MadCap Flare on Mac OS X (virtually)
I use MadCap Flare, an XML-based help authoring tool, regularly in my work as a Technical Writer. Until recently, I was a Windows user, so running Flare (a Windows-only application) was never a problem. Not too long ago though, I switched over to Mac for various reasons (none that are worth exploring here – that poor horse is already well beaten).
The first obvious challenge this presented was, how would I run Flare, since it runs only on Windows? Well, I didn’t make the jump to Mac without first considering this – I knew of a few solutions. Since keeping two machines around just did not make any sense whatsoever, the first viable option was just run Windows using Boot Camp. Anytime I needed to use Flare or another Windows-only app, I could use Mac’s Boot Camp and reboot into a natively installed version of Windows and go along my way.
The problem – I use Flare a lot – booting back and forth did not sound like how I wanted to spend all of my time. I needed something better.
The solution – virtualization – use software to run the second operating system on top of my native operating system.
With virtualization, I had a few choices. Mac has a program called Parallels, which allows you to run another operating system (Windows, for example) on top of the Mac operating system, for around 80 bucks.
There’s an Open Source solution, VirtualBox, offered by Sun, that will also run on Mac (or Windows, Linux, or OpenSolaris).
And also, there is VMware’s Fusion for Mac, which, like Parallels, for around 80 bucks will let you run your second operating system on top of Mac OS X.
In the end, the choice ended up being made for me – my company bought licenses for Fusion (since we develop software that runs on VMware, it was the logical choice).
Once installed, I used Fusion to load a pre-built Windows XP virtual machine. Once booted, the virtual version of Windows is no different than Windows running on a dedicated device – I was able to install Flare, adjust my environment settings, and I was ready to go. The real beauty of using Fusion, though, is Unity mode. This allows you to run your Windows applications as if they’re running natively, on Mac. Basically, Unity mode strips away the Windows OS front-end and allows the Windows apps to be launched directly from Mac OS X. They appear right in the dock when running, just like any other Mac application.
Even better, Flare (and any other installed Windows application) can be found and launched using Spotlight – note the tag “Doc Dev” after MadCap Flare in the following image, that’s Fusion letting me know that this app lives on my Windows virtual machine, which happens to be named “Doc Dev.”
Virtualization offers a ‘best of both (or any) worlds’ scenario. For me, that was sticking with the Mac OS X operating system and having access to the tools I need to get my job done, regardless of whether or not they were actually built to run there.
[...] http://thetechpub.org/?p=61 [...]
MadCap Flare on Mac OS X (virtually) « Mike’s MadCap Blog
29 Jan 10 at 1:24 pm
I moved over to Mac this year and use Parallels for my Windows apps. I use Flare on a work computer so haven’t had to consider adding it to my Mac but having used other apps in Parallels with no problem, I wouldn’t hesitate.
Here’s what I want to know: can you use VPN to connect to Windows in a Mac? The companies I work with are all off site and I would like to ditch the PC entirely and work solely from my Mac. Ideas?
Thanks!
Maeve
Maeve Maguire
29 Jan 10 at 3:22 pm
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30 Jan 10 at 11:51 am
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30 Jan 10 at 8:09 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Anzac, tjrainey, Mac OS X Tweets, MadCap Software, Inc, Maeve Maguire and others. Maeve Maguire said: Yay. RT @MadCapSoftware Blog post: Running Flare on Mac OS X http://bit.ly/cfhANb [...]
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31 Jan 10 at 8:00 am
Hi Maeve – the Mac I use is at the office, so I haven’t tried to do this – but don’t think it would be much of a problem – OS X has built in VPN support. Check out this link http://tinyurl.com/3sz4
Hope that helps.
tjrainey
31 Jan 10 at 9:57 am
[...] Running Flare on Mac OS X (virtually) [...]
Help authoring news and Product Reviews | TechTotal Technical Writing, Instructional Designing - ID Training Blog
9 Feb 10 at 11:28 pm
I used virtual windows to write SQL Server training materials on my old black clamshell mac laptop in the late 90’s. It caused some consternation when I worked on-site at MS… and even using the virtual machine it was faster than some of the desktops.
I really like Flare and this is one of the sticking points with me… I hate using the Windows box onsite to write. So I’m very interested in checking out Fusion’s Unity mode.
Thanks for posting.
homer
3 Mar 10 at 7:10 pm
@Maeve Maguire: Find out which VPN system is used by the companies you work for. I work for a company that uses a CISCO VPN, and their Mac OS X driver is great. Windows Remote Desktop Client for Mac is also great. You may experience a lag due to the internal network at your office. It was non-existent when I worked for a larger company with more resources.
@tjrainey: I’ve been really happy with my VirtualBox based install of Windows XP/Office 2007 that I recently upgraded to Windows 7. I notice a slight performance lag when running my complex VBA macro in the VBox rather than on a Windows client. (60 seconds rather than 26 seconds.)
Your comment about VMWare Fusion Unity mode gets me like, excited. VBox works when I switch to Office 2007 to program VBA. However, I can’t find anything on Mac OS X that competes with OneNote. I’m betting Fusion would make OneNote just scream. Gotta have it.
Okay. Time to look for your partner’s Android posts.
Cheers.
Tony Chung
25 Mar 10 at 1:04 am
Hi Tony – I just recently watched a demo that compared VMware’s Fusion and Mac’s Parallels virtualization software. For 3D graphics, Parallels blew Fusion out of the water. Parallels has a ‘Windows App on Mac’ feature like Fusion’s Unity mode, called Crystal mode, I believe. That may be worth looking or at least comparing before making a decision.
After seeing that demo, I’m considering going with Parallels to run Windows when I buy my Macbook Pro (if they EVER release the updated versions with the new i5/i7 processors)
tjrainey
25 Mar 10 at 12:32 pm
fyi – here’s a link to the comparison video I mentioned above
http://gizmodo.com/5494028/parallels-thrashes-vmware-fusion-when-it-comes-to-graphics
tjrainey
25 Mar 10 at 12:33 pm
[...] Two blog posts on the joys of virtualization for the technical writers [...]
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9 Apr 10 at 4:40 am
fyi – here’s a link to the comparison video I mentioned above
http://gizmodo.com/5494028/parallels-thrashes-vmware-fusion-when-it-comes-to-graphics
Amy
23 Apr 10 at 8:40 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Anzac, tjrainey, Mac OS X Tweets, MadCap Software, Inc, Maeve Maguire and others. Maeve Maguire said: Yay. RT @MadCapSoftware Blog post: Running Flare on Mac OS X http://bit.ly/cfhANb [...]
Bruce
20 May 10 at 11:35 pm
@Maeve Maguire: Find out which VPN system is used by the companies you work for. I work for a company that uses a CISCO VPN, and their Mac OS X driver is great. Windows Remote Desktop Client for Mac is also great. You may experience a lag due to the internal network at your office. It was non-existent when I worked for a larger company with more resources.
@tjrainey: I’ve been really happy with my VirtualBox based install of Windows XP/Office 2007 that I recently upgraded to Windows 7. I notice a slight performance lag when running my complex VBA macro in the VBox rather than on a Windows client. (60 seconds rather than 26 seconds.)
Your comment about VMWare Fusion Unity mode gets me like, excited. VBox works when I switch to Office 2007 to program VBA. However, I can’t find anything on Mac OS X that competes with OneNote. I’m betting Fusion would make OneNote just scream. Gotta have it.
Okay. Time to look for your partner’s Android posts.
Cheers.
Bruce
22 May 10 at 12:23 am
Hi Tony – I just recently watched a demo that compared VMware’s Fusion and Mac’s Parallels virtualization software. For 3D graphics, Parallels blew Fusion out of the water. Parallels has a ‘Windows App on Mac’ feature like Fusion’s Unity mode, called Crystal mode, I believe. That may be worth looking or at least comparing before making a decision.
After seeing that demo, I’m considering going with Parallels to run Windows when I buy my Macbook Pro (if they EVER release the updated versions with the new i5/i7 processors)
Emily
2 Jun 10 at 6:48 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Anzac, tjrainey, Mac OS X Tweets, MadCap Software, Inc, Maeve Maguire and others. Maeve Maguire said: Yay. RT @MadCapSoftware Blog post: Running Flare on Mac OS X http://bit.ly/cfhANb [...]
Amy
5 Jun 10 at 3:57 am
I used virtual windows to write SQL Server training materials on my old black clamshell mac laptop in the late 90’s. It caused some consternation when I worked on-site at MS… and even using the virtual machine it was faster than some of the desktops.
I really like Flare and this is one of the sticking points with me… I hate using the Windows box onsite to write. So I’m very interested in checking out Fusion’s Unity mode.
Thanks for posting.
Mariah
7 Jul 10 at 7:55 am
This is EXACTLY how I use Flare when I’m writing at home on my iMac. It works like a charm!
Josh Goldstein
23 Jul 10 at 6:53 pm
[...] MadCap Flare on Mac OS X (virtually) | The Tech Pub 29 Jan 2010. I use MadCap Flare, an XML-based help authoring tool, regularly in my. I work for a company that uses a CISCO VPN, and their Mac OS X driver is great.. Trackbacks and Pingbacks. MadCap Flare on Mac OS X (virtually).thetechpub.org/?p=61 – MadCap Flare on Mac OS X (virtually) | The Tech Pub [...]
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7 Sep 10 at 6:19 pm
Windows Remote Desktop Client for Mac is also great. You may experience a lag due to the internal network at your office. It was non-existent when I worked for a larger company with more resources.
Refurbished Computers
24 Sep 10 at 4:29 am
So are ther any plans from MacCap to make an OS X native version of Flare?
/Mans
Mans
29 Nov 10 at 2:17 am
I haven’t seen any info around for MadCap to port Flare to Mac – I would guess that’d be a heck of a rewrite. Would be really nice to see though.
tjrainey
8 Dec 10 at 7:51 am
[...] http://thetechpub.org/?p=61 This entry was posted in Flare, MadCap Software, Tech Comm, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials. Bookmark the permalink. ← MadCap Software Road Show 2010 When a Tech Writer Paints an Airplane → [...]
MadCap Flare on Mac OS X (virtually) | MadBlog
25 Mar 11 at 10:49 am
Virtualization can only take you so far—a Windows app running in any mode is clumsy and ugly compared to the rest of the native Mac apps. Plus I wonder how much more UX goodness Madcap could have squeezed out of a similar amount of code by releasing their suite on Mac OS X.
Everywhere I’ve worked in the past six years has let me use a Mac to author with. I’ve used MS Word for Mac, Mellel, Scrivener, just to name a few native apps that offer superior UX to anything that runs on Windows.
I’m evaluating Flare (or at least downloading its 380 MB install file in preparation for evaluation. My former manager moved his whole tech pubs department over to Flare. He says it’s super-cool. Maybe it is. But maybe it would be hyper-ultra-cool on the Mac. So write it and ship it already. Macs are everywhere these days.
dadaGuerilla
30 Sep 11 at 5:14 pm
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Billy
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Judith
7 Oct 11 at 9:17 am