Option

Description

Share folders

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:

• To share just the folders in your Home folder, choose Home folder only from the Share folders menu.
• To share all your macOS folders, choose All disks from the Share folders menu.
• To share any folder you want, click Custom 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 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.

Shared profile

You can set macOS and Windows to 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.

To enable this functionality, select Share Mac user folders with Windows.

Your macOS Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, Movies, and Downloads folders are merged with the corresponding Windows folders, and the macOS Trash is merged with the Windows Recycle Bin.

If you only want to map some of the folders, click Configure and select the folders you want. To map the macOS Trash to the Windows Recycle Bin, select Merge Recycle Bin with Trash.

Share cloud folders with Windows

(in macOS virtual machines, this option is called Share cloud folders with virtual machine)

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.

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, Box and OneDrive for Business folders with Windows.

1. If you haven't already, set up iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive in macOS.
2. Select Share cloud folders with Windows.
3. Log in to Windows and open Computer. Folders for iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive are available in the Quick access (or Favorites) section. You can use them to upload and download files to and from the cloud.

Map Mac volumes to Windows

(in macOS virtual machines, this option is called Map Mac volumes to virtual machine)

When you connect an external storage device, such as a USB drive, to your Mac, you can access the contents from macOS applications.

You can set Parallels Desktop to automatically mount storage devices and volumes to Windows. That way, you can access the contents from both macOS and Windows.

The following items can be mounted to Windows:

• Removable drives: External storage devices, such as USB hard disks and USB flash drives.
• CD/DVD drives: CD and DVD drives or mounted CD/DVD images.
• Network folders: Folders shared over the network.

To make these items mount to Windows automatically, select Map Mac volumes to Windows.

When you connect a storage device or volume, it is mounted as a network drive. For example, a USB flash drive plugged in to your Mac will be accessible from both the /Volumes folder in macOS and My Computer in Windows.

Assign a drive letter to shared folders (available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro and Business Editions only)

Select this option to assign a drive letter to all Mac folders shared with Windows. When a Mac shared folder has a letter, you can easily access it in Windows - such folders are displayed in the "This PC" section of "File Explorer".

Allow creating executables (available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro and Business Editions only)

Select this option to create executable files in the Mac folders shared with Windows. When this option is selected, all newly created files become executable.

Enable DOS 8.3 filenames (available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro and Business Editions only)

Files created in macOS don't have DOS 8.3 names and some Windows applications may work incorrectly with such files. Select this option to create additional DOS 8.3 names for the files located in the Mac folders shared with Windows.

Option

Description

Access Windows folders from Mac

Select this option to allow access to Windows folders from Mac.

Share OneDrive with Mac

If you're using Microsoft OneDrive to store files in the cloud, you can easily share your OneDrive folders with macOS. Then you can upload or download OneDrive files in macOS without duplicating any of the files on your hard disk.

Note: To share OneDrive folders with macOS, the OneDrive desktop app must be installed in Windows. If you're using the preinstalled OneDrive app, OneDrive folders are not shared because this app doesn't create any local folders and works directly with the cloud storage.

To share your Windows OneDrive folders with macOS, do the following:

1. If OneDrive isn't already set up in Windows, set it up.
2. Select Access Windows folders from Mac and Share OneDrive with Mac.
3. In the macOS Finder, choose Finder > Preferences and select Connected servers.

Once selected, Microsoft OneDrive folders appear as hard disks on the macOS desktop. You can use them to upload and download files to and from OneDrive.

Note: These shared folders are visible on the macOS desktop and you can use them to upload files from macOS only when Windows is running.

Share Windows network drives with Mac (available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro and Business Editions only)

Once selected, when you connect to a network drive in Windows, these drives become available in macOS. To access them, go to the Finder sidebar > Shared section and click the virtual machine name.

Note: To access these drives in macOS 10.14 Mojave, go to the Finder sidebar > Network section and click the virtual machine name.

Share Windows-connected drives with Mac

Once selected, when you connect an external drive to Windows, these drives become available in macOS. To access them, go to the Finder sidebar > Shared section and click the virtual machine name.

Note: To access these drives in macOS 10.14 Mojave, go to the Finder sidebar > Network section and click the virtual machine name.