This section teaches how to capture and release input devices (like your mouse and keyboard) inside a virtual machine.
When you power on a virtual machine, either during installation or normal operation, you will need to capture the computer's input devices in the virtual machine to interact with it exactly as if you were using a standalone computer. Since each virtual machine is independent, it will not "see" the primary OS, and consequently, you will not be able to access Parallels Workstation's menu and toolbar from inside the virtual machine without manually releasing your input devices to the primary OS.
To lock keyboard and mouse in a virtual machine screen, do one of the following:
Ctrl+I
on your keyboard.To release the keyboard and mouse to your primary OS:
Ctrl+Alt
). The keyboard and mouse will be released immediately. Now you will be able to manage your virtual machines using the Parallels Workstation controls, manage your primary operating system, or capture the keyboard and the mouse in another virtual machine.
The default hot key combination for releasing keyboard/mouse can be changed in the Hot Key Combinations tab of the Preferences window.
Note. You can free the mouse and the keyboard from the virtual machine screen without pressing the hot key combination if you install the Parallels Tools. See Parallels Tools Overview to learn if this package is available for your guest operating system.