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In this section, learn how to start Windows, open a Windows application, install more Windows applications, and shut down or suspend Windows.
Read this chapter to find out all about using Windows applications on your Mac. Learn how to get started using Windows applications, set how Windows applications work with macOS, share applications, files, and folders between macOS and Windows, connect devices, print, customize your keyboard, and more.
When you're finished using Windows applications, you can leave Windows running in the background as you work with your Mac applications. Or you may want to stop Windows from running so more of your computer's resources are available for your Mac applications. There are a few ways to stop Windows. You can:
Suspend Windows
Pause Windows
Shut down Windows
Stop Windows
Suspending Windows conveniently freezes all running Windows applications and settings in their current state.
Do one of the following:
Quit Parallels Desktop.
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Suspend.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Suspend.
The next time you start Windows or open a Windows application, you resume your progress from exactly where you left off.
When Windows is suspended, you can safely quit Parallels Desktop and resume your progress later.
You can temporarily pause from using Windows and free your computer's resources, such as RAM and processor cycles, to be used by your Mac applications by doing one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Pause.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Pause.
To resume using Windows after pausing it, do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Resume.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Resume.
If you quit Parallels Desktop while Windows is paused, you're prompted to either Suspend or Stop Windows first.
Shutting down Windows in Parallels Desktop is just like shutting down Windows on a PC. All Windows applications close, giving you the opportunity to save your progress if necessary, and Windows stops running.
To shut down Windows, do one of the following.
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Shut Down.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Shut Down.
To stop Windows and all open Windows applications immediately, do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Stop.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Stop.
Important: When you stop Windows this way, none of your data or progress is saved.
Opening a Windows application is as easy as opening a Mac application. Here are several ways to open Windows applications:
From the Windows Applications folder in the Dock
From the Windows Start menu
From the macOS Finder
From the Dock
Using Spotlight search
This folder is available in the macOS Dock and contains all your Windows applications. As you install more applications, they are automatically added.
Note: Windows Application Folder is not available in the App Store version. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this link.
To open a Windows application using the Windows Applications folder:
Click the folder, and then choose an application.
To add the Windows applications folder to the Dock:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options and then click Applications.
Make sure Share Windows applications with Mac is selected, and then select Show Windows applications folder in Dock.
To open a Windows application from the Start menu:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Windows Start Menu.
If Windows is in Full Screen or Window mode, open the Start Menu as you normally would.
Click on the application you want.
When you open a Windows application, its icon appears in the macOS Dock at the bottom of the screen. By default, when you close the application, the icon disappears from the Dock. Keeping an application's icon in the Dock provides a quick way to open the application anytime.
To keep a Windows application's icon in the Dock, do one of the following:
Right-click or Control-click the Windows application icon in the Dock and choose Keep in Dock from the shortcut menu.
Drag the application's icon from the Finder to the Dock.
Now, you can open the application again anytime by clicking the icon in the Dock.
You can search for and open Windows applications using Spotlight:
Click the Spotlight icon in the upper-right corner of your screen, or press Command-Space bar on your keyboard. Then type the name of the application and select it from the list.
You install Windows applications on your Mac just as you would on a Windows PC. The two most common ways of installing applications are:
Using a CD or DVD installation disc
Downloading the application or installation file from the Internet or a network
Insert the installation disc.
In most cases, an AutoPlay dialog opens. Click the option to run a setup or install file, then follow the onscreen instructions.
For more information about using CD and DVD discs with Parallels Desktop, see CD/DVD-ROM.
Download the application or installation file and follow the instructions from the application's source.
In most cases, you can either run the installation file and follow the onscreen instructions or simply open the downloaded application.
For more information about connecting to the Internet and networks, see Connecting to the Internet or a Network.
To use Windows applications on your Mac, your Windows virtual machine must be running.
The simplest way to start Windows is to open a Windows application. If Windows isn't already running when you open a Windows application, it starts automatically in Coherence mode.
Note: Coherence mode is not available in the App Store edition. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this link.
Important: If Windows was previously shut down, you may need to enter your Windows password.
You can also start Windows by doing the following:
Open Parallels Desktop.
In the Control Center, double-click on the Windows virtual machine.
Click anywhere in the Windows window that appears.
Windows starts, and you can begin using Windows applications alongside macOS.
You can set Windows and macOS to work seamlessly together, as if they were part of a single operating system. In this mode, called Coherence mode, Windows applications appear on the Mac desktop next to your Mac applications, and documents from Windows applications and Mac applications are stored in the same folders.
Note: Coherence mode is not supported in the App Store edition of Parallels Desktop. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this link.
To switch from Window mode to Coherence mode, do one of the following:
Choose View > Enter Coherence.
Press Control-Command-C.
To switch from Full-Screen mode to Coherence mode, do one of the following:
Press Control-Command-F to exit Full Screen. Then click View > Enter Coherence.
Move the pointer to the top of the screen until the macOS menu bar appears, and click View > Exit Full Screen. Then open the View menu once again and click Enter Coherence. If you're using Full Screen optimized for games, press Control-Option (Alt) to display the Mac menu bar.
Note: To enable the Coherence view mode, Parallels Tools must be installed. In most cases, Parallels Tools are installed by default.
When in Coherence mode, the Parallels Desktop menu appears in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Use the menu for these common functions:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon to open a basic menu that provides the following items:
Windows Start Menu: Access the Windows Start menu.
View: Change the virtual machine view mode.
Actions: Use this menu to perform various actions.
Devices: Manage hardware devices like printers and DVD drives.
Configure: Open the virtual machine configuration dialog.
Control Center: Open the Parallels Desktop Control Center.
New: Create a new virtual machine.
Open: Open an already existing virtual machine.
Preferences: Open the Parallels Desktop preferences.
and more...
Right-click the icon to open the Windows start menu.
Important: When in Coherence mode, to quit Parallels Desktop, click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Quit Parallels Desktop.
When Parallels Desktop is in Coherence mode, the Windows system tray icons are in the macOS menu bar at the top of the screen.
You can use the system tray icons just as you would from the Windows Desktop.
When Windows is working in Coherence, you can easily move the windows of guest OS applications between macOS desktops (spaces).
Click the Coherence icon (blue) in the top left corner of the virtual machine window.
Parallels Desktop for Mac allows you to work seamlessly between Windows and macOS. For example, you can cut and paste text or share files between the two.
There are a number of ways that you can set the level of integration between Windows and macOS. For example, you may want your Windows applications to behave just like Mac applications, appearing side-by-side with them on the Mac desktop. Or you may wish to keep the Windows desktop and applications in a separate window.
Read on to learn more about setting up how Windows works together with macOS.
You can set Windows to appear in a window that can be resized to any size so that the content scales in size with the window. This is called Picture in Picture mode. This mode can be useful if you want to monitor applications and other tasks running in Windows as you work in macOS.
To switch to Picture in Picture mode:
From Window mode, choose View > Enter Picture in Picture.
For more information on Picture in Picture mode, see the Picture in Picture mode settings topic.
You can choose how to start and shut down the virtual machine using Startup and Shutdown settings.
To access Startup and Shutdown settings:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options and select Startup and Shutdown.
If you want to always start and shut down the virtual machine manually, select Start up and shut down manually.
If you want to make the virtual machine start automatically when the Mac starts, select Always ready in the background.
If you want to specify not only how the virtual machine starts or shuts down but also the view mode and what happens on closing the virtual machine window, select Custom and do the following:
Choose one of the following from the Start Automatically menu:
Note: Windows starts when you open a Windows application, regardless of this setting.
Never: Windows never starts automatically.
When a window opens: Windows starts automatically when you open it from the Control Center.
When Parallels Desktop starts: Windows starts automatically when you start Parallels Desktop.
When the user logs in: Windows starts automatically when the macOS user logs in to macOS on the Mac startup.
This setting affects the view mode, in which Windows starts when you start the virtual machine or a guest OS application.
From the Startup View menu, choose Coherence, Window, Full Screen, Picture in Picture, Headless, or Same as last time.
Note: Headless mode is available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition only.
Choose one of the following from the On VM Shutdown menu:
Keep the window open: If Windows is set to appear in a separate window, the window stays open when you stop or shut down Windows.
Close window: If Windows is set to appear in a separate window, the window closes when you stop or shut down Windows.
Quit Parallels Desktop: Parallels Desktop quits when you stop or shut down Windows.
These settings affect what happens only when Windows is set to appear in a separate window.
From the On Window Close menu, choose Suspend, Shut Down, Force to stop, Keep running in the background, or Ask me what to do.
Select Pause Windows after and specify a period of inactivity, after which Windows will be automatically paused. Pausing Windows when there are no open applications allows you to save your Mac's CPU resources.
You can customize how Parallels Desktop appears and behaves when in Window mode.
You can choose whether or not to show icons for Windows applications in the macOS Dock when in the Window mode. If you prefer to work with applications by manipulating them on the Windows desktop, you may not want to be distracted by seeing them in the Dock alongside your macOS application icons.
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options and then click Applications.
To show Windows application icons in the Dock when in Window mode, deselect Show Dock icons in Coherence only.
You can set the Windows application of your choice to open when you insert a music CD, picture CD, video DVD, or a blank CD or DVD.
From the macOS Finder, choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
Click CDs & DVDs.
From the disc type menu of your choice, choose Open other application.
Choose a Windows application from /username/Applications (Parallels)/Windows Applications
.
When you insert a disc of the type you selected, the Windows application you chose automatically opens.
Note: 1. If you're unable to set a Windows application to open when you insert a CD or DVD, be sure that sharing macOS applications is enabled and that macOS CD/DVD-ROM is not selected in CD/DVD Preferences. 2. To enable a Windows application to open when you insert a CD or DVD, Parallels Tools must be installed. In most cases, Parallels Tools are installed by default.
Parallels Desktop allows you to easily access your macOS files using Windows applications, and also to access Windows files using macOS applications.
Read on to learn about all the ways you can share folders, files, and applications between macOS and Windows.
You can set the Windows and applications to appear together in their own window.
Note: Coherence mode is not supported in the App Store edition of Parallels Desktop. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this link.
To switch to Window mode from Coherence mode, do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar, then choose View > Exit Coherence.
If the Parallels Desktop menus are available in the Mac menu bar, click View > Exit Coherence.
To switch to Window mode from Full Screen mode, do one of the following:
Press Command-Control-F.
Move the pointer to the top of the screen until the macOS menu bar appears, and click View > Exit Full Screen. If you're using Full Screen optimized for games, press Control-Option (Alt) to display the Mac menu bar.
Parallels Desktop allows you to copy and paste images and formatted text (italic, bold, underlined, and of various colors, fonts, and sizes) between macOS and Windows applications.
To enable copying and pasting between macOS and Windows:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options > More Options.
Select Share Mac clipboard.
To preserve text formatting when copying and pasting text, select Preserve text formatting.
Note: To enable copying and pasting between macOS and Windows, Parallels Tools must be installed. In most cases, Parallels Tools are installed by default. Copying and pasting between macOS and Windows is unavailable if you .
You can easily copy and paste files between Windows and macOS by doing the following:
Select a file (or multiple files) and press Command-ßC on your keyboard to copy it.
Open a folder or click the desktop in the other operating system and press Command-V to paste the file.
If you're using iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive cloud storage in macOS, you can easily share their macOS folders with Windows. Once sharing is enabled, you can upload, download, and sync files from any of these services from within Windows without duplicating any of their files on your hard disk.
Notes: 1. This functionality is also available for Linux virtual machines. 2. This feature is not supported in the App Store edition of Parallels Desktop. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this . 3. To be able to use this functionality, must be installed.
To share macOS iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive folders with Windows, do the following:
Note: In Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition, you can also share your Dropbox for Business folders with Windows.
If you haven't already, set up iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive in macOS.
.
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options and select Sharing > Share Mac.
Select Share cloud folders with Windows.
Log in to Windows and open Computer. The folders for iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive are available in the Favorites section (or Quick Access section in Windows 10). You can use them to upload and download files to and from the cloud.
You can set Windows to occupy your entire screen so it looks just like it would if you were using a Windows PC. In Full-Screen mode, macOS and all of the Parallels Desktop controls are hidden.
To switch to Full-Screen mode, do one of the following:
From Coherence mode, click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar, then choose View > Exit Coherence. Then click the View menu and select Enter Full Screen.
From Window mode, choose View > Enter Full Screen or click the green Full-Screen icon (green) in the top left corner of the virtual machine window.
To exit Full-Screen mode, do one of the following:
Press Command-Control-F.
Move the pointer to the top of the screen until the macOS menu bar appears and click View > Exit Full Screen. If you're using Full Screen optimized for games, press Control-Option (Alt) to display the Mac menu bar.
Parallels Desktop allows you to share folders between the macOS and Windows file systems, so you can easily open macOS files from Windows applications and Windows files from macOS applications.
Note: These instructions also apply to sharing folders between macOS and Linux.
With folder sharing enabled, you can navigate to any shared macOS folder from within a Windows application. When you open a file (for example, by choosing File > Open in many applications), your shared macOS folders appear as network-shared directories labeled "Mac."
To enable macOS folders for sharing with Windows applications:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options and select Sharing > Share Mac.
Do one of the following:
To share just the folders in your Home folder, enable Share custom Mac folders with Windows > click Manage Folders... > select the Home folder and click OK. To share all your macOS folders, select the folder with your Mac name and click OK.
To share any folder you want, click Manage Folders... and click the add (+) button, then choose the folder you want to share. You can add more folders by clicking the add (+) button again.
Once you share a custom macOS folder with Windows, you can:
Disable the folder sharing by deselecting On.
Change the folder name that will be displayed in Windows by double-clicking the folder name in the Name column and typing another name.
Restrict writing to this folder by clicking Read & Write in the Permissions folder and choosing Read only. You will not be able to add items to the folder.
Note: 1. To enable folder sharing, the Isolate Windows from Mac option must be disabled on the Security tab of the Configuration dialog.
2. If you're running Linux, shared folders are mounted to the /media/psf
or /mnt/psf
directory.
By default, macOS and Windows use the same folders for things like music, documents, pictures, your desktop, and deleted files. So, for example, if you save a file to the Documents folder, it will be in the Documents folder whether you're using a macOS application or a Windows application.
Note: In Parallels Desktop for Mac 20, Shared Profile Folders (user folders like Documents
, Downloads
, etc.) are connected as symbolic links, a.k.a. symlinks. This implementation improves compatibility with various Windows apps.
To manage this feature, do the following:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.
Click Options and select Sharing.
Click the Share Mac tab and select Mirror Mac and Windows user folders.
Your macOS Desktop
, Documents
, Pictures
, Music
, Movies
, and Downloads
folders are merged with the corresponding Windows folders.
If you only want to map some of the folders, click Customize... and select the folders you want.
The way shared folders and shared user folders are connected between Mac and Windows affects the way the files are deleted, and what system messages are shown.
Warning: We recommend that you always read the system messages carefully when deleting any files.
This table shows the difference in file deletion dialogs and their meanings in different scenarios between Parallels Desktop for Mac 20 and earlier versions.
Deleting a file on Mac from Finder
The file is moved to macOS Trash and will not show in Recyle Bin in Windows.
The file is moved to macOS Trash and will not show up in Recyle Bin in Windows.
Deleting a Windows file that is not in a shared folder (e.g., C:\Users\{username}
) from the Windows machine
The file is moved to Recycle Bin in Windows and will not show in macOS Trash.
The file is moved to Recycle Bin in Windows and will not show in macOS Trash.
Deleting a file from a Shared Profile folder (Documents
, Downloads
, etc.)
Windows shows a warning message saying the file will be permanently deleted. Once confirmed, Parallels Desktop shows another warning message saying the file will be moved to macOS Trash. Once confirmed, the file is moved to macOS Trash and will not show in Windows Recycle Bin.
Windows displays a warning message that the file will be permanently deleted. Once confirmed, the file will not show in Windows Recycle Bin or macOS Trash.
Deleting a file from any other folder shared between Mac and Windows
Windows shows a warning message saying the file will be permanently deleted. Once confirmed, Parallels Desktop shows another warning message saying the file will be moved to macOS Trash. Once confirmed, the file is moved to macOS Trash and will not show in Windows Recycle Bin.
Windows displays a warning message that the file will be permanently deleted. Once confirmed, the file will not show in Windows Recycle Bin or macOS Trash.
You can show an item from Windows in the macOS Finder.
In Windows, right-click (or Control-click) a file or folder and choose Show in Finder from the shortcut menu.
From the Finder, you could, for example, apply a color label to an item or easily drag it to another location in the Finder.
Note: You can only perform these actions with files stored in shared folders.
You can quickly preview a file or set of files using the macOS Quick Look functionality.
In Windows, select a file or set of files to preview and press the Space key.
If you're using a touchpad, select a file and use the three-finger tap gesture (or force-press gesture on newer Macbooks).
Note: You can only perform these actions with files stored in shared folders.
If you need to quickly access to Windows disks, you can add them to the Finder or desktop. Do the following:
Note: To add Windows disks to macOS Finder or desktop, the virtual machine must be running, and the Connected servers option must be selected on the General tab of Finder Preferences.
Open the Finder and select All in the Shared section.
Find and expand your virtual machine.
Double-click the disk you want to add to the Finder or desktop. The disk gets mounted and shown on the desktop. Then you can do the following:
To add the disk to the Finder, drag it from the desktop to the Favorites section in the Finder.
To make the disk display on the desktop, create an alias for it. Right-click the disk and select Make Alias.
You can access macOS applications from within Windows and you can access Windows applications from macOS. For example, if you locate a file using the Open menu in a Windows application and decide you would rather open the file using a macOS application, you can.
Notes: 1. Provided that , you can also open macOS files using Linux applications. 2. This feature is not supported in the App Store edition of Parallels Desktop. For more information on the differences between the Standard and App Store editions, follow this .
When sharing macOS applications is enabled, you can open macOS Applications from within Windows or Windows applications.
If not, you can enable it at any time by doing the following:
Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.
If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen,