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How can I configure VMWare Workstation so that it sends a keyboard shortcut to a process running on the host operating system, before sending the keyboard shortcut to the guest operating system?

I use VMWare Workstation 14. Guest: Windows 7 SP1 x64 Ultimate; host: Windows 7 SP1 x64 Ultimate.

For example, Windows Remote Desktop Connection allows the users to change the keyboard shortcut priority:

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I know I could circumvent this issue by going though VNC but I would prefer to avoid that, as VNC misses a few features (cannot redirect all inputs, multi-monitor not so well supported, can't retrieve clipboard from the guests to the host, etc.).

I have crossposted the question at:

Franck Dernoncourt
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2 Answers2

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There currently is no way to do this in VMware Workstation. When you're grabbed, all keys (except for Ctrl+Alt+Del, unless the VMware keyboard driver is installed) will go to the guest. To direct keyboard input to the host, you must first explicitly ungrab by pressing the ungrab key combination (Ctrl+Alt by default).

jamesdlin
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Your answer lies within the "Edit > Preferences > Hot Key" section in VMWare Workstation.

https://www.vmware.com/support/ws4/doc/running_prefs_ws.html tells you the following information. I've used similar keyboard combinations to alternate my key commands between the host and the guest.

" The Hot Key tab lets you change the key combination that determines whether certain combinations of keys are passed to the guest operating system or intercepted by VMware Workstation.

For example, you may want to change hot-key combinations from Ctrl-Alt- to Ctrl-Shift-Alt- to prevent Ctrl-Alt-Delete from being intercepted by VMware Workstation instead of being sent to the guest operating system.

Note: Because Ctrl-Alt is the key combination used to tell VMware Workstation to release (ungrab) mouse and keyboard input, combinations that include Ctrl-Alt are not passed to the guest operating system. If you need to use such a combination - for example, use Ctrl-Alt- to switch between Linux workspaces in a virtual machine - press Ctrl-Alt-Space, release Space without releasing Ctrl and Alt, then press the third key of the key combination you want to send to the guest.

Using this dialog box, you can also construct your own custom hot-key combination."

Shreedhar Kant
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