Way to Alt-Tab through all applications in Virtual and Host PC - virtual-pc

I am using VirtualPc 2007 more and more, the one annoyance is "Alt-Tab".
What I want is to be able to use alt-tab to iterate through all of the applications in the host pc and virtual(s) as if they were one long list. Is there a setting or program to do this?

No. If the VPC is in full screen mode, alt+tab works only within the context of the VPC. If the VPC Screen is not focused, you will get the collection of applications that are in the Host (including the instance of VPC)

Sadly, no. This is possible in Parallels on the Mac, in what they call "Coherence" mode. But Virtual PC does not support that kind of integration.

No. If the VPC is in full screen mode, alt+tab works only within the context of the VPC. However, you may find the "Host key+DOWN ARROW" shortcut useful. This minimizes the virtual machine and allows you to alt-tab on the host again.

Related

Windows Containers - Is it possible to interact with desktop apps running in a container using the Desktop Sharing API?

I understand that desktop/GUI apps are not supported in Windows containers. They do run but there's no built-in way to interact with them. I had the following idea - maybe I could use the Desktop Sharing API (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/_rdp/) for this purpose, the idea is to run a desktop app, then run a sharing program that uses the Desktop Sharing API, and connect to it using a Desktop Sharing API viewing program from the host.
I had to do some recap about window stations and desktops, and I noticed that when starting the container with cmd in interactive mode, I'm logged with ContainerAdministrator as a service (logon type 5). I tried running some WinAPI functions that deal with desktops and winstation and got some access denied results, so I switched to running cmd as system.
The window station of the cmd process (and other child processes) is not the interactive WinSta0, but instead some other service window station, which makes sense since I'm logged on as a service, and I figured that I can't use this window station, so I used a little program I wrote to run notepad in Winsta0 in the Default desktop. Afterwards I ran another program that enumerates the windows on WinSta0\Default, and the notepad window does get enumerated and I also get it's title, so it's running somewhere.
So now I tried running the desktop sharing API program (also on WinSta0\Default). It runs and I can connect from the host, but I only get a black screen without anything on it. I also tried running a program that takes a screenshot of the windows but I get an empty bitmap.
So I thought maybe the Default desktop is not the active desktop, and by using the OpenInputDesktop function I could confirm it - the current desktop was the Winlogon desktop, so I used the SwitchDesktop function to switch to the Default desktop (I used OpenInputDesktop again to verify that it actually worked).
Unfortunately, this didn't change anything, I still get an empty screen and empty bitmaps.
I know that containers are built for micro services and are not supposed to run GUI apps and so, but still - is there a way to make this work? Or any ideas of what else I can check? Alternatively, if you know that it can't work - I would also be happy to hear a good technical explanation of why it doesn't work.

Parallels - MacOS host & guest - How to allow the bypassing of certain shortcuts to host os

I am trying out parallels now and wondering if it is possible to allow the guest os to bypass certain shortcuts to the host?
That way i could allow most of them to be the same on the host, but some, like launching a program only the host has, can be bypassed.
It has a send macOS system shortcuts but with only Auto, Always, Never.
Seems like Auto should be this thing, but I can't figure out a way to say what would be fit not "Always" or "Never" conditions.
Might be the Keyboard Menu but that is only for internal Parallels stuff. Rather I would like basically that, but to allow the shortcut to bypass to Never basically for certain shortcuts.
Feels essential and should not be too difficult to implement. Maybe as a plugin already provides this? Config file?
I think what you want to do is possible per virtual machines, you can choose eache shortcut by checking the ON/OFF checkbox for each one that you want to enable and pass to the guest. You can also create custom shortcuts. And also create templates.
I am posting a picture here, showing those shortcuts options on Parallels Preferences.
Parallels Guest shortcuts preferences

Is a mouse click on a remote desktop possible using AutoIt or alternatives?

I want to write a script that involves mouse click and stuff. I am little confused though. Is there a way mouse clicks (in the form of x and y co-ordinates) would work on a VPS which is logged on, but disconnected from the client?
Example:
MouseClick("left",588, 268)
To my knowledge, these VPSes don't have their own native screen resolution. I have already written the script for my local pc and it's working fine on my resolution. But when tried with the VPS, it doesn't work.
PS: I am running the script from the remote desktop itself and not from my local pc. Please correct me if there's anything I am doing wrong :)
Update: For anyone still looking for an answer, consider installing a vnc server, that way the screen resolution you specify is preserved even when not connected to the server.
Ex: https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/vnc/
It's relevant to almost any automation tool, not only AutoIt.
Remote Desktop has its own GUI context only if it's connected to the remote PC. But you can lose focus for a Remote Desktop window (without disconnection & without minimizing) and continue other local work.
The same effect takes place for VNC server software.
One team in our organization uses it for massive test runs automation: a master server creates a remote session for each test machine and keeps them all connected until tests passes.
Use ControlClick to have the mouse click over RDP connections, even when you're not connected. For some reason it can still be iffy for me, but at least it worked more so that Click which was none at all.

simulate ctrl+alt+del in windows 7 remote computer

I have a requirement of simulating Ctrl+Alt+Del in remote system.I loaded sas.dll and called sendsas function but it is not working.How to display winlogon screen on remote system.
Thanks
As discussed here, you can try using Ctrl+Alt+End instead. This will bring up the Task Manager.
If this doesn't work for what you need, you can open the on-screen keyboard in the remote desktop, and click the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys with the mouse.

Changing domain password from TS box inside VPC VM

I'm running a VirtualPC 2007 VM with Windows2003 as the OS. Inside of this I am using a web based VPN to connect to my client's network. I cannot use this VPN from my host machine because it does not work with Vista (still!). Inside the VM I'm connecting to a Terminal Server at the client site which I'm logging into using their domain.
I need to change my password. Obviously what you would normally do is hit ctrl-alt-del and click change password. However since I'm inside of a TS inside of a VM this is not an option. When logging in to the VM I have to press alt-(left arrow)-del and then type in my password. I also know that usually when using remote desktop, in order to simulate a ctrl-alt-del inside there you would press ctrl-alt-end. With this knowledge, I've tried every possible combination of these keys that I can think of, but none of them bring up the Windows Security Dialog Box.
What I'm looking for is either
A way to open the Windows Security Dialog Box (or simply the change password form from there) without pressing ctrl-alt-del (is there a command line I can use?)
A different way to change my domain password without using the aforementioned box

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