Enable the Copy & Paste for the Windows/Linux virtual machine:
Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
For vCenter 7.0
Click the VM Options tab, expand Advanced, and click Edit Configuration.
Click on Add Configuration Params three times to give three rows
Fill in the Name and Value fields as mentioned below:
Name
Value
isolation.tools.copy.disable
FALSE
isolation.tools.paste.disable
FALSE
isolation.tools.setGUIOptions.enable
TRUE
Click OK to save and exit out of the Configuration Parameters wizard. (Note: These options override any settings made in the guest operating system’s VMware Tools control panel. )
Click OK to save and exit out of the Edit Settings wizard.
For vCenter 8.0
Click the "Advanced Parameters" tab.
Click filter icon of Attribute column. Search for 3 items' names, check if they already exist. If yes, edit their corresponding values. If not, add them from the textboxs above.
Name
Value
isolation.tools.copy.disable
FALSE
isolation.tools.paste.disable
FALSE
isolation.tools.setGUIOptions.enable
TRUE
Click "OK".
Power on the VM
Then use Copy/Paste directly on Windows/Linux/any other platform.
For paste operation's target platform is Linux, Older X applications do not use a clipboard. Instead, the system allows pasting of the currently selected text (called the "primary selection") without copying it to a clipboard. Pressing the middle mouse button is usually the way to paste the primary selection. For more information see Copying and pasting from a Windows guest to Linux host.