Parallels Does Not See Windows Application

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by ultimante, Sep 4, 2008.

  1. ultimante

    ultimante Member

    Messages:
    22
    OSX Leopard 10.5.4 on brand new Mac Pro Quad 2.8GHz 4GB RAM
    Parallels 3.0 Build 5608
    Windows XP SP3

    This is a fresh installation of Parallels, and Windows. I literally just installed it, ran Windows Update and got all the critical Windows updates. Then, I installed .NET 3.5, Java 1.6, Firefox 3, Flash players for IE and Firefox, and finally FlashDevelop.

    http://www.flashdevelop.org/

    ---
    Edit:
    FlashDevelop is a Windows application that runs in .NET. This might be a contributing factor into why Parallels has trouble seeing it, I'm not sure.
    ---

    Parallels does not see FlashDevelop as an application. It does not see it running when it is running. It does not show up in the list of Shared Windows Applications. I have tried running populate to no avail.

    Interestingly enough, the installer for FlashDevelop shows up (even after I deleted it and emptied the recycle bin) but FlashDevelop itself never does.

    If I run Firefox, I see it in the Applications > Running menu, as well as in the list of Shared Windows Applications.

    FlashDevelop is the only reason I need Parallels and Windows, as it is a Windows-only application.

    I will be happy to create a .app shortcut manually if I have to. Just tell me what to do. I went into the package contents and examined the info.plist file and it seems straightforward enough. I just want to know why it isn't recognizing FlashDevelop when it is running or as a valid Windows application.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2008
  2. ultimante

    ultimante Member

    Messages:
    22
    As an interim solution, I modified the Notepad.app file to launch FlashDevelop by modifying the info.plist and AppParams.pva files with appropriate file types and to point it to the proper executable.

    This works fine for launching FlashDevelop, but it has some issues. It still does not show up in the list of running applications, and when I quit, it stays in the dock and will not launch again until I right-click on the icon in the dock and quit.

    There's another side effect of that process. Parallels gets stuck thinking there are applications Running under the Applications > Running panel. Running is usually disabled when there are no running applications, but obviously Parallels thinks there is an application running (because a .app file was launched, but since it can't tell when the application quit, it can't tell that it isn't running).

    I can only assume that this might lead to a race condition if I continually launch and quit FlashDevelop in a single Parallels session. :(

    I'm not sure how to communicate back to Parallels that the application has quit in Windows. I'd like to avoid all of this and just have Parallels recognize the application like it should.

    Any ideas would be much appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2008
  3. John@Parallels

    John@Parallels Forum Maven

    Messages:
    6,333
    I can see similar ticket in support queue and support replied you if it was yours
    Just to repeat relply
    1.. Application is beta and open source,
    2. It is not correctly registering during installation
     
  4. ultimante

    ultimante Member

    Messages:
    22
    Thanks for replying. Yes, I added a support ticket, too, since I didn't know which was the best/proper channel to raise this to.

    They designate it as beta, but it has been around for years. The current build is Beta 9. I don't know why they're not just calling it 3.0.9, etc. It's like gMail is still beta, but it's been in beta forever, so the "beta" moniker doesn't mean as much, heh.

    Regardless, it is an executable running in Windows and is not visible to Parallels. This is a very popular program and a lot of Mac developers have bought Parallels specifically to use it, myself included. Now that I have no choice in the matter (I'm working in a 100% Mac shop now), I've made it my personal mission to get Parallels and FlashDevelop to work together.

    I have also involved the FlashDevelop team. I'm certain that they would be helpful to finding a solution. There are a couple of threads on their forum related to this, which I invite you to post on if it would help you resolve this.

    FlashDevelop Does Not Show Up In Parallels Applications
    http://www.flashdevelop.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3574

    Setting up FlashDevelop on Parallels
    http://www.flashdevelop.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2463

    Known Issues with FlashDevelop and Parallels
    http://www.flashdevelop.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3581

    Thanks!
     
  5. ultimante

    ultimante Member

    Messages:
    22
    Somebody just posted on the FlashDevelop forum the response they got from Parallels on this issue. So, it looks like the problem has been identified, and it's on the FlashDevelop side of things.

    Email from Parallels Tech Support:

    I investigated situation and found following:
    1. Application you are trying to populate is not registering itself in Windows in correct way. It is open source application and doesn't use msi identifiers to register installation.
    2. It is beta software, and currently may contain bugs or some missed code.
    3. If you check http://www.flashdevelop.org/wikidocs/index.php?title=Configuration.
    you will see that configuration is not stored in registry but in files, which is again is not doesn't conform with Windows software guidance guide.
    4. If you check another software, which uses msi installer and correctly register itself in Windows, you will see it in Applications lists after Populate action.
     
  6. John@Parallels

    John@Parallels Forum Maven

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    6,333
    It is our preliminary investigation
     
  7. ultimante

    ultimante Member

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  8. John@Parallels

    John@Parallels Forum Maven

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    Can anyone from FlashDevelop contact me here in PM?
     
  9. ultimante

    ultimante Member

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    22
    I believe Mika from FlashDevelop is going to. Hopefully, together you can help fix this issue!
     
  10. ultimante

    ultimante Member

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    22
    Just checking in. Have you made any progress on this?
     
  11. ultimante

    ultimante Member

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    22
    I still have not heard any progress on this, nor have the FlashDevelop developers. What is the status of this issue?
     
  12. John@Parallels

    John@Parallels Forum Maven

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    I am testing it now, pls remind on Sunday
     
  13. ultimante

    ultimante Member

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    It's been a few weeks. I PMd you to remind you, but never heard anything back.
     
  14. John@Parallels

    John@Parallels Forum Maven

    Messages:
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    Sorry, we will continue with this soon,
     

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