Set Mac OS (host) "default program" to a windows (guest) application

Mac OS X 10.4 running a Windows XP Pro SP3 install via Parallels 5.

Long story short:

I have windows batch (.bat) files, that I am viewing in Finder.

I want to be able to double-click (or apple-o) them, and have them run in my windows VM.

Currently, they open in Notepad.

If I try to change the program that they open with, Mac OS will not let me select a ".exe" file (means: I cannot select ANY windows programs) as the default program.

I can change whether .bat files are opened in the Windows VM, or the Mac OS Host, but I cannot change the windows program that they are opened with, when I open them from the Mac Finder.

I have attached a screenshot of my dilemma - windows executables are greyed-out even with "all appications" enabled, so I cannot select them as "default applications" in Mac OS X.

How can I change the windows program that is used to open a file, when I open it from the Mac OS host?

 

You have to select a Mac app for the "Open With" option. Parallels creates a small Mac app in the Windows applications folder on your Mac disk for every Windows app. The small Mac app (helper app) tells Parallels what virtual machine to use and where the exe is in the virtual machine.

In Parallels 6, Navigate to your your virtual machine's Windows applications folder in ~/Applications. (~ = your user folder).

In Parallels 5, I think you'll find the windows application folder in /Applications (the main Mac Applications folder).

In Parallels 6, the app that you want is Windows Command Processor.app. You can make sure by running the exe manually in the virtual machine, then right clicking the corresponding app in the dock and selecting "Show in Finder".