Guidance on Desktop Sharing via External Displays, please?

Hey Folks -

I'm runing Desktop 9 on an MBP 15/Retina. The Guest OS I'm running in Parallels is Windows 8.1, NOT in coherence mode.

I had a hell of a time sharing my desktops (both the Mac and Windows) while onsite with a customer. Wish you could have seen me - it was damn comic, actually.

Here's what I expected / wanted to occur:

-Attach Mac to projector
-Mac Desktop is displayed/mirrored full screen on the projector
-A "Three Finger Swipe" to the left or right drops me into the Parallels (Win 8.1) Desktop, which is also mirrored on my MBP display and the projector


Not close to what happened. Windows actually detected and added another Monitor when I plugged into the projector, went into Extended Desktop mode, and was projecting the extended desktop (an empty screen with no desktop icons or task bar, sized at 1024 x 768).

I fumbled around for quite some time, managed to get the external display to project the Guest's primary desktop directly and I "drove" while not looking at my MBP display - I couldn't get it to mirror.

Question: Is it possible to configure Parallels to function in the manner I describe / hope for in the bulleted list? If not, what is YOUR prefered way to deal with projecting both the MBP and Windows Desktop during a presentation? Should I just switch into coherence mode?

Thanks, all!

 

Hi Russell_Hamburglar,

Please follow the steps mentioned below to connect a projector to your Mac:

1. Turn ON your Mac
2. Plug in projector to an electrical outlet and turn it ON
3. Connect the video cable (usually VGA) from the projector to the Mac. In order to do this, you will most likely need a Mac adapter cable. (Note: There are at least five different Mac adapter cables, which will vary depending on your computer's video inputs.)
4. Once the Mac and projector are connected, click on the Apple Menu in the top left corner of your screen
5. Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu
6. Select the Displays icon
7. When the Displays window appears, click the Detect Displays button

At this point your Mac and projector should be synchronized. If not, try following the steps below:

. Click on the Apple Menu in the top left corner of your screen (Step 4)
. Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu (Step 5)
. Select the Displays icon (Step 6)
. When the Displays window appears, select the Arrangement tab within the menu bar
. Check the Mirror Displays box in the lower left-hand corner of the window (Note: After checking this box, please wait several seconds. Once the displays are mirrored, you should seee the same image on both your projector and computer.)

Once your Mac is connected to the projector, you bsould be able to see Windows too as Parallels Desktop is an App running on your Mac

Thanks,
Looran