How to add Mac App to share with Windows

D

Deac_Lancaster

Member
How can I add a newly installed Mac app to the Windows "Open with" list with Sharing enabled?

Detail:
I have enabled sharing Mac apps with Windows via
Configure > Options > Applications, and
check "Share Mac applications with Windows"
so that in Windows File Manager a right click on a file shows "Open with" and lists the Mac apps as well as Windows programs.

BUT, I have installed a new Mac app and it does not show up in the list. How can I add it?
I have rebooted both Windows and Mac to allow refreshing, but to no avail.

thank you,
-deac
 

Attachments

  • BEFORE-OpenWith.png
    BEFORE-OpenWith.png
    61.4 KB · Views: 6
Hi @Deac_Lancaster, start the Windows virtual machine > locate the file which you wish to open with the Mac application > Right click on the file > Click on properties > Change the open with application to the desired Mac application.
 
Drubha, Thank you for your response.
When you say " Change the open with application to the desired Mac application." the list shown does not include my Mac Photoshop app. When I click "browse" I can not find the Mac Photoshop app.
(Please note in the screenshot below that my newly installed Mac Photoshop app does not appear in the OpenWith window.)
OpenWith.png

Question 1: How do I find the Mac Photoshop app that can be opened from the Windows side?

Question 2: When I install a new Mac app, how do I get it to be visible and accessible from the Windows side?
 
Hi @Deac_Lancaster,

Deac_Lancaster said:
Question 1: How do I find the Mac Photoshop app that can be opened from the Windows side?
Click to expand...
Mac apps links should be located in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Parallels\Shared Applications
(AppData is a hidden folder)
Deac_Lancaster said:
Question 2: When I install a new Mac app, how do I get it to be visible and accessible from the Windows side?
Click to expand...
noway to force it (no magic button). It can take sometime to appear in Windows. Probably, Parallels Tools reinstallation or disabling/enabling Mac apps sharing can make a trick (I've never tested it...)
 
Marat,

Question 1: Yes, exactly, I have examined my folder
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Parallels\Shared Applications
and found the .exe files which connect to the Mac apps, But I find the Photoshop app missing.
Question 2: I have done the steps you suggested (some several times over the past few days) -
Uninstall / reinstall Parallels Tools
Disable / re-enable Mac apps sharing
Uninstall / reinstall Parallels Desktop from a fresh download

I had two vm's which did have a large list of Mac apps (but not including Photoshop) and I disabled and re-enabled Mac apps sharing hoping to get a fresh list; But then there were no Mac apps shared and the C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Parallels\Shared Applications folder was empty. I repeated the disable and re-enable to hopefully refresh the list but that Shared Applications folder remained empty. There appears to be a bug in those vm's - I started with a partial list of Mac apps, disable and re-enable Mac app sharing and now have an empty list and folder.

My Mac Photoshop app has appeared in at least one of my Windows vm's in the past, but now it appears in none. BTW, it is available when on the Mac side I set Photoshop as the default app for all .jpg files, then on the Windows side I right click on a .jpg file and select Open on Mac - so there is still some connection from Windows to Mac even though it has no .exe file in the Shared Applications folder in Windows.

Question 3: Where would the .exe connector file for Open on Mac be located in the Windows vm?
Question 4: Would you please ask engineering whether there is any way of having the Mac apps sharing folder refreshed from the currently installed Mac Applications?
 
>so there is still some connection from Windows to Mac even though it has no .exe file in the Shared Applications folder in Windows.
Open on Mac and Shared apps are different features.
> Question 3: Where would the .exe connector file for Open on Mac be located in the Windows vm?
well, prl_cc.exe located on C:\Program Files (x86)\Parallels\Parallels Tools is responsible, and particular dll C:\Program Files (x86)\Parallels\Parallels Tools\Plugins\FileSharing.dll
>Question 4: Would you please ask engineering whether there is any way of having the Mac apps sharing folder refreshed from the currently installed Mac Applications?
I was curious and made some tests on El Capitan and Windows 10 VM:
1. Disabled app sharing - Shared Applications folder disappeared.
2. Enabled app sharing - Shared Applications folder appeared back with the list of Mac apps.
3. Installed Adobe CC, disabled and enabled sharing - new apps have appeared
4. Installed Photoshop CC (2015), disabled shared apps - at this point nothing happened. So, I pushed Parallels Tools to do their job (killed prl_cc in Task Manager and ran it again) - shared apps disappeared. Then enabled shared apps in VM config - all apps with Photoshop appeared in VM.
5. Booted Windows 7 VM - all new apps are there.

So, I think that the issue is specific to your installation. Try to disable all security software, antiviruses, firewalls. Also, if you are using Photoshop CC (2015), probably, if I upload somewhere my .exe file it will work for you.
 
Marat,
It is such a pleasure to finally be talking to a techy, I like what you have to say. I have done your steps 1 through 5 and still have no luck, so I agree with your conclusion that the problem is specific to my installation. And since it did work before, it's a new bug in my system, although reinstalling Parallels did not fix it. So my vm is bad and I need to reinstall Windows to a new vm. I have no security, antivirus, nor firewall except for Windows Defender. I am using Photoshop CS3.

1. So disable / re-enable Share Mac apps is the way to get a refreshed list of Mac apps. I wonder why my Shared Applications folder disappears when disabled (as expected) but reappears empty when re-enabled. That seems to be my problem. No response needed here unless you have an idea of what to do.

2. I don't quite understand your comment " Also, if you are using Photoshop CC (2015), probably, if I upload somewhere my .exe file it will work for you." Would you please expand on this?

thanks much for your help,
-deac
 
>1. So disable / re-enable Share Mac apps is the way to get a refreshed list of Mac apps. I wonder why my Shared Applications folder disappears when disabled (as expected) but reappears empty when re-enabled. That seems to be my problem. No response needed here unless you have an idea of what to do.
the only thought is that when PD is adding apps in the VM it scans /Applications/ directory and it's subdirectories. So, if something on the Mac side prevents its from scanning, then fail is expected (again, security software/antivirus/firewall).
>2. I don't quite understand your comment " Also, if you are using Photoshop CC (2015), probably, if I upload somewhere my .exe file it will work for you." Would you please expand on this?
I thought if you are using the same version of Photoshop, then I probably could upload .exe file located in Shared Applications from my VM, may be it could be a workaround. But as the issue now affects all apps, and you are using another version of Photoshop this is not an option
 
1. Good thinking, perhaps some Mac side settings keeps it from reading the Applications folder as you said. I've changed nothing and can think of nothing, but i will look closely again since that would explain the behavior.

2. Marat, you are a rock star, thank you for going the extra mile. It does turn out that I have a copy from an old vm of the .exe file pointing to Mac Photoshop, but copying it over doesn't work for some reason. Possibly a permissions / security setting problem as in 1. above. I need to spend some time investigating those possibilities.

Marat, you've gone above and beyond the call of duty on this problem, thank you so much. If you can tell me how to contact your supervisor I'd love to give you glowing praise for your work.
Thanks so much,
-deac
 
Thank you very much for your kind words! There is no need to contact my supervisor, but thanks for this anyway=)
 
Here is some info about how I finally resolved the issue.
.....
I enabled sharing Mac apps in Windows but, after working for many months, it failed to show Photoshop on the Mac side when I opened a Windows File Manager on a jpg file to Open with.
Also, the
C:\Users\deacimac1\AppData\Roaming\Parallels\Shared Applications
folder which contains the Mac app menu was empty.

SOLUTION: Here is a KB article I (finally) found after having this problem:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/121008
The second line support gave me this ink after walking me through the steps to solve the problem.

He also took a Snapshot of the vm and gave me this kb article on using Snapshots:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/5691
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top