Restrict mouse to VM window

[pcg79]

Hello,

I'm on a dual monitor setup.  Is it possible to restrict the mouse pointer to the VMWare window while I'm using it?  I've read that you can uninstall VMTools to do it but I'd rather not go that far.

Thanks.

Pat

[WoodyZ]

VMware Fusion (menu) > Preferences... > General > Gaming > Always optimize mouse for games

With this set you'll need to manually ungrab the mouse (Ctrl-Command) and will need to adjust the mouse speed in the Guest to speed it back up for normal use.

[pcg79]

Thanks, WoodyZ.  I'm not sure what that option does exactly but it didn't constrain my mouse to the VM window.  I can still move it (the pointer) on to my second monitor when I have the VM active and full screen'ed on monitor one.

[WoodyZ]

On my system with that set as described, causes the mouse to not automatically ungrab from the Virtual Machine Display whether in Single Windows of Full Screen and I have to press Ctrl-Command to release the mouse from the Virtual Machine.

Note:  I did not test it with dual monitor as I do not have an extra one to test with at the present time although I normally do.  I didn't think it would make a difference however maybe it does.

[pcg79]

What do you mean by "ungrab"?  Does that constrain the mouse pointer to the VM?  You cannot move the pointer from the borders of the VM?

Either way, I just tried it with a single monitor set up and the mouse can still freely leave the borders of the VM.  I guess I'm doing something else wrong?  Or it doesn't recognize League of Legends as a game?

[WoodyZ]

Under normal circumstances without VMware Tools installed one must click into the Virtual Machine Display for it (the Virtual Machine) to grab keyboard and mouse input and with VMware Tools installed all one needs to do is mouse over the Virtual Machine Display and it automatically grabs input.  So without VMware Tools installed on must press a given key combination (Ctrl+Command) for the Virtual Machine Display to release (ungrab) the keyboard and mouse from the Virtual Machine.

On my system with "Always optimize mouse for games" selected I have to manually ungrab the mouse and keyboard from the Virtual Machine to have control outside of the Virtual Machine (or back on the Mac side).  With the default (Auto-detect mouse for games) selected input is automatically grabbed/ungrabbed as the mouse is moved to the edge of the Virtual Machine Display.

If the behavior I've described is not working on your system I not sure why as what I've described is the default behavior not something that is just supposed to act that any on my system however the follow parameter added to the preferences file may or not help however I guess it's worth a try.

pref.motionUngrab = "FALSE"

With the Virtual Machine shutdown from within the Guest OS, not suspended, and VMware Fusion closed add the above parameter to the "/Users/${USER}/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/preferences" file.  JSYK This parameter is used in VMware Workstation and may have no affect in VMware Fusion and I'm only suggesting this as I have no other suggestions then to uninstall VMware Tools.

[pcg79]

Thanks, WoodyZ!  The preference line did it.  Thank you very much.

[Rohan ODwyer]

Thanks for the help. the "Always optimize mouse for games" trick helped. An old post but still a good one 13 years later! Also, thank you  VMware for keeping settings the same!