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I have an Ubuntu VM in an instance of VMware ESXi 6.7.0. I am using Chrome to access the VM console in the HTML interface of VMware ESXi. (I do not have SSH access to the VM.)

I would like to copy/paste from my Windows PC to the VM console window. I found an article describing how to enable copy/paste, so I followed the steps.

As you can see, I have VMware Tools installed on the VM: enter image description here

I also added the isolation.tools.copy.disable, isolation.tools.paste.disable, and isolation.tools.setGUIOptions.enable configuration parameters to the Advanced settings of the VM: enter image description here

After I powered on the VM and copied some text in Windows, I do not have the option to paste in the VM console window: enter image description here

pacoverflow
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2 Answers2

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The HTML console is not meant for getting any real work done, it is more suited for checking if a VM has stalled, or is stuck in some reboot loop.

For functionality like copy and paste to work, you need to use either the VMware Remote Console (VMRC) or VMware Workstation Pro, which includes VMRC functionality.

You still need to set the following 3 options:

isolation.tools.copy.disable = FALSE
isolation.tools.paste.disable = FALSE
isolation.tools.setGUIOptions.enable = TRUE
Kevin
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Stuggi
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If you're running a UNIX-based OS or a derivative(e.g. Linux), you can get xdotool to do it for you like so:

sleep 5; xdotool type --window 90177794 'password'; xdotool key Return

use 'xdotool search' to get the window ID. Enter the command, hit Return and switch to the vmware console window so that it's active. Then xdotool pastes for you.

man xdotool is your friend :)

tonyalbers
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