How To Open A Local File Using Published Applications

Using Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS), end users can open a file on their device using published applications. This may come in handy for employees using their own devices on the go.
 

How-to Guide

To make use of this functionality, IT staff has to assign the desired file extensions to the specific published resource. This way the employees don’t have to worry about installing additional software on any device—the only installation needed is Parallels Client. 

 In this tutorial, two file extensions will be demonstrated. 

  1. Word document for quick access to files and notes from anywhere. 
  2. PDF file to read any manual or technical documentation. 

Microsoft Word Demonstration

We will show how to set up Parallels RAS to open local Word files with the published application Microsoft Word 2016. Using Parallels Client to connect to the Parallels RAS Farm, we can open the Word file locally on the device, using Microsoft Word as a published application. 

Follow these steps to enable this feature from the Parallels RAS Console. 

local file published app

Open the Parallels RAS Console and navigate to the “Publishing” category. 

  1. Select the application you would like to make available for use by local files. For this example, we will use Microsoft Word 2016. 
  2. Select the “File Extensions” tab. 
  3. Check “Associate File Extensions:” 
  4. Click on the “+” button on the right-hand side of the console.
    local file published app
  5. Enter the file extensions you would like to allow. If you are adding more than one file extension at a time, please enter a semicolon (;) between each extension. Finally, click “OK followed by “Apply” on the bottom right-hand side of the console. 

Once enabled, users can open their local files using published applications. The following steps illustrate the process: 

 local file published app

  1. Right-click on the file you would like to open. 
  2. Select “Open with”. 
  3. Click Parallels ClientNote that we already have Microsoft Word 2016 installed on this device, but we will use the published application through Parallels Client. 

 local file published app

As you can see in the screenshot above, the local file is opened with the published Microsoft Word 2016 via the Parallels Client. 

 

Adobe PDF Demonstration (via Turbo.net)

This demonstration shows how to set up Parallels RAS to open local PDF files with a published application from Turbo.net, Adobe Acrobat Reader. Using Parallels Client to connect to the Parallels RAS Farm, we can open the PDF file locally on the device, using Adobe PDF as a published application. 

Follow these steps to enable this feature from the Parallels RAS Console. 

 local file published app

Open the Parallels RAS Console and navigate to the “Publishing” category. 

  1. Select the application you would like to make available for use by local files. For this example, we will be using Acrobat Reader. 
  2. Select the “File Extensions” tab. 
  3. Check “Associate File Extensions:” 
  4. Click on the “+” button on the right-hand side of the console.
    local file published app
  5. Enter the file extension you would like to allow. Finally, click “OK” followed by “Apply” on the bottom right-hand side of the console. 

Once enabled, users can open their local files using published applications. The following steps illustrate the process: 

 local file published app

  1. Right-click on the file you would like to open. 
  2. Select “Open with”. 
  3. Click Parallels ClientNote that we already have Google Chrome, which also supports opening PDF files installed on this device, but we will use the published application through Parallels Client.
    local file published app
  4. A window showing the preparation of the containerized application will pop up after clicking on the Parallels Client option. 

 local file published app

As you can see in the screenshot above, the local file is opened with the published containerized Adobe Reader via the Parallels Client.