You might occasionally encounter problems when virtual machines capture input from the keyboard and mouse on the host system.

Table 1. Common Input Problems and Solutions

Problem

Solution

Pressing Ctrl+Alt to release the mouse and keyboard causes a laptop to suspend.

By default, Workstation Pro uses Ctrl+Alt to release the mouse and keyboard. Some laptops use this same key combination to suspend the host machine. In these cases, try using Ctrl and Alt on the right side of the keyboard. Workstation Pro recognizes both sets of Ctrl and Alt keys, but laptops usually recognize only the keys on the left side of the keyboard for the suspend function.

After you press Ctrl+Alt to release the mouse and keyboard, the keyboard does not function properly within the host operating system.

Occasionally, Workstation Pro causes the host operating system to lose keyboard events, which in turn causes the host operating system to detect that keys are being pressed when they are not.

If keys do not respond as expected after you exit Workstation Pro, they might be stuck in the host operating system. Press and release each of the modifier keys individually, including Ctrl, Shift, and Alt. If the keys still do not respond, press and release more special keys, including the Windows, Esc, and Caps Lock keys.

On Linux hosts, pressing Ctrl+Alt does not release the cursor.

The modifier keys might be mapped under X (in Linux) in unexpected ways. For example, the left Ctrl key might be mapped to Caps Lock, or an Alt key is generating special keystrokes. Run xmodmap -- kim -- kp and submit a support request to VMware technical support that includes the output.