How to Run Windows Programs on Mac

One of the many advantages of buying into the Apple ecosystem with a Mac, is the thriving Application Store. Regardless of what you need to do on your Mac, chances are, you’ll discover an application for it. However, there are certain applications that are accessible for Windows, and keeping in mind that their options do exist for the Mac, in specific situations, you may need (or need) to stick with the Windows’ programs that you have utilized some time recently. In this way, if you have a Windows’ application that you have to keep running on macOS, read ahead to learn how you can make them keep running on your Mac.

Different ways to run Windows apps on Mac

1. Wineskin Winery

Wineskin is an instrument used to make ports of Windows software for the macOS. What the application does, is that it makes a wrapper for the Windows’ application you need to run, with the goal that you can execute it on the Mac. Wineskin is totally free, and will permit you to make wrappers for any application that you need to keep running on a Mac.

To begin with utilizing Wineskin, you’ll need to download  it first.

When you have done that, you can just follow the steps given below to get your Windows’ application running on your Mac:

Note: For representation designs, I’m utilizing an application called HTMLasText, that converts HTML code into plain content files. The application is accessible for Windows, and if you need to take after along this tutorial, you ought to download it.

• First, unzip the HTMLasText zip filethat you downloaded, and then launch Wineskin Winery. When you launch Wineskin for the first time, the list of installed engines, and the “wrapper version” will be empty. So, we’ll have to install those first. I have already used Wineskin before, so the list is not empty in my case.

• Just click on the plus icon, and then choose the latest engine that is available (In my case, this was WS9Wine1.9.14). Click on “Download and Install“.

• Click on “Create New Blank Wrapper“, enter a name for the wrapper. I’m using “HTMLWrapper” as the name. Then, click on “Ok”.

• Wineskin will start creating the blank wrapper. If you get prompted to install some additional packages, make sure you allow Wineskin to install them. After a while, Wineskin will tell you that the wrapper has been created.

• Click on “View Wrapper in Finder“.

• Navigate to drive_c -> Program Files. Create a new folder by the name of the application you want to run (HTMLasText, in this case), and then copy the HTMLasText.exe filethat you downloaded, and paste it inside this folder. Now, go back to the main wrapper window (the one where you selected “Show package contents” from), and double click on the wrapper. In the window that opens up, click on “Advanced”.

• This will open up another window. Click on “Browse”,and select the exe file that you copied into drive_c -> Program Files -> HTMLasText. Leave the rest of the options untouched.

• Click on “Test Run“, and after a while, the Windows’ application will start running on your Mac.

Note: In case the application you need to run has an installer, basically select the installer in the Browse menu, and, rather than click on “Test Run”, click on “Install Software”.

Well, that was all that you expected to do in order to get a Windows’ application working on your Mac. Do take note of that this technique won’t not work for all applications, but rather it typically does. In my experience, trying to utilize this strategy to run heavy games usually does not work, but rather you may have better good fortune.

In the event that Wineskin doesn’t work out for you, you can try with the following strategy.

2. Codeweavers CrossOver

CrossOver, by Codeweavers is basically worked around the Wineskin Winery wrapper itself. In any case, dissimilar to Wineskin, the CrossOver application is commercial, and is accessible for purchase (for $15.950), however the application also offers a 14 day trial, that you can download from the Codeweavers site.

CrossOver formally supports an expansive number of Windows’ applications, and if you have any difficulty with utilizing the authoritatively supported applications, you can call technical support and they will try and try it for you. To begin with utilizing CrossOver to run Windows’ applications on the Mac, just follow the below steps:

• Once you have installed CrossOver, simply launch it, and click on “Install a Windows Application“.

• In the window that opens up, start typing the nameof the application you want to install. The drop down box will dynamically update to display the officially supported applications that match the name you have entered. If you can’t find the name of the application you want to run (as is the case with HTMLasText), simply select “Unlisted“.

• Click on Continue

• You will be asked to select the installer file or folder. Click on “Choose Installer Folder“, and select the folder that contains the HTMLAsText executable, and click on “Install files from this directory“.

• Click Continue, and then click on Install.

• You’ll have to wait, while CrossOver installs the application, and then it will automatically launch the application (or the installer) for you.

3. Using a Virtual Machine

If neither of the methods mentioned above work for the application that you need to utilize, you can convey a Virtual Machine, with Windows installed on it. This will effectively let you utilize a Windows PC inside the macOS environment itself, and you can install any Windows’ application in the virtual machine.

If you need to convey a virtual machine on your Mac, you can read our detailed article about running Windows on a Mac.

4. Dual Boot Windows using Boot Camp Assistant

Odds are, that a Windows VM would have permitted you to run essentially any Windows’ software that you may have needed to. In any case, if the application you need to run requires the full horsepower of your Mac (a top of the line amusement, for instance), then allotting every one of those resources to a virtual machine might spiral into a recipe for catastrophe. In the event that you need the full strength of your Mac equipment to be accessible to the Windows’ application that you need to run, then your only choice is to utilize Boot Camp Assistant.

Training camp Assistant is a utility that Apple incorporates with the Mac, which permits users to double boot their Mac with Windows.So, you will essentially have both the operating systems installed on your Mac hard drive, or SSD, and you can pick the one you need to boot into, each time you control up your Mac.

Use These Methods to Run Windows Programs on Mac

So, the next time you need to run a Windows’ only application on your Mac, you can follow any one of these methods to do so. Each of these methods have their own pros and cons, and you can choose the one that suits your needs best.