Virtualising macOS on Apple silicon Macs has its limitations, which are determined by the version of macOS running on the guest and the host. This article explains how you can break free of several of those, and run enhanced VMs by using remote management. Among the missing features this enables are:

• full ISO keyboards without a missing key,
• file exchange between guest and host using drag and drop, without shared folders,
• shared clipboard, allowing copy and paste between guest and host,

even for Monterey guests.

If you can afford the $80 or so to pay for it, the simplest way to do this is with Remote Management and Apple Remote Desktop (ARD, $80 or so from the App Store). If you’re unlikely to use ARD elsewhere and would prefer a free alternative, then you can use the Screen Sharing app in /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications, started by entering the VM’s IP address in the host’s browser in a URL of the form
vnc://192.168.64.15.

In the VM

Once you have downloaded ARD, open the VM you want to use in either Vimy or Viable, ensuring that it has a network connection. In the VM, open System Preferences or System Settings, then (General) Sharing. Tick the Remote Management item there, and in the dialog that pops up tick all the boxes, to allow complete control. This enables the VM to act as VNC client for ARD or Screen Sharing.

In the host

Open the Remote Desktop app, and step through its brief configuration until it displays its Scanner view, where you should now see your VM as one of two or more options listed.

Select the VM and click on the Control tool in the toolbar at the top of ARD’s window.

You’ll be prompted for the username and password for the VM, then ARD will open another window containing the VM display, identical to that already opened in Vimy/Viable. Switch back to that original window and click on its yellow control at the top left to minimise it into the Dock, so you don’t do everything in stereo.

Added features

You can now view and control the host in its ARD window. For instance:

• Drag and drop files between Finder windows in the VM and those on the host, to copy them.
• Change the keyboard on the host (not the VM) and use that layout; if the keyboard is in ISO format, the additional key at the upper left (under the Escape key) now works as you’d expect.
• Ensure the Clipboard tool in the ARD window is set to use the shared clipboard, and you can copy and paste between the ARD window on the VM and the host.
• Scale the ARD window on the VM to make that window smaller. You can’t, though, use it to scale the contents of the window to a larger size.
• Use standard key shortcuts to make screenshots of windows or the display in the ARD window.
• Trackpad controls include gestures set on the host, and work smoothly and reliably with all guests.

These work uniformly across Monterey, Ventura and Sonoma VMs, even though Monterey VMs don’t themselves support some of those features.

Close the VM

When you want to shut that VM down, the most reliable way is to use the Shut Down menu command in the ARD window on the VM, rather than opening the original VM window. That ensures the VM is shut down correctly, disconnecting it from ARD. Then close the empty ARD window, which will now be showing a spinning progress indicator as it’s looking for that connection. If you’re going on to run and connect another VM using Vimy, you can then double-click the VM you want to open next and repeat the process.

When not to use ARD

The only task that you shouldn’t use ARD for, is when you are going to update macOS in the VM. That will disconnect ARD and could lead to problems during or after the update.

Random notes

In testing Vimy and ARD to prepare for this article, I took the opportunity to review my collection of VMs, going back to Monterey 12.4, and covering twelve different versions of macOS right up to the latest Sonoma beta. The only problem that I experienced during this is that Monterey VMs won’t update reliably. Even macOS 12.6.1 ends up with a permanent black screen when I tried to update it to the current version. Otherwise each VM was happy with a new Settings.plist generated by Viable or copied inside the VM bundle manually, and being renamed with the .vimi extension. I still haven’t got the new format’s custom icon working, but I’ll have to come back on that when I’ve worked out where it’s failing.

Happy virtualising, and my thanks to Tobias Bussmann who suggested using ARD in this way. It’s an absolutely crazy way to enhance your VMs, but the results are truly amazing. Please thank Tobias for his stroke of genius.