Experiencing Problem with Language Setting on VM Windows?

Running virtual machines on Mac invite more problems then a user would ask for. But if there is unintended consequences Parallels team could have foreseen is the locale settings on each OS. I, for one, run at least 2-3 OS at the same time: Mac as a main, Windows for Korean-exclusive workstation, and Ubuntu for minor languages Linux community is somehow fond of.

We can talk about these peculiar mass behaviors in another post. But knowing you will be working with different languages on the same machine, hoping to be granted of two virtual work spaces, Parallels should have seen this one coming. On each operating systems, you would have a specific locale language settings, anything from AA to ZZ, and every time you switch, Parallels also update the input method corresponding to your Mac.

The problem is US English input method on Windows does not support any other languages. No latin based European languages, not even British English, and etc. There is no tréma or Eszett for German. And for any Asian languages that use Latin characters on the side, nobody would bother selecting English as an input language.

Apparently the folks at Parallels have never typed on different languages than of American English. Parallels and Windows 8 being dumb at the same time could take some time to get used to. Here’s the official knowledge base page behind this “feature” of theirs.

  1. Find the Virtual Machine file with .pvm extension.
  2. Open the file via ‘show package contents’, and open config.pvs with TextEdit.
  3. Search for the following line and edit the value from 1 to 0:
<KeyboardLayoutSync dyn_lists="">
 <Enabled>1</Enabled>

This misconception is not unique to Parallels. Developers have been trying to create a problem so that they can create a new ‘feature’ for a new product. They try to guess what kind of problem will rise, fix it, and then sell it as a feature exclusive for a paid update. Unfortunately, this kind of features, developed just to be a selling-point, is often moot and counterintuitive for the consumers. Actually calling it counterintuitive is an understatement, it’s more or less a nightmare.

updated Jan 22, 2017: edited for better readability.

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