Testing sites in IE on Parallels with MAMP
A very quick tip for those who develop sites locally using MAMP. If you want to test those same sites in Parallels, there is a very simple configuration change that's needed.
Simply choose your desired Internet Connection under the Bridged Networking menu in Paralles. In my case, this was Ethernet 2. If you're unsure what connection your Mac is using, go to System Preferences -> Network and have a look:
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You also need to add your Mac's IP Address to your Windows Hosts file for your local website hostname. Take a note of this from your Network Preferences (in the screen grab, mine is 192.168.1.102). Now go to your Parallels system and locate your Hosts file. The quickest way is usually by typing in the directory name to the Windows Run command, and is normally: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
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You'll now see your Hosts file. Open this file up to edit it using the Open With command (Notepad is probably best).
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Now enter your Mac's IP address and the name of your site.
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Save the changes and you'll now be able to access your local sites in Internet Explorer or other browsers in Parallels.
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N.B. If your Mac changes IP address, you'll have to update the hosts file again.