Explanation of File Structure Please

Hi

I'm doing some scripting and macros in various applications and am getting confused at how to state the path of files.
Is there some discussion of the file structure and management for Parallels on the Mac with OS as guest?

For example: Creating a macro in Excel on Win 7 and reference a file or folder that is on my Mac OSX desktop.

A few observations: Via terminal when I drop the Mac HD in it, I get \private\tmp\675\Y
I assume the number generated is randomly generated. As well as the character. i.e. "Y"

Now I did notice that in Finder I saw 3 separated Win 7 "hard disks" with a different "letter" selected. When I navigated through each hard disk, the Win 7 files were in all of them, like a pure copy. Weird.

Any resources to read up on the file structure naming conventions will be appreciated.

 

with my installation (which references a bootcamp install) I can access folders on the mac via a network drive on the pc which seems to be the most reliable way;

'\\psf\Home\Desktop' to get to the desktop.. these are set with options for the vm I think.

Is that any help for your problem?

 

This is done via shared folders: VM configuration>Options>Sharing
Like the previous user said, once enabled they will appear as network folders.

Paths in /private/tmp should not be used, these are temporary files for system use.

 

cannot "see" mac files on parallels or vice versa

I believe I have a similar problem. I have been running parallels successfully except I cannot see my mac folders or files. I saw an old thread on another site which said to check system preference on the mac and go to sharing and ensure that share files with windows is checked but I do not have this option.

Also checked with a friend and hs set up (a laptop not an imac like mine) has a folder on parallels called home (not homegroups I can see that one and I have looked in there), which he clicks and it takes him to the mac finder.

I can fairly familiar witht eh configure and think I have all the boxes ticked but not sure. One thng I did to was optimize for using revit as suggested on a revit forum.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

I dont suppose you have the 'isolate mac from windows option selected', which would then disconnect any links between the machines as through it were a standalone pc I think.

Can you access your network, or the internet from the windows machine.. and are there any other network drives listed in windows other than those on your network?

The homegroup folder you mentioned is the windows file sharing folder, so that will not show any mac related files as you discovered.

Not sure what the optimise for revit includes?

 

Stuart,

Many thanks for your comments. I did check the isolate mac option and it is not checked - does this option reside in more than one place? I also ensured that the little web icon at the bottom right ( network icon?) does not have a cross through it......To answer your other comments yes I can access the Internet from the parallels. Network- I am never quite sure of terminology but I certainly cannot see any files which are on my mac. ( i don't have any printers or other devices linked to the computer). There are no addresses in parallels other than the native windows folders.....very curious......re revit it's an architectural drawing software and the main reason I got parallels - so I could practice on revit......there are optimisation recommendations based on concerns by mc users about opening their computers to malware etc.....you go thru the configure windows and ensure certain features are disabled/ enabled. I don't see any option selections that would cause the mac to be concealed.....

 

Julia --

The easiest way to see files on the host from the guest is to enable sharing in your VM configuration. You could set up some other sharing mechanism, but Parallels' own built-in sharing works quite well, and is much easier to configure.

Open Parallels, click "Virtual Machine" -> "Configure...", choose "Sharing" on the left of the Options dialog, and decide what Mac folders you want your VM to be able to access. I have "Home folder only" selected in the dropdown, for what it's worth.

HTH,

 

HTH,

Thanks for your help. I had already checked that and I have tried both options - selecting home files only and all disks. Perhaps I am not looking for these folders in the right place? I think I have checked all the file structure folders but do not see the home folder anywhere (which is why I posted to this thread - maybe I am not understanding the windows file structure (although I have been using windows at for twenty years!)......I have even tried to mine into the systems folders to see if there is something there......

 

@JuliaA --

A user's "Home" folder is a common feature of Unix-y OSes, such as Unix, BSD, Linux, and OSX (since it's built up from a BSD core). You won't find any "Home" folder in Windows -- the closest you get is C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\ instead.

When you share your "Home" folder from your host Mac to the guest Windows machine, I think there's an option to have Parallels map the shared folders to Windows drives. (I say "I think" because I'm not in front of my Mac at the moment.) They'll then show up as extra drives in Windows Explorer, such as K: or R:.

If you don't opt to have Parallels map your shared folders, I believe they'll appear under Network Places in the locations pane on the left of an Explorer window (this is for XP; I assume Win7 has something similar). Alternately, you can type \\psf\Home into the Explorer URL bar. You can then opt to manually map such network paths to Windows drives for easier access. I've mapped my "Home" folder to the Z: drive in Windows, for instance.

HTH!

( "HTH" isn't my username or nickname; it's shorthand for "hope this helps". )

 

I read this thread with interest as I was pulling what little hair I have left out of my head in chunks trying to find the second of two drives on my iMac.

Following some of the suggestions above I finally made work by following the following route.

Parallels/Devices/Sharing/Add/Path/Choose a folder/To Finder.
Hope that works for somebody.

John