Linking Office for Mac to VMWare Fusion 4

In order to be able to connect with my employer's old Windows 2003 Server, I need to run Microsoft Outlook in a Windows Environment. Therefore, I have VMWare Fusion 4 (which is quite good). I also have Microsoft Office for Mac and Microsoft Office for Windows installed on the computer. In day to day operation, I choose to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint from the Office for Mac, but whenever I access a word, excel or PP file from my e-mail, I have to use the Windows based Office programs.

I am wondering if anyone knows a way that I could get rid of the windows based Office and have those word, excel and PP files link directly to the Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

Appreciate any help you can offer.

Cheers,

VMWare Fusion has a feature called Unity that allows you to run applications on the guest OS as if they were running natively on the Host. But, I don't believe this goes the other way.

The closest thing you can do is to have a Shared Folder between OS X and the Windows guest. Ensure that folder is mounted in Windows, and save the files you get through e-mail to this folder and then load them in Office for Mac.

Raz0rEdge said:

VMWare Fusion has a feature called Unity that allows you to run applications on the guest OS as if they were running natively on the Host. But, I don't believe this goes the other way.

The closest thing you can do is to have a Shared Folder between OS X and the Windows guest. Ensure that folder is mounted in Windows, and save the files you get through e-mail to this folder and then load them in Office for Mac.

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Thanks for the suggestions. I already use Unity and do sometimes open the files through the shared folder, but I was hoping for something more direct.

The only way you could do what you want is for VMWare to add a feature in the VMWare Host Tools that you install in your Guest Windows installation that allow you to set the default "Open With" programs inside Windows to something on your host (OS X in this case).

That way, if you didn't have Word installed, instead of popping up the "What application do you want to use" dialog, Windows would just pass along the file to VMWare which could use the shared folder or something else to make it available to Word on OS X to load..

But short of that happening, using Unity and shared folder might be your only options..

Thanks Raz0rEdge, maybe if I ask them really nicely, they will develop and add that feature for me......

It wouldn't help at all to suggest that feature through their form: Feature Request

Raz0rEdge said:

It wouldn't hurt at all to suggest that feature through their form: Feature Request

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Fixed that for ya. ;D

Haha..thanks Tom..nicely managed to mix "wouldnt' hurt" and "would help" huh? I make fun of my wife for doing that..looks like her habit is rubbing off on me..

I have suggested the feature on their form. I am quite certain that they already hard at it, and I should have an update for Fusion in the morning...

Thanks for your help.