| 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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| 2 | <!DOCTYPE topic
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| 3 | PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Topic//EN" "topic.dtd">
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| 4 | <topic xml:lang="en-us" id="specialcharacters">
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| 5 | <title>Typing Special Characters</title>
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| 6 |
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| 7 | <body>
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| 8 | <p>Some OSes expect certain key combinations to initiate certain procedures. The key combinations that
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| 9 | you type into a VM might target the host OS, the <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> software,
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| 10 | or the guest OS. The recipient of these keypresses depends on a number of factors, including the key combination
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| 11 | itself. </p>
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| 12 | <ul>
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| 13 | <li>
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| 14 | <p>Host OSes reserve certain key combinations for themselves. For example, you cannot use the <b
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| 15 | outputclass="bold">Ctrl+Alt+Delete</b> combination to reboot the guest OS in your VM, because this key
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| 16 | combination is reserved by the host OS. Even though both Windows and Linux OSes can intercept this key
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| 17 | combination, the host OS is rebooted automatically. </p>
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| 18 | <p>On Linux and Oracle Solaris hosts, which use the X Window System, the key combination <b
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| 19 | outputclass="bold">Ctrl+Alt+Backspace</b> normally resets the X server and restarts the entire graphical
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| 20 | user interface. As the X server intercepts this combination, pressing it will usually restart your <i>host</i>
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| 21 | graphical user interface and kill all running programs, including <ph
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| 22 | conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/>, in the process. </p>
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| 23 | <p>On Linux hosts supporting virtual terminals, the key combination <b outputclass="bold"
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| 24 | >Ctrl+Alt+Fx</b>, where Fx is one of the function keys from F1 to F12, normally enables you to switch
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| 25 | between virtual terminals. As with <b outputclass="bold">Ctrl+Alt+Delete</b>, these combinations are
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| 26 | intercepted by the host OS and therefore always switch terminals on the <i>host</i>. </p>
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| 27 | <p>If, instead, you want to send these key combinations to the <i>guest</i> OS in the virtual
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| 28 | machine, you will need to use one of the following methods: </p>
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| 29 | <ul>
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| 30 | <li>
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| 31 | <p>Use the items in the <b outputclass="bold">Input</b>, <b outputclass="bold"
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| 32 | >Keyboard</b> menu of the virtual machine window. This menu includes the settings <b outputclass="bold"
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| 33 | >Insert Ctrl+Alt+Delete</b> and <b outputclass="bold">Insert Ctrl+Alt+Backspace</b>. However, the latter
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| 34 | setting affects only Linux guests or Oracle Solaris guests. </p>
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| 35 | <p>This menu also includes an option for inserting the Host key combination. </p>
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| 36 | </li>
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| 37 | <li>
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| 38 | <p>Use special key combinations with the Host key, which is normally the right Control
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| 39 | key. <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> then translates the following key combinations
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| 40 | for the VM: </p>
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| 41 | <ul>
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| 42 | <li>
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| 43 | <p><b outputclass="bold">Host key + Del</b> sends <b outputclass="bold"
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| 44 | >Ctrl+Alt+Del</b> to reboot the guest OS. </p>
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| 45 | </li>
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| 46 | <li>
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| 47 | <p><b outputclass="bold">Host key + Backspace</b> sends <b outputclass="bold"
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| 48 | >Ctrl+Alt+Backspace</b> to restart the graphical user interface of a Linux or Oracle Solaris guest. </p>
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| 49 | </li>
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| 50 | <li>
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| 51 | <p><b outputclass="bold">Host key + Function key</b>. For example, use this key
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| 52 | combination to simulate <b outputclass="bold">Ctrl+Alt+Fx</b> to switch between virtual terminals in a
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| 53 | Linux guest. </p>
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| 54 | </li>
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| 55 | </ul>
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| 56 | </li>
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| 57 | </ul>
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| 58 | </li>
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| 59 | <li>
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| 60 | <p>For some other keyboard combinations such as <b outputclass="bold">Alt+Tab</b> to switch
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| 61 | between open windows, <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> enables you to configure whether
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| 62 | these combinations will affect the host or the guest, if a virtual machine currently has the focus. This is a
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| 63 | global setting for all virtual machines and can be found under <b outputclass="bold">File</b>, <b
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| 64 | outputclass="bold">Preferences</b>, <b outputclass="bold">Input</b>. </p>
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| 65 | </li>
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| 66 | <li>
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| 67 | <p>A soft keyboard can be used to input key combinations in the guest. See <xref
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| 68 | href="soft-keyb.dita#soft-keyb"/>. </p>
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| 69 | </li>
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| 70 | </ul>
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| 71 | </body>
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| 72 |
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| 73 | </topic>
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