APPROACH 1
This approach is a hack, but works with the least expensive version of Parallels.
On the virtual Windows machine:
- Create a *.bat file for each possible set of parameters. For example:
@echo off
start "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\MyApplication.exe" --myArg
exit
On the Mac:
- Navigate to
$(HOME)/Applications (Parallels)/VMNAME
Applications, where VMNAME is the name of a virtual machine.
- Duplicate the MyApplication.app application bundle and rename the duplicate MyApplication --arg.app.
- Right-click MyApplication --myArg.app and choose "Show Package Contents*.
- Open Contents/Resources/AppParams.pva in an editor (e.g., TextEdit), and change the value of the
App Path
property to the absolute path in the virtual machine to the *.bat file, rather than the application. Save the file.
This is similar to @johnl's answer above, which provided the vital clue. However, at least in Parallels 11, the App Path
property would only work with an application path, not with a command line.
APPROACH 2
As of Parallels 11, this approach requires one of the more expensive editions of Parallels - Pro or Business. I don't have either, and haven't tested this approach.
According to the Parallels manual Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition, the command prlctl exec
can accept a command to be executed on the Windows virtual machine.
prlctl exec
Executes a command inside a virtual machine. Parallels Tools must be installed in a virtual machine to use this utility. Commands in Linux guests are invoked with bash -c
.
Syntax
prlctl exec vm_id|vm_name command
Parameters
Name Description
vm_id|vm_name The UUID or the name of the virtual machine.
command A command to execute.