Working in Coherence

Coherence is a visual mode of working with a virtual machine that enables you to:

• Use your Windows applications side by side with your Mac OS X applications.
• Use the Windows taskbar side by side with Mac OS X Dock.
• Move the Windows applications windows from one display to another (if any).

When you switch a running virtual machine with one or more running applications into the Coherence mode, you will see the guest OS applications windows on your Mac OS X desktop along with the Mac OS X applications windows.

By default, both Windows taskbar and Mac OS X Dock are visible, but you may hide the Windows taskbar by choosing Applications > Hide Windows Taskbar. You can use any of the Windows taskbar elements right from Mac OS X Desktop.

When a Windows guest OS application window is active, you can see the Parallels Desktop menus on the Mac OS X menubar.

The current version of Parallels Desktop provides a close integration between guest OS applications and Mac OS X:

• Windows file systems are accessible from Mac OS X and vice versa.
• Transparent file associations in both systems let you open Windows files in Mac OS X applications and Mac OS X files in Windows applications.
• The same default browser and email client can be used in both systems.
• The Dock displays both Windows and Mac OS X applications icons.
• Windows Start menu can be accessed from the Dock.

Switching to the Coherence Mode

Only a running virtual machine with Parallels Tools installed can be switched to the Coherence mode.

To switch to the Coherence mode:

• Click the icon on the toolbar, or
• Choose Coherence from the View menu, or
• Press Shift+Ctrl+Alt keys.

Note: To exit the Coherence mode, make your Windows guest OS active by clicking anywhere on its toolbar, right-click the Parallels Desktop icon in the Dock, point to the View item, and select the necessary view mode. When the guest OS is active, you can also choose the necessary view mode from the View menu.

You can also configure your virtual machine to always start in Coherence by editing the Startup and Shutdown settings in Virtual Machine Configuration.

Using Dock in Coherence

You can open Windows guest OS applications directly from the Dock or Mac OS X Desktop by clicking their icons. As you start a Windows application, its icon appears in the Dock. When the application is closed, or the virtual machine is stopped, the application icon disappears from the Dock.

To keep the icon in the Dock:

1. Right-click the Windows application icon in the Dock.
2. Choose Keep in Dock from the shortcut menu.

You can also create an alias for the Windows application on Mac OS X Desktop by choosing Add to Favorites from the application's shortcut menu.

Clicking a Windows application icon in the Dock or its alias on the desktop starts the virtual machine and the application in it. The virtual machine is automatically switched to Coherence.

Using Windows Taskbar

By default, Windows taskbar is present on the Mac OS X desktop when you run the virtual machine in Coherence. If you don't want Windows Taskbar to be displayed when in Coherence, choose Applications > Hide Windows Taskbar.

You can use Windows taskbar to access the Start menu items. If there is no Windows taskbar on the screen, you can access the Windows Start menu by choosing Applications > Start Menu.

If you want the Windows taskbar to relocate in the Coherence mode depending on the position of the Mac OS X Dock, enable Automatically relocate Windows taskbar on the Coherence Settings pane. With this option disabled, the Windows taskbar will take its place depending on where it was placed during the previous working session in this mode.

Using Application Switcher

You can switch between any of the running Mac OS X and Windows applications by using Application Switcher.

1. Press Command+Tab on the keyboard, you will see the Application Switcher bar across the desktop with all applications running in both Windows and Mac OS X.
2. Select the application by clicking its icon in the bar.

Using Expose With Your Windows Applications

When working in Coherence, you can use Expose to navigate between the Windows and Mac OS X applications windows opened on your desktop. To activate Expose, press the F9 key (on portable Macintosh computers, use the Fn+F9 key combination instead).

If the F9 key doesn't activate Expose, refer to Mac Help for information about changing the Mac OS X shortcuts.

Sharing your Windows and Mac applications

You can use Mac OS X applications to open the files in your Windows guest OS and vice versa. The list of Parallels Shared Applications is created during Parallels Tools installation. The list includes your Mac OS X applications and is available when you choose All Programs > Parallels Shared Applications from the Windows Start menu. You can select any application from the list and start it.

Right-click a file in Mac OS X or Windows and choose any available Mac OS X or Windows application from the Open With list.

Using Mac OS X Trash

You can remove files and folders that you do not need any more by simply dragging them from your virtual machine to the Trash in Mac OS X. After a file or folder is removed, it is automatically placed to Windows Recycle Bin and can be viewed by choosing Show Windows Recycle Bin from the Applications menu. You can then restore the file/folder by right-clicking it and selecting Restore. If you wish to empty the Recycle Bin contents, choose Empty Windows Recycle Bin from the Applications menu.

Using SmartSelect

You can choose the application that will always open files of a certain type in Mac OS X, no matter whether it is a Windows or a Mac OS X application. The feature is available from the application shortcut menu (when opened from the Dock) or from the Parallels Desktop Applications menu.

Using Multiple Displays Mode

You can use several displays while working in the Coherence mode and expand the Coherence mode on the selected number of displays.

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