#Opening .exe files on mac install
#Opening .exe files on mac manual
#Opening .exe files on mac software
#Opening .exe files on mac Pc

Type in a name for the virtual machine and select the directory or location for the Parallels Desktop.Once you're done selecting, click on 'Continue.'

#Opening .exe files on mac software

You will be asked to select how you wish to use Windows: Whether for productivity, games only, software development, design, etc.

Leave the 'Express installation' as it is, input the key and click 'Continue.'.

You will be taken to a Windows product key window.

#Opening .exe files on mac manual

You can even switch to the manual mode, locate the source for the Windows installation, and choose it by clicking on 'Select a file…'.

iso disc image or even a bootable USB drive.

#Opening .exe files on mac install

Click on 'Continue.' You can easily install Windows either from a DVD or the more popular.

Click on 'Install Windows or another OS from DVD or image file.'.

Open up your Mac's Application folder and double-click on the 'Parallels' icon (you have to do this to install Windows).

The long answer will be the subject of a future blog post. The short answer to “Why not?” is because the macOS and Boot Camp can’t talk to each other.

Oh yeah, and if you have Boot Camp ® on your Mac, you still won’t be able to double click on that “.exe” file and have it open. The easiest way to get Windows on your Mac is to get Parallels Desktop and a Windows VM.” The longer, more positive answer is, “ This is a Windows file, so you need Windows to open it. While the quick, short answer to the question at the beginning of this blog post still is, “ By itself, the Mac can’t open this file”… Windows then launches the application for that “.exe” file. When Parallels Desktop is launched because you clicked on an “.exe” file, Parallels Desktop boots your Windows VM and tells Windows that you want this “.exe” file opened. This is just like when you double click on a “.jpg” file and the macOS launches Preview, or when you double click on a “.docx” file and the macOS launches Microsoft Word. So when you double click on that “.exe” file, the macOS ® launches Parallels Desktop. Underneath, here is how the magic works: Parallels Desktop tells the Mac that it can open “.exe” files.

When you have Parallels Desktop and a Windows virtual machine (VM) on your Mac, everything just works when you double click on an “.exe” file. The Windows operating system is needed to open an “.exe” file. exe extension means that the file is a Windows application. With this background, it is understandable that the Mac by itself can’t open an “.exe” file because the. In other words, opening a file with an “.app” extension is really launching that application the macOS itself opens that file. When you double click on a file with the “.app” extension on a Mac, the macOS® launches that application. (See figure 1.)įigure 1_Applications on the Mac have the file name extension “.app” What you may not have noticed is that Mac applications themselves have an “.app” extension. Those files are word processing documents. Similarly, you may have noticed that files with extensions “.docx” or “.doc” are opened on the Mac by Microsoft Word or TextEdit. You may have noticed that files with extensions “.jpg” or “.jpeg” are opened by the Preview app on the Mac.

#Opening .exe files on mac Pc

File Extensionsīoth PC and Mac computers use three- or four-letter extensions on file names-the portion of the name after the period-to determine which application can open a file. The longer, more positive answer requires a little background. The quick, short answer is, “ By itself, the Mac can’t open this file.” How can I open this file?įrom a person who only uses Mac computers and iPads, this is a very reasonable question. My friend asked me to download a file named Paint-tool-sai.exe, but I can’t open it on my Mac.

I frequently get questions like this from Mac users: exe from your Mac by using Parallels Desktop® for Mac.