Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac: Updates Summary

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac updates summary
This update for Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.2.1 (41615) addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following fixes and improvements:

• Resolves an issue with Windows and other shared applications crashing after starting from the Dock or Finder.
• Resolves an issue with the Windows and other virtual machine icons disappearing from the Dock after starting Windows from the Dock or Finder.
• Resolves an issue with Visual Studio freezing after the Mac wakes up.
• Resolves an issue with files appearing on the macOS Desktop and then, after a long delay, on the Windows desktop.

This update for Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.2.0 (41591) addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following fixes and improvements:

• Resolves an issue with Windows 10 not booting after updating to Windows 10 Creators Update
• Resolves an issue with dragging and dropping files from Mac to Windows 10 Creators Update
• Resolves an issue with web pages opening in Windows 10 Creators Update instead of opening in Mac
• Resolves an issue with Windows 10 not installing from a USB thumb drive
• Resolves an issue with a virtual machine freezing when a 4 TB USB drive is connected to the virtual machine
• Resolves an issue with Ubuntu 16.04 not switching to the Coherence view mode
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Tools reinstalling every time a BootCamp virtual machine configuration is changed
• Resolves an issue with BootCamp virtual machine applications not shown in the Dock
• Uses the new Facebook API to sign in to Parallels accounts
• Uses the new Google+ API to sign in to Parallels accounts
• Improves the Korean localization

This update for Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.1.3 (41532) addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following fixes and improvements:

• Introduces a new option for virtual machine that use all displays in fullscreen - "Activating virtual machine shows all its spaces". For this option, go to "Options" > "Full Screen" of the virtual machine configuration
• Adjusts default settings for Modality view mode that covers the window opacity and position on top of other applications windows
• Resolves an issue with Fedora 25 not starting GUI session after installing Parallels Tools
• Resolves and issue with mouse not working on external display after it has been reconnected
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Desktop crashes when trying to print to PDF

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.1.1 (41491) addresses overall stability and performance issues

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.1.0 (41489) addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following new features and fixes.

New features:

• Tabs support in macOS Sierra. Organize virtual machine windows into tabs. Also available in full screen on multiple displays.
• Draw and annotate in Microsoft Office 2016 applications on Windows 10. Use a built-in MacBook touchpad, an external mouse, or a pen device to draw in Excel, PowerPoint, or Word.
• "Parallels VMs" plugin for macOS Sierra storage manager displays storage taken by Parallels Desktop virtual machines. Allows you to optimize disk space taken by virtual machines with a few clicks using the Free Up Disk Space wizard.
• Fixes:
• Resolves an issue with Windows 10 installation failing using dual boot installation media (e.g. USB thumb drives)
• Resolves an issue with prl_naptd process taking 100% CPU
• Resolves an issue with Windows app windows in Coherence being overlapped by macOS menu bar
• Resolves an issue with Windows virtual machine resolution with "Best for external displays" option enabled when using Windows only on external display
• Resolves an issue with mouse movement delays in virtual machines on macOS Sierra
• Resolves an issue with Ctrl + mouse click or tap not opening a context menu in virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with macOS Sierra virtual machine installation using .app image
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Tools for Linux failing to update automatically in some Linux distributions
• Resolves an issue with inability to stop resuming a virtual machine from suspended state
• Resolves an issue with the "Web Pages: Open in Mac" feature not working in some builds of Windows 10 virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with passwords not being accepted for encrypted virtual hard disks when attaching them to a virtual machine
• Resolves an issue with archived virtual machine name changes not being reflected in Finder
• Resolves an issue with Windows application windows not coming to foreground in Coherence
• Resolves an issue with virtual machines stuck at black screen on booting
• Resolves an issue with critical errors with Solaris 11 virtual machines after installation
• Resolves an issue with Red Hat Enterprise Linux virtual machines hanging on startup after Parallels Tools installation
• Resolves an issue with armour graphics artifacts in World of Warships game in Windows
• Resolves an issue with virtual machine not starting if Fitbit dongles are connected or software is installed
• Resolves an issue with slow scrolling speed using touchpad in Linux virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with inability to switch between "Alphanumeric"and "kana" layouts in Windows using corresponding JIS keyboard keys
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Tools failing to install in Windows XP virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with VirtualHere USB devices not connecting to Windows virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with graphics artifacts when using Microsoft Edge or Microsoft Office PowerPoint on macOS Sierra
• Resolves an issue with the size of the parallels.log file not being managed
• Resolves an issue with CPU and RAM assignment in virtual machines for Parallels Desktop Standard Edition, limiting VMs to 8 GB of vRAM and 4 vCPUs to be consistent with Standard Edition product features

New features and fixes for Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition:

• Seamless Business account that allows enrolling additional account administrators and end users even if they have private Parallels accounts. Check Parallels Desktop Business Edition Licensing Guide at http://www.parallels.com/products/business/resources/
• More options are now available to administrators to protect against unwanted actions from end users of Parallels Desktop for Mac. Check Parallels Desktop Business Edition Administrator's Guide at http://www.parallels.com/products/business/resources/
• Resolves an issue with custom setup for getting support in Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.0.2 (41353) addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following fixes:

• Resolves an issue with printing from Windows using a shared printer from Mac, with error message 'There was an internal error and Parallels Desktop is unable to print this document'
• Resolves an issue with Ctrl + mouse click or tap not opening a context menu in virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with the 'Web Pages - Open in Mac' feature not working in some builds of Windows 10 virtual machines
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Desktop crashing when the application is quit
• Resolves an issue with unexpected desktop space switching when using a virtual machine in full screen with external displays
• Resolves an accidental case sensivity issues with files on Shared Folders

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac 12.0.1 (41296) addresses overall stability and performance issues, and includes the following fixes:

• Resolves an issue with virtual machines booting into a black screen
• Resolves an issue with Windows applications missing from the Dock after upgrading to Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac. If you have already upgraded and apps are missing, relaunch the apps from Windows and pin them to the Dock again. Then delete any broken app icons from the Dock
• Resolves an issue with file associations not being remembered after installing Parallels Desktop for Mac updates (any missing associations must be created again)
• Resolves an issue with virtual machine crashing after connecting or disconnecting an external display
• Resolves an issue with printing from Windows using a shared printer from Mac
• Resolves an accidental issue with the mouse loosing focus in Windows and releasing to Mac
• Resolves issues with Windows 10 repeatedly asking to set a default browser and not preserving the setting to open URLs from Windows in Mac
• Resolves an issue with Parallels Tools not installing in Linux virtual machines with 4.7 kernel
• Resolves an issue with memory leaks in Linux Shared Folder driver

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac release build 12.0.0 (41273) includes the following new features:
Performance

• Up to 90 percent faster snapshot creation
• Up to 60 percent faster suspending of virtual machines
• Up to 25 percent faster Shared Folders performance
• Up to 10 percent battery life improvement
• Improved virtual machine responsiveness when your Mac is low on free memory
• For better performance, when Windows is idle but you're working in OS X, Windows will no longer perform resource-intensive maintenance tasks.

Windows 10

• Schedule when Windows 10 does maintenance, like downloading and installing updates

Productivity

• New options to Windows apps settings in the Dock: Keep Mac Awake, Always Hide Others, Enable Do Not Disturb, Start in Full Screen
• Ability to open Microsoft Office online documents from your Mac browser in Windows office apps (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Quicker attachments: list of recent files in File Explorer and Outlook 2016 for Windows now shows files which were opened, edited, or downloaded recently on the Mac
• New mode that puts virtual machines in the background to make them ready in seconds when needed.

Other New Features

• Simplified backup: one year of Acronis True Image 500GB cloud backup storage, which can back up changes to a virtual machine instead of having to resave the entire virtual machine every time changes are made
• Ability to run a virtual machine in Coherence without the Parallels Desktop icon in the Dock
• Retina display: resizing a Windows 10 virtual machine window preserves proper size of text and icons
• Retina display: when using Windows 10 on a Mac laptop with external display(s) connected, you can set an independent screen resolution for each display
• An option to store Edge and Internet Explorer passwords in Mac Keychain
• Retina resolution support for OS X virtual machines

General Enhancements

• New design for virtual machine windows in shutdown, suspended, and paused states, including updated screens when starting or resuming a virtual machine in Coherence and a "Play" control on the virtual machine thumbnail in Control Center.
• Native look for .exe files on the Mac desktop and in the Finder
• Fully featured toolbar for virtual machines in full screen mode

Parallels Toolbox for Mac

The Parallels Toolbox feature in Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac and the Pro Edition makes it easy to perform 20 common tasks on the Mac with simple single-function tools that don't require settings customization. With the Pro Edition or a subscription to the stand-alone Parallels Toolbox for Mac, additional tools will be made available every few months to make your life even easier. Initial tools include:

• Audio and video management: record audio, mute microphone, video downloader, and video convertor
• Screenshots made simple: capture area, window, or screen
• Screen recording: record area, window, or screen
• Time management: alarm, timer, date countdown, and stopwatch
• Peace, productivity and privacy: do not disturb, do not sleep, hide desktop icons, and lock screen
• Archiving: archive and un-archive

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac Pro Edition
Includes all the features of Standard Edition, plus these additional features:

• Compile Visual Studio projects on shared folders up to 25 percent faster
• Limit virtual machines disk I/O speed, CPU usage, and bandwidth when you want to run tasks in multiple virtual machines
• In-place virtual machine archiving even when running out of free disk space
• Pre-defined profiles for testing network related apps in virtual machines: 100% Loss, 3G, DSL. EDGE, Very Bad Network, Wi-Fi
• New advanced settings for Shared Folders
• Support for /etc/resolver/ - set name servers for specified zones when you are in VPN
• Support for Secure Boot standard for Windows 10 virtual machines
• Support for Apple Hypervisor engine
• Quick access to built-in Windows utilities from virtual machine title bar.