Install Windows Software On Mac Using Wine
If you’re looking into Forex trading on your Mac, you may be confused as to whether MT4 for Mac or MT5 for Mac (better known as MetaTrader for Mac) is available or not.
- Install Windows Software On Mac Using Wine Vinegar
- Install Windows Software On Mac Using Wine Opener
- Install Wine Mac
MetaTrader is one of the most popular technical analysis software for forex trading but it’s never been released on Mac.
By far a better alternative to MetaTrader on Mac is the excellent TradingView which is not only free, but far more powerful than MetaTrader.
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- The difference between Wine and Crossover is that the latter has ready-made profiles for popular Windows software, and this makes installing and using the apps a breeze compared to the more hands.
- PlayOnMac is a Wine-based software for easy installation of Windows applications on Mac OS.
- Wine is an open source program for running Windows software on non-Windows operating systems. While it’s most often used on Linux, Wine can run Windows software directly on a Mac, too–without requiring a Windows license or needing Windows running in the background.
However, if you’re really determined, you can install MetaTrader on a Mac manually yourself although be warned that it’s a lot more time consuming and complex.
There are essentially 3 different ways to install MetaTrader on Mac:
- Install Windows on Mac for free using a virtual environment such as Parallels or in a partition using Boot Camp.
- Use a “Windows wrapper software” such as Wine or PlayOnMac.
- Download it “ready wrapped” in Wine from an online stock trading platform.
To install Wine on your Mac, you will need the following: macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or above (but 10.15 Catalina is not recommended) Access to an Admin account, with password; An internet connection. To install Wine on your Mac, you will need the following: macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or above (but 10.15 Catalina is not recommended) Access to an Admin account, with password; An internet connection. Wine (originally an acronym for 'Wine Is Not an Emulator') is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, & BSD.
Here’s a little more detail on each option.
- Run MT4 on Mac by installing Windows on Mac
In our opinion, installing Windows on your Mac is definitely the best way to run MetaTrader on Mac because it gives you the best of both worlds – the ability to run the full version of MetaTrader in Windows but also use macOS at the same time. An application like Parallels makes it extremely easy to run Windows within macOS at the same time so that you can switch between the Windows version of MetaTrader and your preferred Mac trading platform easily.
Running MetaTrader on Mac this way gives you all the benefits of the Windows version of MetaTrader, including add-ons such as MetaTrader Market. The other benefit of this is that if you encounter any problems installing MetaTrader this way, you’ll get support from Parallels but with Wine and PlayOnMac, you’ll have to rely on the support of forum members and fixing problems can be quite complex and technical. Additionally, installing Windows on Mac this way is a good investment as it allows you to play many Windows only games and use other Windows only programs such as Visio on Mac.
Installing Windows on Mac is very east nowadays and you can find full instructions how to do so here. You can also install Windows on Mac using Boot Camp but the disadvantage of this is that you can’t switch between macOS and Windows simultaneously – you must boot your Mac in one or the other. That’s why Parallels is so much more convenient.
- Run MT4 on Mac using a Windows wrapper software
This is actually the method recommended by MetaTrader but is actually an inferior and far more problematic solution for Mac users compared to installing Windows on your Mac. MetaTrader suggest using either Wine or PlayOnMac (basically an adaptation of Wine) which basically emulate a Windows environment for the purposes of installing a Windows application on Mac.
However, there are several problems trying to run MetaTrader on Mac this way:
a) It can be very tricky and time-consuming to set up properly
b) It doesn’t always work properly when setup – sudden crashes, freezes, startup problems etc
c) There is no developer support in case of problems
d) Some features will not work running MetaTrader on Mac this way such as MetaTrader Market
Even the developer of MetaTrader warns users that using Wine based software to run its software can be problematic:
Note that Wine is not a fully stable application. Thus, some functions in the applications you start under it may work improperly or not work at all.
- Download a wrapped version of MT4 from an online stock platform
You’ll find several stock trading platforms and forex trading platforms for Mac that claim to allow you to download MT4 on your Mac to use their trading platform. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that these are native Mac MetaTrader clients. The trading platforms have merely “ready wrapped” (usually with Wine) the downloads so you don’t have to go through the hassle of trying to install and wrap it yourself. Examples include online brokers XM, Admiral Markets and Pepperstone.
Although these are a better option than trying to set up and run MetaTrader on Mac yourself using Wine or PlayOnMac, they are subject to the same problems and limitations i.e. instability, incompatibility with future releases of macOS, no developer support and lack of certain features such as MetaTrader Market. Since they’re emulating a Windows environment within macOS, they can also be quite slow to use and don’t exactly look good on Mac with a very dated Windows style interface. Here’s how Pepperstone’s version of MetaTrader looks on macOS for example.
As you can see, if you go to the File Menu, like most online stock trading platforms, they use Wineskin (an adaptation of Wine) to run MT4 on Mac.
We hope this has cleared up some of the confusion regarding the availability of MetaTrader on Mac but if you have any questions, let us know in the comments below.
Will you agree with me if I said, “Being popular isn’t always better.”? However, popularity does provide some privileges like a wider choice of options and more freedom to choose.
That might be the case of Mac OS X choice of applications. Even though most Windows applications today already have their comparable – or better – Mac versions, and most Mac users get along just fine with the available Mac apps; there are still some Windows-only apps needed by a small group of Mac users.
If you are one of them and require the use of some Windows-only apps, you can still run them. Here are your options for running Windows programs with Mac:
- Boot your Mac computer into Windows using Boot Camp. Windows and all its apps will completely natively, but you have to go through the hassle of rebooting every time you want to switch OS.
- Create a virtual Windows environment using VirtualBox 1 Free Program to Run Windows on your Mac Read More . Windows can run alongside Mac OS X, but the processing power used will be drastically high.
- Transform the Windows apps into Mac apps using WineBottler and run them Natively in Mac OS X. (And save yourself from spending several hundred bucks on a Windows license).
Open the Bottle and Pour the Wine
If you’ve used Macs for a while, it’s very likely that you’ve heard about Wine. There’s an entry explaining everything about Wine in Wikipedia, but if you only need a quick recap, here’s the quote:
Wine is a free software application that aims to allow Unix-like computer operating systems to execute programs written for Microsoft Windows. Wine also provides a software library known as Winelib against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like systems.
WineBottler utilizes the Wine environment to port the Windows applications to work on Mac. The installation is an ordinary drag and drop procedure. However, please note that the disk image contains two files: Wine and WineBottler, and you have to put them BOTH at the Application folder.
When you open WineBottler for the first time, you will see the window with available “prefixes” – some kind of Windows environment to run Windows apps. If you have used other application that simulates Windows environment before – like Crossover – there might already be several prefixes on the list.
You can add or remove prefixes from this window.
But to install Windows applications, you have to choose “Create Custom Prefixes” tab from the left pane.
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Then customize the installation using the options on the right pane.
First, select the application that you want to install. If the file is the actual executable – for example, a portable app, check the “Copy only” box.
Then decide whether or not you want to create a self-contained app. If you check the box, you can use the resulting file on another Mac machines without the need to install Wine.
Before clicking the “Install” button, you can choose “Silent install” by checking the box. I honestly don’t know what this “Silent install” business mean. I’ve tried to check and uncheck the box during installation and did not see any differences.
Drum roll, please!
Now we’ll go through the installation process. I tried to install Crayon Physics.
I chose the file, and click the “Install” button. The installation progress window appeared.
Then, during the installation process, a strangely familiar window popped out: the actual Windows-style installation window. It was like I was performing the installation on a Windows machine.
I followed the Windows installation steps to the end. And when everything was done, the last WineBottler installation window popped out, asking me to choose which file run every time the resulting app is launched.
Not ever installation will ask you to select the “Startfile“. But if you are confronted with one, please make the choice carefully because choosing the wrong one would prevent the resulting app from running; and you have to go through the installation process again.
Install Windows Software On Mac Using Wine Vinegar
After the process is done, you can open the ported app the same way you open any other Mac app: by double-clicking it or by selecting it and press “Command + O”
The Glass Half Empty
Install Windows Software On Mac Using Wine Opener
I haven’t had the time to play with many installations but here are few things that I’ve picked up during the short encounter:
Install Wine Mac
- Not all Windows application can be ported to Mac. You just have to try it for yourself.
- Creating a self-contained file will result in a much larger sized file. In my experience, a 285MB self-contained app was produced compared to 86MB non self-contained app.
- You’ll mostly likely get better results from porting portable Windows apps. Check out this article about portable apps 100 Portable Apps for Your USB Stick for Windows and macOSPortable apps let you take your favorite software anywhere via a flash drive or cloud storage. Here are 100 of them to cover your every need, from games to image editors. Read More to know where to find a whole bunch of them.
- The processing power used by ported apps will depend on the type of each application you’re running but they will consume a considerable amount of juice from the system.
- Be careful not to break any laws (Copyrights, EULA, etc.) while performing the porting. You are responsible for your own actions.
- Ported apps will run under X11 (Applications > Utilities > X11), you must have that installed before beginning.
Have you tried WineBottler? Do you know other alternatives to port Windows app over to Mac? Share your thoughts and opinions using the comments section below.