Parallels 9 - How do I get the Windows Task Bar to appear above the Dock?

This is a seriously bad decision to fit someone's ideologic perfection for Windows 8.
None of the "tunings" work. For example, if you hide Mac dock, when you maximise a Mac window, it will again cover up all the Windows taskbar space. :/
Please fix this ASAP! Or this is the last version I buy from Parallels...

 

I've moved over to VMWare. I hope you are paying attention to this Parallels, you are losing customers who wont be coming back... I also notice that if you install Ubuntu in a VM that works perfectly. I fail to see how this is so difficult for you to fix.

 

Same here. v9 killed this program and I switched back to VMWare too after losing several days of work.

 

Another problem with the task bar is that the Auto-hide option in task bar properties doesn't stick.

I select the auto-hide option and click apply. The taskbar collapses as it should.

However, after exiting and restarting Parallels 9, the option is forgotten and the taskbar is back to full display. I hope Parallels hasn't forgotten that many people still use XP. In my case, there are only three or four programs I run under windows, and I have no intention of buying a later version of windows when there is no reason (Parallels 9 aside) to do so.

 

I just upgraded from parallels 7 to parallels 9 and was wondering what had gone horribly wrong - as well as menu items disapearing behind the dock they also disappear behind the mac menu bar at the top of the screen as well. I wish that online reviews for parallels mentioned this. I use XP for lots of engineering programs on my laptop and this particular 'feature' has ruined it for me. If there isn't a sensible solution (none of the workarounds mentioned) I'm going to have to try and remove V9 and go back to V7.

 

The Dock over the window is not a big problem with me, even though it is very annoying (because i put dock on the left) but what is unworkable is in Coherence mode if you maximize a windows window you cannot ever close it or resize it because the Mac Menu bar covers the buttons on the top of the window. Is it time to give VMware a try? or is there a work around?

 

I am having the same issue where the top bar in any windows application under Coherence is hidden behind the top MAC menu bar. This has made Coherence mode completely unusable in PD9 and it has made me wonder whether i should switch. You cant minimize or resize windows applications at all.

Any work around?

 

I found the Work around:

Windows keystroke shortcut for Restore down Alt Space "R" will get your window so you can move it.

 

While I understand some of the design decisions that were made, I agree with others that this is a poor decision or at least not a complete solution.

For years, I have been using Parallels and have chosen to keep my windows taskbar parked at the top of the screen and hidden until needed. This has worked great for me. Now with Parallels 9, I have to keep the windows taskbar visible, but it is only half visible. I can't hide it, because then it becomes completely invisible and a pain to bring visible. This is a horrible design.

It seems that you have made a design decision based on a use case for one version of windows (both 8 and 8.1) which impacts every version of windows used and every user, regardless of how they normally use the task bar. The "solution" provided earlier is by no means a workaround and is very weak.

I would venture to guess that the majority of your users are using an older version of windows, including Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and multiple versions of Windows Server. To penalize all of us for a small group of users that might be using Windows 8.x makes no sense. You have made Parallels an inferior solution as a result.

I would highly recommend at least adding an option to allow this new "feature" to be available only if chosen by the user. At least only those people that have Windows 8.x will be affected.

 

Using older versions of windows

I want to add to this discussion. The design to align the task bar in Windows and OSX has no benefit to users of older windows OSs. I, for one, keep Windows XP on hand to minimize use of my HD for Parallels, which I use primarily for software not available on OSX.

Please restore the old defaults.

My task bars are constantly overlapped and I have had to slip my Windows task bar to the bottom of the screen - where I constantly have to do it, and do it again, because minute slips that then catch the Mac menu hidden below.

Big mistake to upgrade.

Don't do it until this gets worked out.

 

I have to say this bug (Change) really ticks me off. I run a single instance of XP so that I can run a single old windows app. I don't want to see the windows Start button, Task bar or application list ever. When I want to start an application I use the Command+Space and start typing to launch what I want. The reason I liked Parallels was because I don't want to ever think about what OS I am using and now I have crap scattered like confetti across my UI, which I can't turn off. Yes all the "options" to do so are grayed out so I'm stuck with either not using coherence and running as window or I have stuff that just gets in my way.

This is so bad. I want a refund. Worst upgrade decision ever.

 

This work around works, thank you!

 

From the poor English syntax and grammar of Parallels' "explanation" of its inexplicable decision to ruin the UI of not one, but two OSs at once, you can clearly tell it was some developer who made this decision and wrote this rationalization. And rationalization is all it clearly is, since nobody who uses Windows on a Mac would ever want it this way.

At least we know it isn't a bug; it was a decision. But what a truly uninformed and ridiculous decision. It's made even more insane by the very fact that Win8.1 apps do NOT get the "full area" treatment because they would be unusable. Why the Start Screen/Task Bar are different can only be explained using the impenetrable logic of some ESL developer who needs to have a product manager whip him or her up side the head.

 

"Me Too". I just upgraded to Parallels 9 so I can run it in the newest OSX. This design decision is horrible. It makes Parallels of no use to me. I'm running XP, to cling to the last Windows program I still need. I will not be buying Windows 8. Don't break Parallels for every other OS.

 

Me too!!!!!! I really want to hide the task bar. Any solution?

 

I mostly use Windows XP and Windows 7 virtual machines on a retina MacBook Pro and this design choice is terrible!
On windows 7 I can go in windowed mode and can somehow obtain a decent user experience. On xp, instead, the windowed mode on retina is awful! So I practically can't use any maximized window (try to use Visual Studio without maximizing it, if you can).

Please provide us Win7 and WinXP users a way to revert to the old coherence mode.

 

If you enable the MacLook feature, things will get better!

 

Such a pain in the arse having to reach around your dock and having stuff getting lost behind the menu bar. I knew there use to be an option to keep stuff from doing this.. so did a search and discovered this thread, finding out that they decided it would be best if we had no such option... just great.

 

So, Parallels intentionally f..d up our way of working, making it intentionally worse.
Without any option or choice.
Not a nice outcast for the future, maybe we also need to rethink our workflow that involves Parallels….

 

I agree with IanWebb 100%. I shouldn't have to change my desktop layout to suit this. I actually use the Windows Taskbar at the top of the screen. (I'm an old OS/2 guy). In Parallels 8 it fit nicely under the OSX menubar, now it sits ½ under it.

It seems like it would be a fairly simple option to allow it to revert to the older method.

-Will