Parallels Toolbox 5.0 adds new barcode, text conversion and image recognition tools to its roster
Parallels International GmbH has unveiled a major update to its eclectic toolkit for Windows and Mac users with the release of Parallels Toolbox 5.0. The latest new release adds five additional tools to its roster, along with a handful of improvements and other enhancements.
Version 5.0 opens by adding two new barcode tools. First, Barcode Generator can be used to generate 13 different types of barcodes including QR codes and EAN-8/EAN-13 codes. QR codes can be generated simply by typing (or pasting) the content to encode. The code can then be saved as PNG image or copied to the clipboard.
The tool is accompanied by Barcode Reader, which is capable of scanning in QR codes and barcodes from the computer’s camera or via an image file (such as that created using Barcode Generator).
Elsewhere a new Transform Text tool helps users quickly switch the case of selected text. 10 options are supported, from title case, all caps or sentence case to more obscure ones, including CamelCase (no spaces) and Kebab-case (spaces replaced by hyphens). The tool can also be used to remove empty and duplicate lines, plus reverse text, encode URLs and even produce upside down English text.
Parallels Toolbox 5.0 also adds OCR capabilities to its toolkit with the Recognize Text tool, while Focus on Window (macOS only) allows users to dim all windows except the currently selected one to aid focus.
Two existing tools get tweaked -- the Break Time tool no longer becomes active after restart if time tracking has been disabled, while macOS users should benefit from a complete rewrite of the Hide Menu Icons tool to improve performance.
The release also promises better compatibility with macOS 11 (Big Sur) and the forthcoming macOS 12 (Monterey), better Accessibility support and the added bonus of full keyboard navigation in the main Parallels Toolbox window.
The update also includes the new Dashboard introduced in Parallels Toolbox 4.5, along with a more navigable Library and dedicated search filters.
Parallels Toolbox 5.0 is available now as a free trial download for Windows and Mac. A subscription currently costs $19.99/€19.99/£15.99 per year.