Skip to main content
joycew3651814
Participant
April 18, 2018
Question

FrameMaker on a Mac?

  • April 18, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 7747 views

Is the FrameMaker subscription run online? Does this mean I can use a Mac to access it?

Thanks, Joyce

3 replies

Barb Binder
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 18, 2018

Hi Joyce:

I normally run VMware Fusion in full screen mode so all you can see is Windows & FrameMaker when I'm on that specific desktop, but I resized the Fusion window slightly so that you can see that FrameMaker is running on my Mac. Other popular options are Parallels and Bootcamp—all three apps allow you to install Windows on a Mac, allowing you to use FrameMaker and other Windows-only applications. I've been doing this for many years—I use multiple Mac desktops (aka Spaces) so I can just slide over to Windows when I need it—it's the best of both worlds.

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
Participant
December 5, 2023

Hi Barb 

 

  I  currently following your FM training tutorials online and need to update my computer system.   Applying for a job postion that requires me to have FrameMaker and photo shop experience.  However I was having issues. Downloading FrameMaker onto my Mac computer I see you've suggested a few app options. Are these fairly easy to install and use? I don't want to spend a lot of money on a Mac computer if I'm just gonna run across issues with my free maker program which I'm going to be required to use for this job then I might as well buy a Microsoft enabled system but I have everything Mac so I'd be really happy to keep using a Mac computer. I'm just not sure how to integrate the FrameMaker program onto the Mac so if you have any pointers or more help as to how I can use those third-party apps so that I can use Microsoft products on my Mac I'd be forever grateful

Jeff_Coatsworth
Community Expert
Community Expert
December 5, 2023

If you're going to run FM on a Mac you need to install a virtual machine program to host Windows where FM will run. There's no native FM for the Mac anymore (long time in the past).

Bob_Niland
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 18, 2018

re: Is the FrameMaker subscription run online?

FM is not a cloud app. I have no particular guesses about whether it might ever become one. As I recall, Adobe at one time had an on-line demo mode for FM that was a pretty good mimic of a cloud version, if somewhat slow (as would have been expected for the time).

re: Does this mean I can use a Mac to access it?

As inferred by TCT, you would need to run the Windows version of FM under Windows 7 or 10 in a virtual machine on the Mac (x86 Mac). There are any number of people doing this, so it's not that much of a hack.

A native Mac version of FM is another future possibility, I suppose (it's asked for often enough), but running the current Windows version in a VM is the near-term solution.

Matt-Tech Comm Tools
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 18, 2018

No, the software runs on your device, requiring Windows.

Having said that, I've run FrameMaker exclusively on my Mac under vmware Fusion for years.

-Matt

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant