[vbox-dev] IMachine::setSettingsFilePath not supported?

[Klaus Espenlaub]

Karoline,

On 30.06.2014 13:53, Karoline Haus wrote:
> I would like to be able to create a VM under a specific folder. In fact,
> I would like to import a VM from an OVA file, and then have that VM
> registered under a specific folder. However, by default VBox will store
> it under $HOME/.VirtualMachines and I cannot figure how I can use the
> API to change the settings file path on VM import? I have seen there is
> an IMachine::setSettingsFilePath function, but I use the Python API and
> it does return a "Not Implemented" error. Is there any other way to
> store VMs under a specific location?

Changing of the settings file path for an existing VM is a todo, it 
needs a lot of groundwork (moving disk images in the directory and the 
like).

What you want is setting the default machine folder before importing, 
maybe reverting this change afterwards (if you want locally created VMs 
still in the default place).

I'm wondering why your setup uses a .VirtualMachines subdirectory, I 
don't see this anywhere in the code. Ancient VirtualBox versions default 
to ~/.VirtualBox/Machines, and newer versions default to ~/VirtualBox 
VMs, but stick to the old default if it's an upgrade. One can switch to 
the new default though, or pick a totally different directory.

Klaus
>
> Many thanks for any pointers.