Share Applications and Programs

You can access Mac OS X applications from within Windows and you can access Windows programs from Mac OS X. For example, if you locate a file using the Open menu in a Windows program and decide you would rather open the file using a Mac OS X application, you can.

Note: Provided that Parallels Tools are installed in Linux , you can also open Mac OS X files using Linux applications.

Enable Sharing Mac OS X Applications

When sharing Mac OS X applications is enabled, you can open Mac OS X Applications from within Windows or Windows programs.

If not, you can enable it at any time by doing the following:

Do one of the following:
- Click the Parallels 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 click Applications.
Select Share Mac applications with Windows .

Once sharing Mac OS X applications is enabled, you can do the tasks below.

Open a File from Windows in a Mac OS X Application

You can open a file in a Mac OS X application from Windows Explorer, from the Open dialog in most Windows programs, or from Windows Desktop if Windows is set to appear in a separate Window or at full screen . You may want to do this if you don't have a Windows program that can open the file.

In Windows, right-click (or Control-click) a file and do one of the following:
- Choose Open on Mac from the shortcut menu. The file opens in the default Mac OS X application for that file type.
- Choose Open With from the shortcut menu, and then choose an application.

Note : You can only perform these actions with files stored in shared folders .

Open a Mac Application from the Windows Start Menu

From the Windows Start menu, do one of the following:

Choose All Programs > Parallels Shared Applications , and then choose an application.
Type the name of the application you're looking for in the search field, then choose the application from the list.

Enable Sharing Windows Programs

When sharing Windows programs is enabled, you can open Windows programs from the Mac OS X Finder. You can also choose to add a folder to the Dock containing all your Windows programs for easy access.

Do one of the following:
- Click the Parallels 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 click Applications.
Select Share Windows applications with Mac .

Add a Windows Applications Folder to the Dock

Do one of the following:
- Click the Parallels 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 .
Be sure Share Windows applications with Mac is selected, and then select Show Windows applications folder in Dock .

Configure Whether Dock Icons Bounce to Alert

When a Windows application icon in the taskbar would normally flash to alert you to something, such as a new message in Skype or a notification in Microsoft Outlook, by default its icon also bounces repeatedly in the OS X Dock.

To enable or disable Windows application icons bouncing to alert:

Do one of the following:
Click the Parallels 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 click Applications .
Select or deselect Dock icons bounce to alert .

Note: Icon bouncing is available for Windows with Parallels Tools installed provided that Share Windows applications with Mac is selected in the Applications pane.

Force Quit Windows Programs

If your running Windows guest OS program doesn't respond and freezes, you can easily force quit it as you can do with any Mac OS X application. To force quit a Windows program, do one of the following:

Right-click the icon of the Windows program available in the Dock, press Option (Alt), and choose Force Quit .
Press Option + Command + Esc (Alt + Command + Esc), select the name of the Windows program you want to quit, and click Force Quit .

Note: To be able to force quit Windows guest OS programs, Parallels Tools must be installed .

Add Applications to Launchpad

When you install any applications in Windows (except temporary apps), you can choose to automatically add their icons to Launchpad.

Do one of the following:
- Click the Parallels 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 click Applications.
Select Add new applications to Launchpad .