Weird behavior when dragging files from host to guest (VMWare Workstation)

ADDISON74

10/6/22, 7:31 PM

Here is my implementation:

Host: Windows 10 Pro 21H1 + VMWare Workstation Pro 16.1.2
Guest: Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS + VMWare Tools installed from Ubuntu repository (package named open-vm-tools-desktop) because the one that comes with VMWare as an ISO disk version 10.3.22 did not work at all after installing it properly.

I encounter a very strange behavior related to the drag & drop feature.

If the Ubuntu desktop has no windows over it, I cannot drag a file from host to guest. The mouse pointer remains as an arrow with a circle cut in front of it.
If I open a Terminal window or any other application and resize the application window to leave some space just to see the desktop, I can drag the file in that area.

Surprising or not, there are a lot of posts on the Internet related to the drag & drop feature in VMWare which is not working properly for Linux guests. I am pretty sure those gentlemen tried to drop the file, as I did first time, directly on the desktop and they did not know there is a trick to make it work.

The trick is really weird. Does anyone know why is this happening? I can live with it but it will be much better to find a solution or to understand what is behind the curtain.

Please note that doing (Ctrl+C) for the file on the host and then (Crtl+V) on the guest desktop is pasting the file even if there are no windows opened, which is normal.

0 + 2

vmware

drag-and-drop

Charles Green

10/7/22, 1:17 AM

I don't use VMWare myself anymore, but have you tried lookin in the [VMWare Community Forums](https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation/ct-p/3019-home)

ADDISON74

10/7/22, 7:39 AM

I posted this issue in Open VM Tools project on GitHub too.

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: Weird behavior when dragging files from host to guest (VMWare Workstation)

TH: พฤติกรรมแปลก ๆ เมื่อลากไฟล์จากโฮสต์ไปยังแขก (VMWare Workstation)

RO: Comportament ciudat la tragerea fișierelor de la gazdă la oaspete (VMWare Workstation)

RU: Странное поведение при перетаскивании файлов с хоста на гостевую (VMWare Workstation)

VI: Hành vi kỳ lạ khi kéo tệp từ máy chủ sang máy khách (VMWare Workstation)

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