Mouse-over actions on External Display Full-Screen mode

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop for Mac' started by dkmort, Oct 16, 2006.

  1. dkmort

    dkmort Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    I have been consistently having problems with an external display not displaying mouse-over events correctly when in full-screen mode in Windows XP Pro.

    I am using a Black MacBook 2Ghz Intel Core Duo. OS X 10.4.8. Mini-DVI to VGA adapter (standard from Apple). Connects to Dell 17" Flat panel (1707FP is the model).

    When I run Parallels in this configuration, it works fine, except that no mouse-over actions display.

    This includes, but is not limited to:
    -- Start Menu selections (when you run the mouse over the items in the Start Menu it should highlight each item in blue)
    -- Mouse-over links in web pages in IE (I haven't tried with any other browser, but I assume it will behave the same)
    -- Microsoft Office mouse over highlighting on the tool bars (the item the mouse is above, should change to an "impressed" look indicating that the mouse is above it.

    Also, if I want to resize an open window in Windows Explorer, I don't get the window resize cursor like I should when I put the mouse above the bottom-right hand corner of an open window.

    Also, in Photoshop Elements 4.0 I don't get any of the customized cursors from the different tools, until I click somwhere on the current image with that tool (however I do get the standard "pointer" cursor)

    This is consistent in any resolution I switch to while in full-screen mode.

    Also, when I run Fedora Core 5 in full-screen mode on this external display, the cursor DOES NOT EVEN DISPLAY. I have a hunch that if I wasn't using the Parallels tools in Win XP Pro, that it may also exhibit the same behavior. FC5 cursor displays correctly in all other configurations when the built-in display is the primary Mac OS display.

    This behavior is quite annoying. And I don't think it is acceptable for a production build of any software. I have been running the build which came with the CD until today, I updated to the new 1940 build. This did not fix the behavior. The problem is the same in both builds. I have updated the Parallels tools & drivers for Windows to the current version.

    None of these symptoms exist if:
    -- I run the Parallels window on the external display in "Windowed Mode" (as opposed to full-screen).
    -- I run it on the MacBook's built-in display in either window mode of full-screen mode.
    -- I set the external display as my Primary Display in the Mac OS System Prefs (This is accomplished by dragging the menu bar from the built-in display to the external display). When I set the external display to be my Primary display from the Mac OS System Prefs, the mouse-over actions display correctly in every possible configuration (full screen & windowed mode on either built-in or external display).
    However this is not an acceptable solution, because it moves all of the desktop icons, & menu bar, underneath the XP Pro virtual machine on my external display, which greatly diminishes from the benifits of the external display (I can still manually drag windows to the built-in display, but this is not very nice!)


    I think this is a bug in the software. I have not seen another post dealing with this exact issue.

    I love Parallels and think it is AWESOME, but I really expect a solution to this issue. Thanks for creating such a great product for the Mac!! I hope you guys prosper, but I also hope that you will continue to iron out any wrinkles that we find in your software. I have tried to do a pretty extensive amount of homework here to make it easier for you guys to pinpoint & fix the issue ;-)

    If anyone knows of a solution to this issue (whether via Parallels, or Mac OS) please let me know.

    Thanks a lot!!

    --DKMort
     
  2. unused_user_name

    unused_user_name Pro

    Messages:
    495
    You did not say if you installed Parallels tools. It would do this if you forgot to install the tools. Maybe the tools got corrupted somehow?

    I suggest you boot Windows into safe mode and uninstall the tools, then reboot into normal mode and install them again. Reboot a third time and see if it is still happening.

    I often run full-screen on a secondary monitor. I have not noticed anything myself, but I'll try this when I get back to my house tonight to see if I can get it to do the same thing.
     
  3. dkmort

    dkmort Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    Yes I did

    Actually, I did indicate this in my original post, when I stated, "I have updated the Parallels tools & drivers for Windows to the current version."

    Any help would definately be appreciated.

    THANKS!!
     
  4. gurk

    gurk Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    Same problem

    I seem to be having the same problem, even after reinstalling the Parallels drivers.

    As you point out, it does "solve" the problem to move the status-bar to the external screen.

    Looking forward to seeing the bug fixed...
     
  5. oallostavros

    oallostavros Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    Is it possible to use an external display on a Macbook using windows

    So far its not working for me. It works fine when using the mac OS.

    Is there some special step I should be taking, or do I need to have parallels for this to work?

    Thanks
     
  6. LandyMan

    LandyMan Member

    Messages:
    21
    I have exactly the same problem ... re-installing the Parallels tools makes no difference. Has anyone found a solution to this problem?
     
  7. dkmort

    dkmort Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    Not fixed yet with 3.0

    Well,

    I am the user who originally posted this problem. I have not revisited this board in quite a while, and am surprised now to find out how many other users are experiencing this issue. First of all, in case you are wondering, I just downloaded & installed the new version (3.0), and the problem still exists. I did put in a tech support request back on the same day that I made my original post (months back). The Parallels support website said that I would receive a response from them within 24 hours. It's now been several months, and I've never heard anything. That's a bit disapointing. I would like to see a resolution to this problem soon. I think the fact that at least a handful of other users are having the same problem, justifies a fix on their part.

    I will attempt to get a hold of them again this week to see what we/they can figure out. I'll keep my progress posted in this thread.

    By and large, I really love Parallels. It helps me to get a lot of work done in a much cooler and more efficient way than past technologies have. But despite the fact that most of the rest of their product works flawlessly, I would still like this fixed.

    -
    dkmort
     

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