Windows device groups

The Windows device groups tab (Device Manager category) allows you to group managed Windows devices and administer them together.

Creating a Windows device group

To create a Windows Device Group:

1. Navigate to the Windows device groups tab in the Device Manager category and click Tasks > Add.

2. On the Main tab page, specify a group name and an optional description.

3. On the OS Settings tab, set the following options:

   • Disable removable drives. Disable mounting of removable drives on managed Windows device.

   • Disable Print Screen. Disable the Print Screen key.

   • Replace desktop. This feature makes a Windows computer behave like a thin client. It limits users from changing system settings or installing new applications. The administrator can add local apps (which are already installed on a computer) to the app list in addition to published resources from Parallels RAS. If you select this option, specify an administrator password in the Admin Mode Password field (below) to be used to switch a computer between user and admin modes.

   • Kiosk mode. Enable the kiosk mode.This will disable power cycling functions (reboot, shutdown) on computers in the group. Note that power functions will still be available when the computer is switched to the Admin mode.

   • Use client as desktop. If this option is selected, Parallels Client will run in full screen mode. A user will not be able to minimize it. Select this option to overcome an issue with Parallels Client breaking out of the kiosk mode on Windows 8.x. The issue may manifest itself in the tile-based UI or while using the "drag to close" feature.

   • Admin Mode Password. Specify a password to switch between user and admin modes when a Windows desktop is replaced (see Replace desktop above).

4. On the Firewall Settings tab, enable or disable the firewall and add the inbound ports if necessary.

5. On the Shadowing tab, select the Request Authorization option to prompt a Windows device user before remotely controlling their desktop. If enabled, the user can choose to decline the connection. For more information, see Managing Windows devices.

Adding a Windows device to a group

To add a Windows device to a group:

1. Navigate to the Device Manager > Device Manager tab.

2. Select one or more devices, then click Tasks (or right-click) and choose Move to Group.

3. Select a group and click OK to save the settings.

The administrator can now perform standard Windows power operations (Power On, Power Off, Reboot, Logoff, Lock) on groups of devices.