Parallels Desktop Enterprise Edition Administrator's Guide
ProductsSupportDocumentation
  • Introduction
  • Upgrading from Business Edition
    • How to Trial Enterprise Edition with Existing Business Edition Per-user License
    • What Happens after a Trial Ends
    • Migrating from Business Edition to Enterprise Edition
    • Migrating from per-device to per-user licensing
  • Getting Started
    • Creating a Business Account and Registering Your License
    • Dividing Users into Groups with Sublicenses
    • Configuring Golden Images and Policies in the Management Portal
    • Installing and Activating Parallels Desktop
  • Configuring the Single Sign-On (SSO) integration with Parallels My Account
    • Prerequisites
    • Starting the Integration Process in Parallels My Account
      • Configuring SSO Integration with Azure/Entra ID
      • Configuring SSO Integration with Okta
      • Configuring SSO Integration with Ping Identity
      • Configuring SSO Integration with JumpCloud
      • Configuring SSO Integration with Google Workspace
    • [OPTIONAL] How to Divide Users into Groups and Assign Them Sublicenses
    • Troubleshooting the SSO Activation
  • Creating and Uploading Virtual Machine Images
  • Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines
    • Deploying via an Invitation Email
    • Mass Deployment Using Mac Management Tools
      • [RECOMMENDED] Deploying Parallels Desktop via MDM App Catalogs Using Configuration Profiles
        • Creating and Editing a Configuration Profile in iMazing
        • Deploying Parallels Desktop via MDM App Catalog (as seen in Jamf Pro)
      • [ALTERNATIVE] Mass Deployment via Deployment Package
        • Prerequisites
        • Supported Mac Management Tools
        • Preparing the Autodeploy Package
          • Downloading the Autodeploy Package
          • Specifying a License Key
          • [OPTIONAL] Adding the Parallels Desktop Installation Image
          • [OPTIONAL] Adding a Virtual Machine
            • Installing Parallels Tools
            • Preparing Windows for Mass Deployment
            • Common Configuration Options
          • Adding Windows Application Stubs
          • Configuring Deployment Options
          • Single Application Mode
          • [MANDATORY] Creating a Flat Package
          • Testing the Autodeploy Package
        • Deploying the Package to Macs
          • Example: Jamf Pro
            • Automating Parallels Desktop Initial Setup with a Configuration Profile
          • Using a Script to Change VM Options
    • Enrolling Virtual Machines in Azure Active Directory
  • Parallels Management Portal
    • Golden Images
    • Policies
    • User Groups
    • Virtual Machines
    • Providing Feedback
  • Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition Features
    • [DEPRECATED] Using Configuration Profiles
      • Creating a Configuration Profile
      • Applying a Configuration Profile to a License Key
      • Provisioning a Corporate VM Image
        • Creating a Configuration Profile
        • Installing a VM Image on a Mac
      • Enabling Major Version Upgrades
        • Creating a Configuration Profile
    • Participating in the Customer Experience Program
    • Locking a Virtual Machine on Suspend
    • Activating Using a Corporate Account
    • Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration with a Custom Password
    • Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop
    • Setting an Asset Tag in the Virtual Machine BIOS
    • Using Custom Graphics and Links in the Control Center
    • Hiding Developer Tools in the Parallels Desktop GUI
    • Encrypting a Virtual Machine
    • Single Application Mode
    • Setting an Expiration Date on a Virtual Machine
    • Enforcing USB Device Policies
    • Resetting the Guest OS Password
    • Setting Up a Local Update Server
      • Setting Up a Local Web Server
      • Creating the Parallels Update XML File
      • Configuring Individual Macs
    • Configuring Parallels Desktop Update Branch
    • Customizing the Support Center Option
Powered by GitBook

Other Resources

  • Community Forum
  • Knowledge Base
  • Request Support

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter/X
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

© 2025 Parallels International GmbH. All rights reserved.

On this page
Export as PDF
  1. Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition Features
  2. [DEPRECATED] Using Configuration Profiles

Applying a Configuration Profile to a License Key

PreviousCreating a Configuration ProfileNextProvisioning a Corporate VM Image

Last updated 7 months ago

Configuration profiles are applied to registered Mac computers based on a license or sublicense key that they are using to run Parallels Desktop. By applying a configuration profile to a license or sublicense key, you are essentially applying it to Mac computers that use (or will use in the future) that key.

Note: You can apply a configuration profile to one or more license or sublicense keys. However, a single license key may only have one configuration profile applied to it.

To apply a configuration profile to a license or sublicense key:

  1. In Parallels My Account, click Dashboard in the top menu and then click Active subscriptions inside the Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition product card.

  2. Click a subscription to open a page containing the subscription information.

  3. In the License Keys list, choose a license or sublicense key and click the "gear" icon at the end of the row. This opens a dialog containing the license key information and settings. In the dialog, select the Configuration Profile tab.

  4. Initially, the tab page will say that "Configuration profile is not set" and the drop-down menu next to it will contain the "Default" profile. This is because you haven't applied a custom configuration profile to this license key yet.

  5. Expand the drop-down menu and select the configuration profile that you created earlier.

  6. Click Save.

Note: If you apply a configuration profile to a primary license key (not a sublicense), all derived sublicenses are automatically associated with the same configuration profile. However, if later a different configuration profile is applied to the primary license key, the profile association on sublicenses will not be affected (i.e. the profile assigned to them originally will remain). You can apply a different configuration profile to a sublicense key at any time if needed.

Once a configuration profile is applied to a license key, the following will happen on Mac computers that use this key:

  • The next time Parallels Desktop communicates with Parallels cloud, it will receive the configuration profile and will save the data that it contains locally.

  • When an action is performed (by the user or by a scheduled event) that has to do with one of the configuration profile payloads, the data is read from the local storage and is used accordingly depending on the payload and its settings. This is described in more detail in topics that describe individual payloads.

This concludes the description of how to create a configuration profile and how to apply it to a license or sublicense key. The subsequent sections describe how to configure individual payloads and how to use the corresponding functionality when managing Parallels Desktop installations in your organization.