How to VMware Player?

[Jake1042]

About a year ago I have bought single licenses on the VMware home page, but the link now says "The CloudVista Store was shut down on November 13, 2024."

It also looks like the VMware Workstation Player has been discontinued.

So what is the current solution for running a VMware on a stand-alone PC and how/where do I get the license and download?

Thanks. 

[Henk De Groot]

https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/11/11/vmware-fusion-and-workstation-are-now-free-for-all-users/

It is since become free for all usage. You can just download the current version from the products download page.

[Jake1042]

Thanks - very useful info.

I found the download page.
https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/productdownloads?subfamily=VMware%20Workstation%20Pro

And then there is no need for a license?

Also no license if used professionally?

[Henk De Groot]

That is correct, even no license required when used commercially/professionally.

[Henk De Groot]

Just to add to my message, when you download and install 17.6.2 this is also reflected in the About page.

No more indication for Commercial/Personal use and license required.

[Glen Leslie]

VMWare Player also continues to be updated (there is VMW Player 17.6.2 updated in Dec 2024) on the Products page but the download button is disabled: "Note entitled for download" 

Oddly, I can download VMW WS 17.6.2 Pro.  If it was true that development ended for VMW WS Player then why release another one in Dec 2024 but then make it inaccessible?  

Does anyone know why this is ... 

[Henk De Groot]

Good point, would not know why that is. Perhaps it is to allow some people to still download it? Maybe as part of an overall enterprise agreement or perhaps to be able to just list the product and allow download the older versions (like 16.25).

[Glen Leslie]

That is another oddity... VMW Player versions below 17 can be downloaded still ... the button is active there... 

[Michael Hoffmann]

Those that have an active Maintenance Contract for VMware Player will also be able download the latest Version of VMWare Player.
All Other can Download and install VMWare Workstation 17.6.2 an have the Player installed within that Package.

[Jake1042]

I just downloaded and installed the VMWare Workstation 17.6.3 last week.

How do I get the Player from that package?

The Workstation works OK - I can start it with a VM-project in fullscreen mode with a bat-file, but if I shutdown the VM, the Workstation remains fullscreen (where the player used to return to non-fullscreen). The fullscreen confuses people, as the hidden bar needs to be retrieved to close the Workstation.

So I would like to either:

• Make sure the Workstation returns to non-fullscreen when the VM is shutdown (like regular Windows shutdown in the VM)
• Get a Player

Thank you for your help.

[RDPetruska]

Jake,

The VMware Player UI has always been included with the Workstation Pro package.  There should be a shortcut in the VMware start menu folder labelled "VMware Workstation 17 Player".

[RaSystemlord]

Sorry, I don't know that new version, if there are specific bugs, I only know 17.5.2 which works on all platforms just fine. So, I'm answering based on that.

FullScreen

• Pro uses the screen size that the user chooses. It doesn't use Full Screen if you don't chose it yourself. The user should be learned to go back and forth in screen size
• there is a different between Full Screen and Entire Screen (I don't know the exact terminology)

How to kill VMware

• there is no Hidden Menu, if you haven't chosen it yourself
• in Entire Screen mode there might be a hidden menu. Yet again, the user needs to learn to go back and forth in his own choices
• normally you close VMware as everything else in Windows, clicking the right top corner of the application

Player

• player didn't return to non-fullscreen, it killed the application
• it was rather confusing to have many VMware windows open, when you use several of them, like in Pro-work you usually do
• there is no Player
• there is no need for Player because Pro is the better version and both are free now
• Pro has many important features that Player didn't (like Virtual Network Editor, which many people here have had to use, because installing these newer versions sometimes fail. In Pro work, you must have it in certain scenarios)
• neither Player nor Pro where Free in commercial work, Players was cheaper though

[Jake1042]

Thank you for the answers. Yes - there is a Player shortcut - and it works like "it used to".

The Workstation Pro may be better in many ways - but when started in fullscreen mode, it remains in fullscreen when the VM is shut down - and the the "control bar" is hidden at the top of the screen. The control bar can be retrieved by moving the mouse to the top - but on a touchscreen this is not possible to do with your finger. The control bar can be "pinned" - and then always visible, but then it hides important information in the VM.

So unless I can find a way to exit fullscreen mode when the VM shuts off - then I'll revert to using the Player (which is now also version 17.6.3).

[RaSystemlord]

OK, the product "Player" was just ceased, but technically there is Player - in the same way as it always was there with Pro. I still don't know 17.6.x versions - so my answer below is not for those.

There are Edit-Preferences and View - selections - with those:

- you are not missing anything from the computer, no matter what size you are running

- you can adjust to run VMware in a window, of any size, and not miss anything from the actual VM computer

That is when those work - they have always been a bit flaky, but they can be made to work, at least after installing VM Tools. This depends also on the guest OS.

As a far-fetched solution - you don't even need to use the VM, just start it. In Unity-mode, you can run any VM application on the Host, in a window. For instance, you can run Linux-Gimp-application on the Host, like it would be a Host application, but in reality, you run it in Unity Mode on the Linux VM. Anyway, then you wouldn't have any full-screen-problems.