Using Shared Profile

Parallels Desktop provides close integration between your Mac OS and Windows guest OS. Now you can access certain Mac Home folders directly from Windows and vice versa. To use this functionality, you should have Parallels Tools installed in the virtual machine and the Isolate Mac from Windows option disabled in the Security pane .

Note: To enable the Shared Profile functionality, you must share all Mac disks or at least your Mac Home folder. You can configure the necessary sharing settings on the Shared Folders pane or click OK on this pane to automatically enable Mac OS X Home folder sharing together with enabling Shared Profiles.

If the Shared Profile functionality is activated, you can choose one of the following options:

• Select Desktop to use the Mac desktop as the desktop in your Windows guest OS.
• Select Documents to use the Mac Documents folder on your Mac as the My Documents folder in your Windows guest OS.
• Select Pictures to use the Pictures folder on your Mac as the My Pictures folder in your Windows guest OS.
• Select Music to use the Music folder on your Mac as the My Music folder in your Windows guest OS.
• The My Videos folder to the Movies folder on your Mac (for Windows XP/Vista/7 only)
• The Downloads folder to the Downloads folder on your mac (for Windows Vista/7 only)

Warning: If you delete any Mac OS X file from the Windows desktop when the Mac OS X desktop sharing is enabled, you will not be able to find it in Mac OS X Trash or Windows Recycle Bin. The file will be deleted from your computer permanently.

When Shared Profile is enabled, the virtual machine's desktop will display the icons present on Mac OS X Desktop, the My Documents folder will contain items stored in the Documents folder on your Mac. The other folders will behave in a similar way.

To enable and configure Shared Profile, use the Shared Profile pane of Virtual Machine Configuration.

Disabling Shared Profile

You can disable Shared Profile either by disabling Shared Profile in the Shared Profile pane or by disabling Mac folders sharing at runtime or in Virtual Machine Configuration .