VMWare Server Tip: Display Menus and Toolbars in Quick Switch Mode

Recently I was working in a Virtual Machine that was running on VMWare Server and somehow activated Quick Switch mode. Cool, no problem….wrong. I couldn't remember how to go back to Console mode.

If you are not familiar, Quick Switch mode is similar to Full screen mode except it adds tabs at the top of the screen for switching between active VM's and does not display the inventory list in the sidebar or menu and toolbars at the top of the screen.

So, along the way in trying to figure out how to return back to VMWare Server Console mode, I found a hidden function that will display the menus and toolbars while in Quick Switch mode.

Below is a screen shot of Quick Switch mode:

NOTE: To enter Quick Switch mode, press F11 or select View \ Quick Switch from the menu.

Notice there is no sidebar, or menu and toolbar at the top of the screen. When you enter Quick Switch mode ther are just tabs for the active VM's and Home at the top of the screen.

To display the Menu and Toolbar, just move your mouse and touch the top of the screen and hold for a second. VMWare Server Console Menu and Toolbar will appear giving you back complete control.

Once you move the mouse down past the toolbar, the tabs will re-appear. You can always press F11 to exit out of Quick Switch mode if needed.

While were at it, VMWare Server has several Keyboard shortcut keys. Below is a complete listing.

• Ctr-B - Power on.
• Ctrl-E - Power off.
• Ctrl-R - Reset the power.
• Ctrl-Z - Suspend.
• Ctrl-N - Create a new virtual machine.
• Ctrl-O - Open a virtual machine.
• Ctrl-F4 - Close the current virtual machine.
• Ctrl-D - Edit the virtual machine's configuration.
• Ctrl-G - Grab input from the keyboard and mouse.
• Ctrl-P - Edit preferences. See Setting User Preferences for the Vampire Server Host.
• Ctrl-Alt-Enter - Go to full screen mode.
• Ctrl-Alt - Return to normal (windowed) mode.
• Ctrl-Alt-Tab - Switch among open virtual machines while the mouse and keyboard input are grabbed.
• Ctrl-Tab - Switch among open virtual machines while the mouse and keyboard input are not grabbed. VMware Server must be the active application.
• Ctrl-Shift-Tab - Switch among open virtual machines while the mouse and keyboard input are not grabbed. VMware Server must be the active application.
• Ctrl-Alt-Fax - Switch among open virtual machines while using full screen mode. Fx is a function key corresponding to the virtual machine you want to use. The key combination to use for a virtual machine is shown in the VMware Server title bar when that virtual machine is active and in normal (windowed) mode.