Workspace Tab

Choose: Edit > Preferences > Workspace

On the Workspace tab, you can configure the following:

•	The default location for virtual machines, as described in Default Location Section

•	Various settings that apply to all virtual machines, as described in Virtual Machines Section

•	How often Workstation checks for software updates, as described in Software Updates Section

Default Location Section

The text box below Default Location for Teams and Virtual Machines shows the location in which to store a team or virtual machine any time you create a new one. To set a different default directory path for new teams and virtual machines, type in a new path or browse to the directory you want to use for new teams and virtual machines, and click OK.

 

Note This setting applies to virtual machines created by the user currently logged on to the host operating system.

Virtual Machines Section

This section of the Workspace tab provides you with the following options:

•	Remember opened virtual machines between sessions — If you select this check box, you see a tab for each opened virtual machine in the virtual machine display the next time you open a console. A virtual machine is considered opened if both of the following conditions are true:

•	The virtual machine was left open.

•	The virtual machine was powered on or off, or powered on and suspended.

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Run powered on virtual machines in the background after close — If you select this check box, when you close a virtual machine or team, or when you exit Workstation, if any virtual machines are still powered on, they will continue to run in the background. If you do not select this check box, then when you close a virtual machine or exit Workstation, you will be prompted to specify whether you want the virtual machine to run in the background.

If a virtual machine does continue running after you close it or exit Workstation, you can still interact with it through VNC or some other service.

•	Enable all shared folders by default— By default, this check box is cleared as a security precaution because a shared folder could enable existing programs inside the virtual machine to access the host file system without your knowledge.

This way, if you download a virtual machine or appliance from a Web site and the virtual machine has shared folders, the shared folders will be disabled until you specifically enable them.

It is recommended that you enable shared folders on a per-virtual-machine basis, as follows: Select the virtual machine and choose VM > Settings > Options > Shared Folders, and use the check box for enabling shared folders. For more information, see Shared Folders Settings Panel and Enabling and Disabling Shared Folders.

•	Show tray icon when virtual machines are powered on — If you select this check box, whenever you have virtual machines powered on, you see a powered-on icon in the host computer’s system tray.

On Linux hosts, right-click the powered-on icon and hold the button down to see a list of the virtual machines and teams that belong to the logged-in user. Select an item to display that virtual machine or team.

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Default hardware compatibility — Some Workstation users create virtual machines and then deploy them in environments that use other VMware products, such as VMware ESX Server and VMware Server. These other products sometimes do not support all the new features of the latest version of Workstation. The Default hardware compatibility control enables you to specify which virtual machine hardware version, or “generation,” you will most often use when creating a virtual machine.

Simply select the version of Workstation that is compatible with your environment. For example, if you plan to deploy the virtual machine to an environment that uses ESX Server 3.x, select Workstation 5 and also select the ESX Server Compatible check box. Later, when you are using the New Virtual Machine wizard, if you need to change the compatibility version, you can easily do so by selecting Custom configuration.

For a detailed discussion of VMware generations, as well as the compatibility issues to consider when moving virtual machines into various environments, see the Virtual Machine Mobility Planning Guide.

Software Updates Section

If the host computer is connected to the Internet, Workstation checks automatically to see if updates for the product are available. By default, it checks once a week, at the time you launch Workstation.

You can check for updates manually at any time by choosing Help > Check for Updates on the Web. Alternatively, on Linux, you can click Check Now on the Workspace tab of the preferences editor.

You can also change the interval for the automatic check. Use the Check for updates drop-down menu to specify how often Workstation checks to see if new versions are available.

 

Note Update checks are performed only when you start the application. For example, if you choose Weekly but then leave Workstation running for more than a week, no update check is performed until the next time you restart Workstation. You must have Internet access to receive updates.