[feature request] fullscreen switching: resize host to match guest resolution -> won't implement

[papayo]

I really cannot get the full screen mode working.

I have VB 1.4.0 on a WinXP SP2 host and a WinXP SP2 guest. Guest additions installed. Screen resolutions: Host: 1920x1200 Guest: 1024x768

For "full screen" I mean the guest to extend over the entire host screen, keeping its 1024x768 resolution. (much the same of what happens with VMWare Server)

Instead, with VirtualBox, when I switch the guest to full screen (HOST-F), what I get is a small 1024x768 window in the middle of a black 1920x1200 window.

I tried to play with both HOST-A (adjust window size) and HOST-G (auto resize Guest Display) but no change. (see jpg attached)

Regards, Papayo

[Michael Thayer]

That is what is supposed to happen. "Proper" fullscreen can be had by installing the guest additions, which will resize the XP guest's resolution. Please use the forums or the mailing list though, for questions of this sort.

[Frank Mehnert]

And make sure that you assign enough VRAM to your guest (1920*1024*4 is at least 9MB).

[papayo]

Maybe you missed it in my ticket, but guest additions ARE installed. The guest is 1024x768x16 and I do not want it to change to 1900x1200. When in full screen I want the guest to stay at 1024x768. I want the guest display to occupy as much space as possible of my hardware screen. Exactly what happens in VMWare Server: when I go to full screen (Ctrl-Alt-Enter) WinXP 1024x768 extends over my entire hardware screen staying at 1024x768.

[Frank Mehnert]

This is simply not possible so far. The VirtualBox GUI does not change the screen resolution of the host (even in fullscreen mode) nor scales the guest window.

When going to full screen the guest windows will change it's resolution in any case. If it does not then changing the resolution is not possible (e.g. too few VRAM to guest allocated).

[dsjstc]

This still does not work under v3.1.4 r57640, with Mac host, XP guest. I really wish it did.

[Klaus Espenlaub]

We're reluctant to give the guest OS control over the host OS. It may sound nice, but things can quickly get out of hands and then people declare the feature you ask for a security vulnerability.

[Sophie]

In that case, fine, don't change the host resolution - but *do* please scale the guest to the full screen resolution of the host (well, preserving the aspect ratio, at least). I'm not sure how VirtualBox renders the display, but if it's done using a method that uses hardware overlays or SDL/OpenGL, for example, then it should be simple and take minimal CPU time.

Seriously, this is a very, very basic feature that has been missing from VirtualBox from day one and a lot of people would use/need it.

[Michael Thayer]

Sophie: see for example ticket #5596. In fact this is currently being worked on, although it is not quite as trivial as you suggest, particularly since we support a number of host systems and several rendering engines.

I will close this ticket for the reasons outlined above by Klaus.