/reinstall cycle.

[admin]

j_mosk, thanks for the input ...

We *did* actually think deeply about the lack of tabs in Full Screen (AKA direct VM access) but there's only so much we could do given time ... well, we *could* have made you guys wait longer, I guess

The main reason that the Quick Switch on-screen tabs had to go, was that in order to have Multiple Monitor support, we could *not* have any "tiled" areas on the screen. The VM must occupy the whole monitor (or monitors) - for technical reasons.

So, we're down to overlaying the UI over Full Screen. We tried to keep the Full Screen toolbar as small as possible (vertically) so that it doesn't obscure too much of the screen, but it *is* true that there is a lot of space in there where the current VM name is ... we explored several possibilities for that space ... but (as I said before) ... lack of time.

Your suggestion is cool, but we need to be mindful that we don't introduce too many disparate UI concepts ... our design explorations included reusing other existing concepts, such as the Tabs from Normal Windowed mode (e.g. look at FireFox or Google Chrome in Maximized mode) ... or the new Thumbnail Bar look (we considered bump up to show the TBar, but that would have been annoying give a taskbar in the VM at the bottom of the screen).

Please know that you, our users', voices have been heard on this and this issue *will* be given mind-time by the team for an upcoming release. it is actually something I am personally interested in! You know we're not allowed to promise anything, so just know that you guys have done what you needed to do - letting us know!!!

Thanks!

[admin]

Drinkypoo...

1)

See my comment re: pref.commandBar.cycleVM = "TRUE" above.

Also see my comments re: we know about this issue, it's getting mind-time with the team - please give us a chance.

2)

Still not sure what "options" I suggested here. How *specifically* are you shinking the window? Are you dropping out of Full Screen mode? Did you turn "Fit Guest" off to stop the window size changing?

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Following is my personal opinion ... it is is no way shape or form VMware, Inc.'s policy or statement of fact:

Re: Simplifying, I'm gonna have to disagree here ... a few of us worked for Microsoft once (no need to throw a brick <smile>) ... and it was about adding more functionality (witness the evolution of Word) and not about simplifying/removing. Apple - now there's a company that simplifies things.

I am truly sorry that you feel the way that you do - "I'm sorry, but it reeks of arrogance". It could *not* be further from the truth. I am sorry you are not privy to all the hard work and hours that the team spent on the new Full Screen mode ... the discussions we had ... the respect we had for *all* of the types of users ... the designs we went through ... and our disappointment at not being able to get everything in that we wanted ... for this release!

I'd like to think I've been especially gracious here, acknowledging issues in the current design, offering up reasons why we are where we are today, trying to make suggestions that may mitigate the issue in the meantime and letting you know that this is something that will continue to be given mind-time by the team.

I'm very disappointed that you feel we've been "arrogant" ... this will probably be my "downer" moment of the day. <sigh>

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[GaelQuality]

As a long time user of Vmware I'd just like to add my voice to the requests for return of Quick-Switch mode. In all the years I've been a user I never used any other mode. Very disappointed that it has been removed.

[QuickSwitch]

If my vote counts I would have said take the extra time to include Quick Switch. Not having it is a PIA for me. If I had known it was removed I would not have upgraded!

Without it I might just as well be using VirtualBox or VirtualPC.

[admin]

Thanks for the additional comments.

The team is putting some "mind time" on this issue. Thanks!