1 First steps
In detail, all this translates into the following:
•Your keyboard is owned by the VM if the VM window on your host desktop has the keyboard focus (and then, if you have many windows open in your guest operating system as well, the window that has the focus in your VM). This means that if you want to type within your VM, click on the title bar of your VM window first.
To release keyboard ownership, press the Host key (as explained above, typically the right Control key).
Note that while the VM owns the keyboard, some key sequences (like
•Your mouse is owned by the VM only after you have clicked in the VM window. The host mouse pointer will disappear, and your mouse will drive the guest’s pointer instead of your normal mouse pointer.
Note that mouse ownership is independent of that of the keyboard: even after you have clicked on a titlebar to be able to type into the VM window, your mouse is not necessarily owned by the VM yet.
To release ownership of your mouse by the VM, also press the Host key.
As this behavior can be inconvenient, VirtualBox provides a set of tools and device drivers for guest systems called the “VirtualBox Guest Additions” which make VM key- board and mouse operation a lot more seamless. Most importantly, the Additions will get rid of the second “guest” mouse pointer and make your host mouse pointer work directly in the guest.
This will be described later in chapter 4, Guest Additions, page 60.
1.7.1.2 Typing special characters
Operating systems expect certain key combinations to initiate certain procedures. Some of these key combinations may be difficult to enter into a virtual machine, as
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