El Capitan compatible CrossOver Mac is the easiest way to run Microsoft Windows software on your Mac without buying a Windows license, rebooting or using a virtual machine.
CrossOver Mac makes it easy to launch Windows programs natively from the dock, and integrates Mac OS functionality like cross-platform copy & paste and shared file systems to your Windows applications.
CrossOver Mac runs Windows productivity software, utility programs, and games all in one application. And without the overhead of a virtual machine, programs and games can run as fast or faster than they would under a Windows operating system.
Crossover Mac Run As Administrator Program
Luckily, two applications that make it easy to try out an app in WINE on Mac exist: CrossOver Mac, a paid application that offers a trial period, and WineBottler, a custom build of WINE that works. Learn how to run a program as an administrator. Learn how to change the privilege level of a program and adjust its advanced settings.Don't forget to check o. We already know that the new Macs with M1 chip can run both Intel and ARM apps made for macOS and iOS, but Mac users who rely on Windows for some specific software have lost Boot Camp support. CrossOver runs the Windows software that you need on Mac at home, in the office, or at school without purchasing a Windows license, without rebooting your computer, and without having to use a virtual machine. And CrossOver can run a wide range of Windows software. Many Windows titles can be installed using our CrossTie technology.
Verdict:
A cost effective and simple way to run PC software on you make with a minimum of effort.
At a Glance
Expert’s Rating
Cons
- Bugs, minimal app support, relies on user forums for bug tracking
Our Verdict
Sometimes, what is possible it not always practical. Some users, such as those who absolutely must run a legacy Windows application, have found it’s possible to load Windows on a Mac. Not for the faint of heart, the process involves booting into Windows—you’ll need software such as Apple’s Boot Camp (free)—or running Windows within a virtual machine application such as Parallels () or VMware Fusion ().
A slicker option is CodeWeaver’s CrossOver Mac Pro 8.0, an application that runs a virtual environment so you can run Windows applications on your Mac. (We tested the Pro version, which supports both apps and games.) With CrossOver 8 installed on your Mac, you can insert a Windows installer disc such as the one for Microsoft Office 2007 or Quicken 2009 for Windows, install the program, and run it without actually running Windows. This saves time, because you never have to boot the Windows OS. And, theoretically, it should make Windows apps run faster on your Mac.
CrossOver Mac Pro 8 is a smart application; it relies on the open-source Wine application for running Windows apps and streamlines the install process. However, since the CrossOver 7 () release last year, the new version only adds support for one major, new Windows application (Quicken 2009) and tweaks Office 2007 compatibility. CodeWeavers has not addressed my chief complaint, which is that the application does not provide any guidance as to whether an application will work at the time of install, and relies instead on an online user forum. So, CrossOver 8 is smarter, but still not smart enough.
Application testing
Of course, the real strength of CrossOver 8 is whether it will work for the applications and games you want to run, not any interface issues. For example, I know of a design agency that still uses Adobe FrameMaker 7 to access an extensive archive of page layout documents. In some other cases, you might need to run a Windows program such as Microsoft Word 2007 because that’s the version dictated by your company. Fortunately, CrossOver 8 has tweaked support for Office 2007 and now runs more reliably and faster, and adds support for features such as inserting clip art. That said, on my MacBook with 2GB of RAM and a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, Office 2007 still crashed to the Desktop at least once per hour.
Crossover Mac Run As Administrator Tool
CrossOver 8 supports some of the more popular—but still not the very latest—PC games, such as Left4Dead. That game in particular is important because it ranks up there with World of Warcraft () as a popular multiplayer game without a Mac version (yet). Left4Dead actually ran quite smoothly and even worked for a multiplayer co-op match.
I also tested Internet Explorer 7. After a few “dry runs” the app finally installed. Sites rich with ActiveX components, such as Live.com, ran quite well. Quicken 2009 never crashed, although parts of the program (such as the start-up screen) have noticeable graphical glitches. Accessing these apps is easy: CrossOver puts icons for Windows apps in a folder, a nice touch, and you can even drag them to the dock for easy access.
Still, most new Windows apps will not work. I tried Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Windows (which uses PC-centric copy protection) and a preview version of Word 2010 (which requires .Net) without success. Recent games—everything from Fallout 3 to Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood—also failed to install.
CodeWeavers says that CrossOver 8 will be the last to support OS 10.4 (Tiger). Versions of CrossOver released before version 8 are not compatible with OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Also, if you’re running OS 10.5 (Leopard), you need to use CrossOver 6.2 or later.
Macworld’s buying advice
You might think that CrossOver 8 is a terrible way to run Windows apps—even Office 2007 support is limited. In my view, for a company of only 25 people trying to create a way to avoid virtual instances of the full Windows OS, CrossOver 8 is getting there, slowly but surely. I imagine by next year, with the already-planned release of CrossOver 9, Codeweavers will iron out more Office 2007 bugs. (Okay, by that time, Left4Dead 2 will be out and Windows 7 will cause even more headaches.) Still, with CrossOver 8, the possibilities are endless; now they just need to work on the practical.
[John Brandon is a 20-year veteran Mac user who used to run an all-Mac graphics department.]