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4. Parallels For Mac Printing

Parallels, the company best known for developing a tool that allows Mac users to run Windows alongside macOS, has launched Parallels Toolbox 2.5 for Mac and Parallels Toolbox 1.5 for Windows. More Mac & Parallels Printing Problems This is a continuation of the saga I've posted about before. Recap: I had moved my Epson R1800 printer to Firewire to free up the USB port. Wondering if setting up a printer in Parallels Desktop is too difficult? Trust me, it isn’t! There are several ways to set up a printer depending on your needs and preferences: Share a printer from Mac ®. Connect a USB printer directly to Windows ®. Connect to a local printer using Apple Bonjour ®. Connect to a network printer.

Parallels, the company best known for developing a tool that allows Mac users to run Windows alongside macOS, has launched Parallels Toolbox 2.5 for Mac and Parallels Toolbox 1.5 for Windows.

This updated suite of easy-to-use tools streamlines all routine computing chores that you do many times a day and turn them into actions you can carry out with a click or two, massively boosting their productivity.

Must read: Apple products you shouldn't buy in 2018

The updated suite contains new tools, and some updated tools:

New tools in Parallels Toolbox 2.5 for Mac include:

• Screenshot Page - Capture and print lengthy web pages that don't fit into your screen This is a super easy way to screenshot long web pages into a flat image. It doesn't matter if the page is way longer than the screen because the tool will auto-scroll to make the capture possible.
  I've been a long-term user of SnagIt for years now, but this feature is fast becoming my go-to tool.
  
• Free Memory - Reclaim RAM memory and optimize its consumption on your Mac Need a little more RAM to carry out a task? The Free RAM tool can offer you a little relief, although in testing I find that this tool can be a bit hit-and-miss - sometimes it frees up a lot of RAM and other times not much at all. But what have you got to lose?
  I find that macOS is already very good at managing RAM, but if you do a lot of switching between resource-hungry applications, this can be a way to free up memory without having to reboot.
  
• Resize Images - Batch convert images to your desired file size and format
  I work with a lot of images in a day, and being able to carry out batch resizing or switch between file formats easily is a massive time saver. I've used this to batch convert well over 100 images and it handled it quickly, easily and effortlessly, and was much better than my previous workflow that involved either Photoshop or using SnagIt.
  

New tools in Parallels Toolbox 1.5 for Windows include:

• Presentation Mode - Avoid embarrassing disruptions Put an end of a cluttered desktop, random notifications, emails popping up and your PC going to sleep ruining your presentation. A single click of a button can put an end to all this!
• Clean Drive - Reclaim disk space before you run out
  Find duplicate files, uncover what the largest files on your hard drive are, and send them to oblivion with a couple of clicks. Deleting files is not necessarily the safest way to free up disk space, but the ability to root out huge files or duplicates is one of the safest. The ability to find duplicate files -- even if they've been renamed and moved to a different folder -- is especially useful.
• Switch Resolution - Instantly make your screen easy on the eyes
  A quick and easy way to switch screen resolutions without having to dig in the bowels of Windows.

Parallel Software For Mac

Parallels Toolbox Business Edition

IT admins get total control with Parallels Toolbox Business Edition, so they can configure licensing and have control over what features users get access to.

Don't want people deleting files? No problems? Block screenshotting? Easy. Remove the ability to download videos or make GIFs? I don't blame you!

'Many employees lose valuable time every week struggling with how to get basic things done simply and quickly -- like prevent presentation disruptions, clean the drive, record video of their screen to share or convert to the right format, securely archive files and more. Available solutions are unnecessarily complex, and manual steps can be hard to remember,' said Jack Zubarev, President of Parallels. 'With Parallels Toolbox, users and businesses can quickly accomplish common tasks in just a click, and it provides an ever-growing suite of tools at their fingertips to get things done and be more productive.'

Parallels Toolbox 2.5 for Mac and Parallels Toolbox 1.5 for Windows are available today as a stand-alone product and cost $19.99 per year per seat.

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• Pros

  Fast performance in testing. Tight integration with guest OSes. Effortless installation. Flexible file and folder tools. Options for opening Mac files in Windows apps. Can install macOS virtual machines directly from the Mac recovery partition.

• Cons

  Some Mac-integration features can be confusing or impractical until you turn them off. Only runs on a Mac, so you can't share guest machines with Windows or Linux users.

• Bottom Line

  Parallels Desktop is an excellent way to run Windows apps on MacOS, especially for ordinary users. It's fast in testing, offers tight integration between Macs and guest systems, and supports many other OSes, too.

Parallels Desktop is the fastest and friendliest way to run Windows apps on a Mac for the majority of users who are likely to want to do so. IT pros may prefer VMware Fusion; expert users who want no-cost apps will prefer the open-source VirtualBox. Hardcore gamers may prefer Apple's Boot Camp, which lets users boot directly into Windows, with the added bonus of native graphics card support. For most ordinary Mac users who prefer Windows versions of apps like Microsoft Office or AutoCAD, however, or who use Windows-only apps like CorelDraw or WordPerfect Office, Parallels Desktop is the clear first choice for virtualization software.

• $79.99
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Platforms and Pricing

Parallels Desktop supports all Windows versions since Windows 2000, all Intel-based macOS versions (with some exceptions for licensing reasons), many flavors of Linux, BSD, Solaris, and a few other OSes. VMware Fusion and VirtualBox are even more flexible, and can run historical curiosities like OS/2 and NeXTSTEP. Also, unlike Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion and VirtualBox have versions that run on Windows and Linux machines, while Parallels Desktop is Mac-only.

There's one other important difference: Parallels Desktop is a subscription-only product, so you'll have to pay $79.99 per year for the home-and-student version or $99.99 for the Pro Edition. VMware Fusion has a one-time cost (a model some consumers may prefer) of $79.99 for its standard version and $159.99 for its Pro version. VirtualBox is free for personal use and $50 for corporate use, but you get far fewer convenience features out of the box with this open-source product.

Get Started With Parallels

Parallels starts up with a menu for creating a new virtual machine or opening an existing one. This is where Parallels' focus on ordinary end users shines best. Unlike all other virtualization apps, Parallels doesn't expect you to have a Windows or Linux installer disk or disk image ready when you start it up, although it can use that image if you have one. Instead, Parallel's user-helpful menu lets you buy a Windows 10 download directly from Microsoft, or simply download a Windows 10 installer if you already have a license key.

Parallels For Mac Free Download

Another set of options lets you install a Parallels system-export utility on your Windows PC, and export it to Parallels via a network (slowly) or an external drive. A scrolling list at the foot of the menu lets you download specific versions of Linux or Android, install a virtual copy of macOS from your Mac's hidden recovery partition, or install Windows from a Boot Camp partition if you have one.

Like VMware and VirtualBox, Parallels supports a Snapshot feature that lets you save a guest system in one or more configurations that you know works well, and then restore a saved configuration after making changes in the system that you don't want to preserve. However, Parallels is unique in supplementing this feature with a Rollback option that automatically discards all changes to a system when you shut it down, so it works like a kiosk system, returning to its pristine condition every time you power it up. This feature can be invaluable in testing, or in environments like schools where users are liable to leave systems a lot messier than they found them. If you used Microsoft's long-abandoned VirtualPC app, you'll remember this feature, and will welcome its return in Parallels.

Parallel's Performance

Compared to VMware, Parallels starts up Windows at top speed in testing. On my vintage 2015 MacBook Pro, Parallels boots Windows 10 to the desktop in 35 seconds, compared to 60 seconds for VMware. VirtualBox matches Parallels' boot speed, but it performs far fewer integration tasks while booting up. For example, VirtualBox doesn't provide printer integration and the ability to open Windows files with Mac apps and vice versa.

One reason for Parallels' bootup speed advantage is that Parallels uses an emulated PC BIOS that supports the Fast Startup option, and the others don't. The speed difference isn't nearly as obvious when running Windows apps after the OS starts up, however. Parallels feels slightly faster than its rivals, but not drastically so. Fast as it is, Parallels won't satisfy hard-core gamers because Parallels, like VMware Fusion, only supports DirectX 10, while VirtualBox only supports DirectX 9. There's nothing that Parallels can do about this limitation, which is the result of the Mac's limited support for OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) features.

By default when Parallels runs a Windows system, any files on your Mac desktop will also appear on your Windows desktop. This may sound convenient, but it's a feature that I always to turn off in Parallels' settings dialog. One reason I turn it off is that it leaves the Windows desktop cluttered. Another is that much of what I keep on my Mac desktop—like folders and apps—simply won't work when I click on them in Parallels' Windows desktop. Parallels tends to go overboard with integration features, turning them on by default whether you want them or not.

Another way Parallels goes overboard with its integration is its tendency to clutter up its dialogs and your Mac system with icons and folders that you probably don't want. For example, by default, it adds a folder full of Windows application to your Mac's dock, and a Parallels menu to Mac's menu bar—though you can turn these off by poking around the options and preferences windows. Some of Parallels' menus include links to a set of Mac-related utilities called the Parallels Toolbox; some of these utilities, like a quick disk-cleaning menu, are convenient, but you probably don't want all of them, and they have nothing to do with virtualization. Another link on Parallels' menus invites you to buy Acronis True Image backup software, which you probably don't need if you use your Mac's built-in backup features.

Parallels For Mac Home

Parallel Computing

Anyone who wants to run a Windows app on the Mac should choose between our two Editors' Choice apps, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion. For IT managers, developers, and for many tech-savvy users, VMware is the best choice. For most home, school, and SOHO users who don't need VMware's unique cross-platform support and legacy features, Parallels Desktop is the fastest, most hassle-free way to run Windows apps on a Mac.

Parallels Desktop (for Mac)

Bottom Line: Parallels Desktop is an excellent way to run Windows apps on MacOS, especially for ordinary users. It's fast in testing, offers tight integration between Macs and guest systems, and supports many other OSes, too.

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