These items are not in any order.

VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that you install in the operating system of a virtual machine. VMware Tools enhances the performance of a virtual machine and makes possible many of the ease-of-use features in VMware products. For example, the following features are just some of the features that are available only if VMware Tools is installed:

Significantly faster graphics performance and Windows Aero on operating systems that support Aero

The Unity feature, which enables an application in a virtual machine to appear on the host desktop like any other application window

Shared folders between host and guest file systems

Copying and pasting text, graphics, and files between the virtual machine and the host or client desktop

Improved mouse performance

Synchronization of the clock in the virtual machine with the clock on the host or client desktop

Scripting that helps automate guest operating system operations

Enables guest customization for virtual machines.

Note

The graphical user interface for VMware Tools, which is sometimes called the VMware Tools control panel and which is available from the notification area in the guest operating system, has been deprecated and will be removed from the product in a future release. The preferred method of configuring VMware Tools is to use the settings available from within your VMware product or to use the command-line VMware Tools configuration utility.