Parallels Toolbox, an ever-growing suite of handy single-purpose tools that simplify common computing tasks to just a click or two, has received a major update for both Mac and PC users. New tools and key features include presentation mode, capture for lengthy webpages, free memory reclaim, quick resolution switching, and time-saving tools to download and edit videos or make a GIF. A Parallels Business Edition also launched today, which gives IT the control they need to easily provide employees with tools to be more productive.
Presentation Mode
Have you ever done a presentation, and had it disrupted by a pesky notification that shows up on the top right corner? Presentation mode fixes this by disabling notifications and alerts as a whole. In addition to this, it’ll also disable desktop icons, sleep mode, and even adjusts the resolution on your external display to properly fit your presentation. Watch the Parallels video below of head-to-head presentation solution comparisons to see how getting into Presentation Mode takes less than 26 seconds, versus taking well over 5 minutes to get all of these settings and toggles adjusted.
Without Parallels Toolbox, you have to go in and turn on Do Not Disturb, disable sleep mode, and change the resolution of your external display. These are not in the same location in System Preferences, unfortunately.
Screenshot Page
How do you capture a screenshot of a webpage that’s longer than your screen? This Parallels Toolbox option allows you to take a screenshot of the webpage you’re looking at, without pain. It only takes a few seconds and can take a full page or the current page you’re looking at. It will even save the screenshot to your desktop so there’s no hassle there, either.
This head-to-head video of Snagit 2018 vs. Parallels Toolbox capturing a long-web page shows what a difference having the right tool can make.
When you use Safari, Parallels Toolbox makes it even easier to capture a lengthy webpage.
Free Memory
You can never have too much RAM. So, before you run a graphic-intensive app or game, click on this new tool to quickly release inactive memory and optimize memory consumption on your Mac.
Clean Drive
Do you need more disk space? Simply click on this too to discover and reclaim gigabytes of disk space, as this video demo shows.
Switching Resolutions
Something we take for granted on macOS is switching resolutions. However, newer Macs with Retina displays are restricted to “Retina resolutions” so you’re not able to get the lowest or highest resolution possible because macOS only shows resolutions scaled at 2x.
With this new Parallels Toolbox tool, you can quickly change resolution to max it out, albeit, it may be more difficult to read, set it to the lowest resolution possible, or a variety of resolutions in-between, so you can get and use the resolution you need anytime your needs change.
Editing videos
Editing videos, which is somewhat easy on macOS, can be even simpler and more intuitive. In this new Parallels Toolbox update, you’ll be able to create and edit GIFs with your chosen frame rate and resolution fin a snap, download YouTube videos, and convert videos. Seeing is believing, so check out these video demos to see how easy it can be to get these tasks done.
Business Edition
Parallels Toolbox Business Edition gives IT departments the total control they need to easily manage licenses and subscriptions with a unified volume licensing key that can be split into sublicenses, license management portal, customizable tool library, and simple mass deployment and administration.
Additional details about the update can be found here. A free trial is available at parallels.com/toolbox and after that you’re looking at $19.99/year, which includes updates with new tools that are added to your toolbox about every three months. Parallels Toolbox is available for both macOS and Windows, and a Parallels Toolbox Business Edition that gives IT admins the control they need to easily provide employees the time-saving PC and Mac tools they need.
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