Last updated on January 10, 2020
Just Released: Parallels Toolbox for Mac 2.5 and Parallels Toolbox for Windows 1.5!
When Parallels® Toolbox for Mac was first released in August 2016, it had 20 tools, and we promised a steady stream of new tools in later releases.
We’ve kept that promise:
- Version 1.0 – 20 tools
- Version 1.3 – 25 tools
- Version 1.5 – 25 tools
- Version 1.7 – 29 tools
- Version 2.0 – 32 tools
- Version 2.5 – 35 tools
If this trend continues, it looks like Toolbox 5.0 will have more than 60 tools! (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1_The number of tools in Parallels Toolbox for Mac
But enough talk of the future—let’s talk about the release of Parallels Toolbox for Mac 2.5 and Parallels Toolbox for Windows 1.5.
Parallels Toolbox for Mac 2.5
Parallels Toolbox for Mac 2.5 contains three new tools.
| Screenshot Page | Takes screenshots of really long web pages as a single image file (either a PNG, JPEG, or PDF). In addition, it contains a Safari extension so you can screenshot an entire web page by clicking a button in the Safari toolbar. |
| Resize Image | Resizes one or more images, and also converts between image formats (PNG, JPEG, or TIFF). |
| Free Memory | Frees up the unused memory on your Mac—especially useful if you don’t reboot your Mac very often. |
We’ve also added a number of requested features for existing tools and for the suite as a whole, including:
- Monitor your drive with the Clean Drive tool and send a periodic reminder to clean up the drive.
- Specify a delay in Screenshot and Record Screen tools.
- See the dimensions of an area when taking a screenshot.
- See mouse clicks in recorded videos.
- Adjust file size for video recordings.
- Disable automatic Parallels Toolbox updates
Figure 2 shows the main Parallels Toolbox menu with the three new tools earmarked. Watch for future blog posts detailing some of these new tools and features.
Figure 2_The main Toolbox for Mac menu
Parallels Toolbox for Windows 1.5
Parallels Toolbox for Windows 1.5 also contains three new tools.
| Presentation Mode | Automatically detects a connected external display or projector and enables several options to minimize distractions: hide files on the desktop, disable notifications, and block computer from going to sleep. |
| Switch Resolution | Enables you to quickly switch display resolutions from the tool itself or from the Windows taskbar. |
| Clean Drive | Assists you in cleaning up files or folders on your drive that you no longer need. |
There’s also a number of new features:
- See the dimensions of an area when taking a screenshot.
- See mouse clicks in recorded videos.
- Get updated support for various video sites with the Download Video tool.
Figure 3 shows the main Parallels Toolbox menu with the three new tools earmarked. Watch for future blog posts detailing some of these new tools and features.
Figure 3_The main Toolbox for Windows panel
Parallels Toolbox for Mac and Parallels Toolbox for Windows are both subscription products, so if your subscription is active, just use the “Check for Updates …” menu item (Figure 4) to get all these new tools and features.
Figure 4_How to Check for Updates in Parallels Toolbox
My most frequently used tool is Download Video, which I use so I can put new Facebook or YouTube videos on my iPad to show others. Let us know in the comments what tool you use most often.
