Downloading software to Virtual Machine on my mac m1

[T-mac]

Hi,

I have installed VM Fusion on my M1 mac.

I now need to down load software to it. Actually the software is on my m1 already but how do i access it in the VM?
How do I accesss software on my m1 from VM fusion?

TIA

 

[maw_walker]

What operating system are you running in VM fusion? You don't download software to fusion itself, fusion is just virtualization software that allows you to run other operating systems inside MacOS. Once you have another operating system installed, you launch that and from that virtualized operating system, you can download whatever you need.

 

[Alan B]

Certainly with Linux and macOS virtual machines, VMware Fusion can setup Mac shared folders which can be accessed from within running virtual machines. You’ll need to install VMware Tools or open-vm-tools first though. But it’s easier to download stuff directly when running your VMs as stated above.

 

[maw_walker]

Also not clear in what use case you would need to access software hosted on a Mac, from a VM. Files, yes and that shared folder scenario is perfect for that.

Typically VMs are completely different operating systems that would not run the software on a Mac anyway. OP stated they already have the software on their Mac. I am not understanding the scenario maybe.

 

[T-mac]

Also not clear in what use case you would need to access software hosted on a Mac, from a VM. Files, yes and that shared folder scenario is perfect for that.

Typically VMs are completely different operating systems that would not run the software on a Mac anyway. OP stated they already have the software on their Mac. I am not understanding the scenario maybe.

OS is Windows. Its a work thing. A lot of stuff governed and blocked. So was advised to create a virtual machine to work unhindered but need to download what i need again and or access whats already on the mac. Some stuff i use / will be using operate best in windows. Pretty sure i tried to move the software into a shared folder but i couldnt.

 

[maw_walker]

So, Windows software won't run on a Mac and vice versa. Are you talking about documents or files and not software?