My question is, can I open a virtual machine image created on my Mac with my windows computer at work? Create virtual server on Mac with VMWare Fusion, clone it to a USB stick, bring it to work and use it at work, save it back to usb stick, go home and copy it back to the mac and continue working. May 17, 2019 I typically have Google Chrome running on the Mac side, for example, while testing out software apps in Windows in VMware Fusion, and go back and forth as things proceed. Easy and darn convenient versus carrying two separate computers. To run Windows in a virtual machine within macOS, use Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or VirtualBox. This method will allow you to run Mac and Windows applications concurrently, though the virtual machine does not support as much Windows functionality as a dual-boot configuration. To run Windows programs without having to install Windows.

On my current project, it’s necessary to host a Windows virtual machine from my MacBook Pro using VMware Fusion. This can sometimes result in a frustrating and slow development process. Out of the box:

• I found myself unable to use my window manager to move and resize windows as I would’ve liked,
• I experienced window flickering from the guest OS,
• I was unable to share files between the 2 operating systems, and
• I didn’t have a shared paste buffer.

Overall, I found the integration between the two less than seamless and pretty painful. Over the past couple of months, I’ve picked up a couple of tricks to make the experience less frustrating.

1. Consider which View Mode to Use

VMware Fusion has been designed from the beginning to make it easy to run Windows apps like Mac apps. VMware Fusion 3 makes it even better with the “Always On” Applications Menu that banishes the Windows Start menu from your Mac and let’s you find and launch Windows apps like Mac apps, even when VMware Fusion is not running.

Vmware offers 3 options to run the guest operating system. After some experimentation, I prefer unity mode. To try unity mode, while the guest OS is running, use shift + cmd + u. Once in unity mode, you can use that same shortcut to toggle it back off. You can also find this option in the VMware Utilities menu under View => Unity.

Unity mode has worked well for me for several reasons. First, it makes the virtualized apps look like they are running more like native apps. Practically, this means that you can use command+tab to toggle through them like a Mac app. And you can use command instead of control for simple shortcuts like copy/paste.

Additionally, running in unity mode allows you to have the windows of the guest operating system on more than one display. While these are small benefits, they save me a lot of time and frustration throughout the day.

2. Add Windows Apps to the Mac Applications Folder

Adding windows apps to the host’s applications folder will allow you to use spotlight search (cmd + space) to open them.

You can even add guest apps to the Mac applications folder. This makes it much easier to open apps quickly like a new windows PowerShell window or other windows app.

3. Set Up a Clear Folder Sharing Structure

VMware provides a way to share folders across the host and guest. That means that both can read the files, and you can configure permissions on what OS can write to these files.

I’ve found it’s easiest to keep the project repository in a shared folder, where both the host and guest OS can read and write to it. This allows me to use the host OS for all of the source control work I need to do, like committing, pushing, and pulling the project. This way, I can keep using my host gitconfig and ssh keys without having to set that up in the guest OS.

Other members of my team use a different sharing strategy that works for them, but it’s a good idea to consider how to make this feature work for you.

Run Windows Apps On Mac Vmware Fusion Download

Of course, there are still pain points in my workflow. I use Spectacle to organize my Mac windows, and for that, it works great. However, Spectacle doesn’t do so well when I try to move the Windows apps around, often making them the wrong size or putting them off the screen.

I’m still searching for a replacement that could work for both native mac apps, and with VMware fusion to manage the position of the guest applications. Let me know down in the comments if you have a recommendation for one or if you have other tips for this topic.

InformationWeek recently published their list of “Top 19 Mac Apps For Tight Budgets” and VMware Fusion was chosen app to run Windows on the Mac.

Mitch Wagner summarizes why Mac users on a tight budget need VMware Fusion.

The most common use is to run Windows and get access to proprietary Windows apps that are not available for the Mac … As if that’s not cool enough, Fusion will let you do a few more things: You can share data between the 'guest operating system' and the Mac. You can set some Windows apps to be the default app for specific kinds of documents. And you can run Windows apps in their own, separate windows on the Mac, so they look more like native Mac apps.

In addition to VMware Fusion, there are a lot of other great apps on the InformationWeek Top 19 Mac Apps list that I personally use daily including TextWrangler, Adium, Evernote, Things, and Tweetie. So, I highly recommend you check out the InformationWeek Top 19 Mac Apps list to find some great apps you may not be using today but should check out.

Run Windows Apps On Mac Vmware Fusion 10

If you aren’t already using VMware Fusion, download a 30-day trial and see why VMware Fusion is the top app for running Windows on a tight budget.