A PVMZ file is a compressed virtual machine created with Parallels Desktop emulation software. It contains the contents of a hard drive and memory that are used to load a Windows operating system (or other supported OS) on a Macintosh computer. PVMZ files are the same as .PVM files but are Zip-compressed to save space.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is an operating system virtualization program that allows Windows and other operating systems to run on an Intel-based Mac. The software provides several tools for managing a virtual machine (VM) saved in the PNMZ file. You can pause, suspend, shut down, or restart the operating system or take snapshots of different states of the VMs, which enables you to revert back to a saved configuration. The virtualization program also offers Parallels Toolbox with Parallels Desktop. You can archive files, record your screen, take screenshots, record audio, and convert video.