Using Hot-Key Sequences with Virtual Machines

You can use Hot-Key sequences to interact with virtual machines. Hot-Key sequences can be used to:

Switch between virtual machines
Ungrab input
Send Ctrl-Alt-Del to the virtual machine only (and not the management workstation)
Send commands to the virtual machine only (and not the management workstation)

To use Hot-Key sequences:

Click or type in the virtual machine window to direct keyboard and mouse input to the virtual machine.
Once the remote console has grabbed the keyboard and mouse, you can begin using Hot-Key sequences. Refer to the following table for descriptions of Hot-Key sequences you can use.

Hot-Key Sequence	Description
Alt-Tab	Changes between applications within the virtual machine.
Alt-Esc	Shifts between application windows within the virtual machine.
Ctrl-Alt-Del	Ends a session. This command is received by both the host operating system and the virtual machine, even when VMware ESX Server has control of input.
Ctrl-Alt-Insert	Ends a session. This command is received solely by the virtual machine.
Ctrl-Alt	Returns to the X11 screen (window mode).
Ctrl-Alt-<space>	Sends any command into the virtual machine so that VMware ESX Server does not process it. Ctrl-Alt remains depressed as the space bar is pressed and then the next key in the sequence is pressed. For example, follow these steps to send Ctrl-Alt to the virtual machine bypassing VMware ESX Server: Press Ctrl-Alt. Press and release <space>. Press and release Esc. Release Ctrl-Alt.
Ctrl-Alt-F8	On most Linux hosts, the first virtual machine is Ctrl-Alt-F8, the second Ctrl-Alt-F9 and so on.
Ctrl-Alt-F9	On most Linux hosts, the second virtual machine is Ctrl-Alt-F9. On Caldera 2.x hosts, the first virtual machine is Ctrl-Alt-F9, the second Ctrl-Alt-F10 and so on.

Related topics:

Setting the key combination used with Hot-Key sequences

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