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I'm running XP in virtualbox cause I need Photoshop and Illustrator. It works great on my 5 year old laptop which is stunning, but there's a minor annoyance when I go fullscreen.

The menu bar is in the bottom middle, and it pops up over the content. Since I use the escape buttons all the time I have no need for this to be there really, and it's really annoying when you try to change windows with the mouse and hit some random virtualbox menu item instead...

I know it's minor, and I can deal with the fact that you are probably just going to tell me to use alt+tab, but I'm just hoping there's some option I have overlooked that can turn off this bar or move it...

Thanks.

joon
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4 Answers4

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You can disable the menu bar. For the setting to take effect you may have to exit and return to fullscreen/seemless mode. No need to shut down the virtual machine first.

Go to the settings of the machine. In "General" on the "Advanced" tab you can select: "Show in Fullscreen/Seamless" and there's an option to "Show At Top Of Screen".

enter image description here

In VirtualBox 5 the setting is under “User Interface” instead of “General”.

VirtualBox 5

Simon A. Eugster
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David Steiner
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    Thanks! knew it must be somewhere. You have to shut down (not just stop) the machine to access the settings menu though. – joon Mar 24 '11 at 12:06
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    As per tmbsteve's answer, you don't need to shut it down in the newer versions. Just go to Machine -> Settings and untick them. You can then use HostKey + Home (default host key is right-Ctrl) to bring up the context menu as and when you need it. – Polynomial Jul 17 '13 at 08:59
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    Tip: [Host key] + S = settings menu. Very useful when you have no toolbar anymore. – SgtPooki Jun 12 '14 at 18:53
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    Does anyone know where this option has moved to in version 5? It's not available anymore in my settings. – Richard Feb 02 '16 at 09:11
  • @richard I edited the answer to answer your question: it's under "User Interface" instead of "General". – RyanTM Mar 15 '16 at 17:51
  • Note: If the machine is running in seamless mode you need to leave and re-enter the seamless mode to make the changes effective (tested on VB 6.1.4). – Robert Mar 18 '20 at 13:11
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You can change the settings without shutting down the machine. Just go to machine > settings.

For the the menu bar settings to take effect, you will need to leave full screen mode and then re-enter it

tmbsteve
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Following up on Andrew Ridout's screenshot through Machine->settings. Mini toolbar on the "User Interface" section

Philippe Gachoud
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Ivan Chaer
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The option to display the mini menu at the top is now (I am running version 5) in the User Interface section rather than general. I would post an image of the dialogue box - but I don't have 10 reputation points!

Andrew Ridout
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  • Hi Andrew, good to see that such an old question gets updated to deal with recent versions of a software! When you have gained enough reputation, come back and add a screenshot. +1 – Nephente Sep 29 '15 at 09:50
  • or you can always post a link ;-) – AlexGreg Sep 29 '15 at 09:51
  • Where in the User Interface section is it? It seems quite non-intuitive what all these options mean. – Jayen Oct 28 '15 at 06:06