Your message implies to me that the problem you see is the "convoluted way to open a database with RM Essentials on an apple device". What is it that seems so convoluted that it would deter the mildly interested (the disinterested are a lost cause)?

Do you mean on an iPhone or iPad? Or on a Mac? Please make clear to what variety of Apple device you are referring.

I'm not a Mac user but I have read that Crossover now supports 32bit Windows apps in Catalina. https://m.facebook.c...276443932543150

Yes, but we need to be a little cautious as a look at their forums shows that some nasty and unexpected side effects are now showing up now it is GA, such as anti-virus products quarantining chuncks of their code. There seems to be more for them to sort. I for one will be holding off for now, particular as I am still on Mohave and RM7 is running just fine (admittedly under full Crossover), Faimily Search and all.

Why bother with crossover any more if Bruce is really within a few months of RM8. The wrapper has been nothing but trouble for mac users.

Well, maybe the wrapper is a mixed blessing but full CrossOver has been wonderful for me for many months now. I leave RM open for days, and when I return to it, it just picks up with FS without blinking. I would certainly welcome a 64-bit version of (full) CrossOver if we don’t have a relatively stable version of the Mac variety of RM8 by, say, February or March next year. It could be an interesting race.

I run the regular RM 7 on my Mac with Parallels.  Does that mean updating to Catalina won't affect me?

Correct, provided your version of Parallels is supported / will work on Catalina.

What does this mean?

What does this mean in the blog?: "And of course, there is one more thing that should make our fans of fruit happy:" There is a picture below that statement, but I cannot figure out what "fruit" is displayed on the picture. It seems to be an exact same picture of the first picture, but blurrier.

It just means that the RM window looks exactly like a Mac window should look like - i.e. a standard Mac appearance. The fruit is just referring to Apple.

Edit: And the one more thing was a standard Steve Jobs way of closing a major Apple announcement event, and this is still used by Tim Cook in a much less charismatic way at the end dog such events to introduce a surprise announcement. Apple fans know all about this, the rest can just yawn (but I do recommend watching a Jobs show on YouTube, particularly the original iPhone announcement which is recognised as a masterpiece in how to do technical announcements.)

The current wrapper to allow RM to run on a Mac will not work on the next version of MacOS, Catalina. That is because Catalina will not allow the execution of 32-bit applications, only 64-bit applications, and the current wrapper is a 32-bit application. (It does not matter whether the application running under the wrapper, such as RM, is 32-bit or 64-bit.)

The wrapper is a stripped down version of a product called CrossOver that allows Windows programs to run on the Mac. Users of the full version of CrossOver are expecting a 64-bit version to be available around the time that Catalina becomes generally available, so in the next month or two.

Whether RM will be prepared to pay whatever the cost is for a matching updated version of the wrapper is a question for them, but if RM8 becomes available in a similar timeframe, or a little longer given our expectations are for sometime in 2019, then maybe it wouldnt be sensible for them to pay that cost.

That might leave some RM for Mac users with the issue of whether to delay implementing Catalina until RM8 becomes acceptably reliable. I can foresee interesting times ahead.

(Windows users might consider such concerns as rather academic, but many Mac users tend to update to new versions of the OS rather more enthusiastically and promptly than Windows ones.)

CATALINA KILLS ROOTSMAGIC 7! Catalina does not allow any 32-bit programs to operate any longer when you upgrade to Catalina. Done deal. 
 
Your option at this point since RM currently has no 64-bit version for the Mac? Supposeldy run an older version fo Mac OS in Virtual Mode and store RM7 there or put the Mac OS older version on a thumb drive and load RM7 on the same unit. 
 
Virtual Box does not function fully under Catalina. Does the latest CrossOver?
 
Feel like McGyver yet?

A quote from a CrossOver forum responding on this topic - dated 26 June.

-

Maintaining support for 32-bit applications on macOS 10.15 Catalina continues to be a top priority for us. We appreciate that September is right around the corner and that macOS users are eager for a solution - we are confident that this support will be available when Catalina is released.

CrossOver 19 will move to beta later this summer. I invite all who are interested in the latest CrossOver development updates and are willing to provide feedback on pre-release versions of CrossOver to join here: https://www.codeweav...patibility/beta

-

It would seem that work has been on-going for some time, but as is often the case for software companies, they aim new functionality for GA availability rather than beta availability of new OS levels.

Rooty: Thanks for the feedback. I think I will fully investigate FTM and make the leap if we are stuck "in limbo" with RM.

You could always try RM7 under the full version of CrossOver. I’ve been running that for several years and it is absolutely rock solid for me with the current highest versions of everything. I do not use the Ancestry function but am a very heavy user of the Family Search interface. I just leave RM running for days, with my iMac sleeping when I’m not using it. When I switch to RM, it just continues and any use of FS just continues from where it was. No need to re-login or anything like that. I’m not sure when I last had to kill (force shut) RM, but it has moved over the years from not that infrequently to very very infrequently.

Yes, Crossover costs money, but worth the pleasure I get out of the genealogy hunt.

PS Yes, it is still a 32bit application in Mac terms, so won’t run on Catalina as is. One has to assume that they will fix that or they will no longer have a Mac market. So, if you were to go that way, there would be an interesting race between a Crossover update, RM8, and your possible desire to get on to Catalina. You have to decide whether an interim extra cost is a price worth paying.

This has begun to worry me a little, too. I normally update my OS fairly soon after a new version has been released, so I wouldn't want to have to wait too long before doing so.
 
An added complication is that I am considering changing my iMac this year, and if RM8 is going to be very late, I would clearly have to do so *before* the new 10.15 is released, otherwise my RM (probably) wouldn't run on it. This means I would have to update the OS separately later, which is no big deal, but even so, irritating to haver to do so.

And, of course, if you end up with a new new model of iMac (which may or may not happen, of course), it may only run 10.15. In that case, you won’t be able to run RM for Mac at all. Ugh! (I suppose that is what you were saying.)

CrossOver just posted their latest update. The latest Mac beta just posted the error message above. When will we see the latest CrossOver update for the Mac version of RM7?

This is a reference to the recent release of CrossOver 18.5.

Going back to the topic of this thread, presumably the pop-up will go away after full Crossover introduces a 64-bit version (which probably depends on the availability of a 64-bit version of underlying open-source Wine). The pop-up is warning us that a 32-bit application will not work on the next version of MacOS (see below), which we assume will be generally available in October or November this year. For those who will want to try the beta versions, these could well start being available from June or July, and I guess that such early users will be the ones that could hit this problem. For those of us who are happy to wait for general availability but want the latest software (or our new hardware requires it), it looks like it could be a race between RM8 on Mac and a 64-bit version of CrossOver and then the CrossOver wrapper.


Quote from Apple:

Apple began the transition to 64-bit hardware and software technology for Mac over a decade ago, and is working with developers to transition their apps to 64-bit. At our Worldwide Developers Conference in 2018, Apple informed developers that macOS Mojave is the last version of macOS to run 32-bit apps.

So RM7 for Mac (with wrapper) is having a lot more problems working well with Ancestry and Family Search than the full Crossover/RM setup?

 

Darn!  I was so relieved to hear I didn't have to deal with Crossover when RM7 for Mac came out. In the past it has not been very easy or simple for us non techies to use.

 

Is the presence of Crossover 15.1 on my computer while using RM7 for Mac a possible source of the freezing up problem or is it just a RM7 for Mac problem, or Safari, or Sierra?  I have a 2012 Macbook Pro and cannot upgrade it past Sierra, although I have a 1T SSD hard drive.

 

If I want to stick with RM7 for Mac, should I uninstall the Crossover 15.1?

 

If I want to go with the full Crossover setup, I see that it is going to cost $40 to $60 per year to upgrade to 16, 17, or 18.

Wondering if my current Crossover 15.1 will do OK, and if so, how do I get a standalone download of RM7 (without wrapper)?  I don't see it on the Crossover website, only the option to order a 14 day trial of Crossover 18.  

They do have a button for downloading RM7 for Mac which takes you back to the RootsMagic website.  Been there, done that.

 

A good Windows version of RM is sorely needed!

 

I'm not sure you can conclude that ALL RM for Mac users are having more difficulties than those using full CrossOver. What you will tend to hear from on the forums is those who do have problems. Note also that some of the problems have been when users have moved to a new version of MacOS - those doing it early, and Mac users tend to do that more than Windows users would - have hit issues that have sometimes needed updates to the wrapper. Full CrossOver users would tend to get these automatically by the CrossOver update process.

 

I wouldn't have thought there was a clash between having CrossOver 15 and RM for Mac installed, but I'm not an expert on that. I have both installed but both are at similar levels from a CrossOver perspective.

 

I'm surprised you found CrossOver needed a techie approach. I've just selected the "Install a Windows Application" on the CrossOver - All Bottles panel, entered Rootsmagic, selected the Rootsmagic 7 option and then Continue, and it has installed RM7 in a new bottle (independent of my existing RM bottle. (Yes, if you click on the RM7 panel, it throws up an RM for Mac download option, but if you just continue, it just installs the Windows version and supporting Windows stuff.) Of course, to get that far, I assume you have to be a signed in and therefore paying CrossOver user. Mine is CO 18, but I assume there was a similar option on CO 15.

 

Having done the above, RM7 started, asked me for registration details or did I want the Essential version. I deleted the bottle at that stage, but it seemed very straightforward to me (though I do know what is going on behind the scenes, so maybe I'm not the best judge of ease of use).

 

CrossOver costs - well, they often have offers on - 30 percent off today - and I seem to recall that having originally installed a trial version, I was made an offer. Annual renewals seem to come at a reduced price. It all depends on how much time and effort you put into your genealogy as to whether it is worth whatever the cost is. From my perspective, given the time I spend at it and the enjoyment I get from puzzling things out, both RM and CrossOver seem quite cheap.

 

I assume your very last comment should have said a good "Mac version". One observation - if RM8 were to appear tomorrow, it is a question as to whether it will support Sierra. We could be on to the next version of MacOS before it appears - we all hope not - but that would mean supporting 4 versions of MacOS. Supporting a new version of RM will be challenging enough, especially with a Windows and a Mac variety, so there may be an attempt to limit the scope by limiting the OS versions supported, possibly for both Windows and Mac.

I first got my Macbook Pro in 2012, and started using Crossover with RM at that time.  The Crossover program is still on my Mac, The last modification to Crossover was on March 30, 2016.  I have installed the latest RM7 with the wrapper.  Do I need to do a complete uninstall of Crossover?

You need to be clear on what you are wanting to do. Either you run RM for Mac, which includes a cut-down version of CrossOver that is included in the RM for Mac product, or you run the Windows version of RM under the full CrossOver product, with RM installed using the “install script” (this is the wrong terminology, but you should be able to find what I am referring to on the CrossOver website).

If you want to use RM for Mac, then follow the standard instructions for complete uninstall and reinstall. The included version of the CrossOver wrapper appears as version 7.0.3 if you use the Mac Get Info against the installed package. It is certainly at a higher level than CrossOver V15.

If you go the full CrossOver route, then the current version is V18, and that supports all versions of MacOS from Sierra to Mojave - you say you are on Sierra. For Mojave support, you need V17 or V18.

I use V18 on Mojave - all latest versions - and RM is still running after many days, including very heavy use of the Family Search Family Tree interface. My Mac sleeps overnight but every time I interact with it, RM seems happy to continue (? reconnect under the covers) with FSFT. I used to try to remember to sign-out and then sign-in again to FSFT before doing anything with RM when I woke my Mac from sleep, just in case, but have not done that now for quite some time, and I can’t recall when I last had to kill RM. The full CrossOver/RM combination has now become amazingly stable compared to my previous experience, though mine was no-where near as bad as some others seem to have experienced.

I deleted and reinstalled the program. Now I open the program, I search & search for an existing file, but all of my .rmgb files are greyed out. What am I doing wrong? Thanks so much.

RMGB files are backups, so you Restore those rather than Open them. You open RMGC files.