Switching away from VB then back again while choosing a folder to share gives an extra non-working generic file dialog

[Dan Nye]

The problem
It's possible to show two file selection dialog boxes when choosing a folder to share.

The OS-specific dialog used to choose the folder to share gets sent behind the dialog that instigated it, while the new generic file selection dialog appears on top of all other UI elements, but cannot recieve any key / mouse events other than being dragged via its title bar.

Host / guest OS details
I've confirmed that the problem isn't tied to any specific guest OS, nor do you need guest additions installed to recreate, as it happens for me even on an MS-DOS guest. I've seen it on every guest OS I've tried with additions installed (Win XP, Win 7, and Ubuntu 10).

I'm currently using VB v4.0.10 on OSX v10.6.8, although I know if also happened under OSX v10.6.7, and while I no longer have it installed to test, I'm fairly sure this also happened with VB v4.0.8.

Via the forums, I've had it confirmed that the problem happens on a bare install of OSX v10.6.7, so it isn't something that's related to any UI tweaks I've made to my OS (see ​http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=42883)

Steps to recreate
I've found two ways to recreate the problem, although I suspect one is effectively doing the job of the other:

Method 1

• Launch any guest OS
• Choose the "Devices" menu, then "Shared Folders..."
• In the "Shared Folders" dialog, press the "Add folder" (+) icon (incidentally, the tooltip of which says 'Ins' when no such key exists on a UK Apple keyboard)
• Choose "Other..." in the "Folder path" control to bring up the OSX folder selection dialog
• Bring any other app into the foreground, then bring VB back into the foreground (you can use Cmd-Tab for this, or the mouse - anything should show the problem)

Method 2

• Launch any guest OS
• Choose the "Devices" menu, then "Shared Folders..."
• In the "Shared Folders" dialog, press the "Add folder" (+) icon (incidentally, the tooltip of which says 'Ins' when no such key exists on a UK Apple keyboard)
• Choose "Other..." in the "Folder path" control to bring up the OSX folder selection dialog
• Click "New Folder"
• Either create a new folder or cancel - it doesn't mater which. I suspect the act of opening the "New folder" dialog is the same as switching focus away from VB, bringing it back again when the dialog is closed one way or another.

[aeichner]

Please reopen if still relevant with a recent VirtualBox release.