May 21, 2018. Visio Plan 1 and Plan 2 subscriptions always include the latest versions of Visio Online and Visio. Visio Standard 2019 and Visio Professional 2019 are the latest perpetual versions of Visio. Each is a one-time purchase that does not receive updates. Previous perpetual versions include Visio 2016, Visio 2013, Visio 2010, and Visio 2007.
Mac users aren’t at all shy about making their requests for applications known:
How about Visio for Mac?
When will IE return to Mac?
Will we ever see a Microsoft Project for Mac?
Where can I get Access for Mac?
When will (insert name of hot new game here) be available for Mac?
Most of these requests are for well-known Microsoft applications on Windows, and Mac users want them. Let me address a few of these in some detail.
Microsoft Visio
It’s unwise to say “never” with regard to future development efforts by a company as large as Microsoft, so I will predict this about Visio for Mac: it’s very, very unlikely to ever happen.
I, and many others, believe the development costs to produce a Mac Visio that would faithfully render any existing Visio drawing (and have almost all the functionality of Visio for Windows) would never be recouped by Microsoft.
For any Mac software company, a software product that brought in $50 million per year would be viewed as a fantastic success. But in the rarified world of the Microsoft Office team, such a product would be considered a dismal failure.
For any Mac software company, a software product that brought in $50 million per year would be viewed as a fantastic success. But in the rarified world of the Microsoft Office team, such a product would be considered a dismal failure.
Microsoft Access
Exactly the same as Visio: very, very unlikely to ever happen, and for exactly the same reason.
Visio Pro For MacInternet Explorer
Never going to happen.
There was a version of IE for Mac about 15 years ago. Microsoft ceased development of IE for Mac in July 2003. Given that there is no new development for IE for Windows (because of the release of Microsoft Edge in 2015), there is no chance at all for a future release of IE for Mac.
Any Hot New Game by Microsoft
Never going to happen.
The graphics foundations on Mac and Windows diverge sufficiently that porting any hot new Windows game over to the Mac is a major undertaking. It would be unlikely to recoup development costs, for the same reasons as the Office applications. You can read more details about DirectX and OpenGL.
What’s a Mac User to Do?
There are a couple of options for a Mac user:
(Already own Visio? No problem. Just use the Migration feature in Parallels Desktop to move everything on your PC—including Visio—into a virtual machine on your Mac.)
Figure 2 shows Visio running on my MacBook Pro®.
Figure 2_Visio 2016 running in Windows10 on a Mac with Parallels Desktop
Figures 3 and 4 show Access, and Figure 5 shows IE—all running on my MacBook Pro.
Figure 3_Access 2016 in Windows 10 running on a Mac with Parallels Desktop
Figure 4_Access 2016 in Windows 10 running on a Mac with Parallels Desktop
Figure 5_IE in Windows10 running on a Mac with Parallels Desktop
While you may not be able to get the Mac applications you desire, you can get the Windows versions and run them right alongside your Mac applications.
As the product manager for Parallels Desktop, you might consider my opinions to be a bit biased. (They aren’t, but you might think that.) So, here is a quote from a Network World review (emphasis mine):
“I’ve been a Mac user for many years, and like with most Mac users, there are occasions when I have core business apps that require me to run Internet Explorer for a browser, or run Visual Studio for app development work, or even run Microsoft Project and Visio that just aren’t available on a Mac. And while Apple provides BootCamp where I can switch between booting from a Mac to booting as a Windows system, that means I have to constantly reboot my system to switch between operating platforms. So I’ve been a happy user of Parallels for years where I can run Windows and Mac applications side by side at the same time.” –Rand Morimoto, Network World
Try Parallels Desktop for free for 14 days!
About Wireframes for Desktop Licensing
Balsamiq Wireframes for Desktop can open both local BMPR files from your computer and Balsamiq Cloud projects.
For LOCAL FILES, there's a fully functional 30 day trial. Afterwards, you'll need to buy a license to edit your work. Viewing BMPR files remains free even after the trial ends.
Working on projects hosted on Balsamiq Cloud doesn't require any additional license on top of your organization's Cloud subscription or trial.
How to Update
Minor - version (4.x) updates are free. Simply download the latest version and install it on top of the old one. You won't have to re-register and your old projects will continue to work.
Updating from Balsamiq Mockups 3 for Desktop (or earlier)
What's new? The BMPR file format is the same, so your old projects will continue to work fine. The new version is native (no more Adobe Air!), faster, and includes new features like a new full-screen mode, and built-in commenting. Learn more.
Heads Up! if you are updating from Balsamiq Mockups for Desktop (versions 1, 2 or 3), you will have to purchase a discounted major-version update license.
If you need time to think about it, you can continue to use the version you have. We plan on supporting v.3 until Jan 15, 2021. You can download version 3.5.17 from our build archives.
Minimum System RequirementsMac Visio FreeWindows
Mac Os X 10.8 Download FreeMac OS X
All DownloadsWindows
Advanced Installation instructions.
Microsoft Visio For Mac OsLinuxOur Windows app can be run on Linux using Wine. Installation instructions are on Github.Comments are closed.
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