Enable Copy Paste between VSphere and Guest Operating System

Copy and Paste options are, by default, disabled due to security concerns from VMWare.

To enable this feature follow the steps ( you will be required to restart the VM )

Note: VMware Tools must be installed for Copy and Paste to work.

1. Log in to a vCenter Server system using the vSphere Client and power off the virtual machine.
2. Select the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.
3. Click Edit Settings.
4. Navigate to Options > Advanced > General and click Configuration Parameters.
   
5. Click Add Row.

Type these values in the Name and Value columns:

Name Value

 

• isolation.tools.copy.disable false
• isolation.tools.paste.disable false
  Note: These options override any settings made in the VMware Tools control panel of the guest operating system.
  

6. Click OK to close the Configuration Parameters dialog, and click OK again to close the Virtual Machine Properties dialog.
7. Power on the virtual machine.

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To enable this option for all the virtual machines in the ESX/ESXi host:

1. Log in to the ESX/ESXi host as a root user.
2. Take a backup of the /etc/vmware/config file.
3. Open the /etc/vmware/config file using a text editor.
4. Add these entries to the file:
   
   vmx.fullpath = "/bin/vmx"
   isolation.tools.copy.disable="FALSE"
isolation.tools.paste.disable="FALSE"
   
   
5. Save and close the file.
   
   The Copy and Paste options are only enabled when the virtual machines restart or resume the next time or shutdown and power-on the virtual machine for changes to take effect. This must be done on the virtual machine side, not the guest OS side.

Note: These options do not persist after the host upgrade. If you upgrade to a newer version after enabling these options, the changes are lost and you may have to re-enable them.
Ref : VMWare Knowledgebase

Last modified at 17/12/2013 15:53 by PATEL, Mihir