Setting compose key as 'right CTRL' traps cursor in VirtualBox

[Ramón Rocha]

Binary package hint: gnome-control-center

This is probably filed against the wrong package but I don't know which one is correct.

When I set the compose key to 'right CTRL' using gnome-keyboard-properties and then try to use a virtual machine in VirtualBox OSE, I am unable to free the cursor by pressing the 'right CTRL' key and the cursors remains trapped in the virtual machine until I shut it down.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Wed Mar 10 12:32:37 2010
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Package: gnome-control-center 1:2.28.1-0ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-19.56-generic
SourcePackage: gnome-control-center
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-19-generic i686
XsessionErrors:
 (gnome-settings-daemon:2411): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (gnome-settings-daemon:2411): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:2448): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed
 (nautilus:2437): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
 (gnome-panel:2436): Gdk-WARNING **: /build/buildd/gtk+2.0-2.18.3/gdk/x11/gdkdrawable-x11.c:952 drawable is not a pixmap or window

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

seems rather a virtualbox issue

[Ramón Rocha (ramon.rocha)]

To be clear, when my compose key is something other than right CTRL then VirtualBox correctly releases the mouse when hitting right CTRL.

[Andreas Olsson (andol)]

Exactly what kind of behavior are you expecting, if you have both virtualbox as well as the running guest os configured to capture the right ctrl?

[Ramón Rocha (ramon.rocha)]

Hi Andreas,

Maybe it is not technically possible with the current way the compose key is implemented but I was expecting virtualbox to release the cursor from the virtual machine when pressing right CTRL.

I would not expect that setting this key as the compose key would block other applications from detecting that the key had been pressed.

[Ramón Rocha (ramon.rocha)]

Also, it is the host OS that is configured to use right CTRL as the compose key and not the guest OS.

[rusivi2 (rusivi2-deactivatedaccount)]

Thank you for posting this bug.

I think this is more of a wishlist looking for "dummy proofing" the compose key being set to the same key as VirtualBox's release key. Something like, if the compose key is set to the same key as release key or vice versa, one gets a prompt noting this will have dire consequences.

Or, if one does this (accidently or purposely) one always has preference over the other.

As well, you should post an enhancement request with VirtualBox bug tracker see what upstream thinks.

Frankly, I would like to see something like this hashed out.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for virtualbox-ose (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[TEN (launchpad-20-ten)]

If Right Ctrl is defined as the (standard) Compose key,
VirtualBox must not default to Right Ctrl as Host Key (anymore),
which it will never recognize as such then,
yet this trap persists through Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS.

When caught in a VM window, few users will find the "emergency exit" back to Unity of killing the host process from a Ctrl-Alt-F1 console (text/character mode) shell.

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

please complain to upstream, this needs to be implemented for everybody, because changing default hotkeys will be a pain for just Debian/Ubuntu users.

[Michael Thayer (michael-thayer)]

If upstream means VirtualBox upstream, I wonder whether this is still an issue with VirtualBox 5.1. We re-did the capturing code for that version when we switched to Qt 5.

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

setting as incomplete then :)

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

closing