BarTender and Macintosh Computers
Overview
While BarTender cannot be installed on a Mac OS (compatible versions of Windows only), there are a number of options available to work around this limitation.
Designing and Printing BarTender Documents From a Mac
To get full BarTender functionality on a Mac you will need to run Windows on the Mac computer so that you can then install BarTender in Windows. A comprehensive list of options is beyond the scope of this article, but we have included a couple of suggestions.
Please see BarTender-Supported Windows Versions for compatibility information.
Running Windows on a Virtual Machine
This method should give you full BarTender functionality.
Use a virtual machine application to run Windows on a Mac OS. With this approach, you can install and run BarTender on the Windows OS within the virtual machine application.
Since you are essentially running Windows OS on a Mac, you should have full functionality of BarTender as though you are using it directly on a Windows computer.
Installing Windows on a Mac With Boot Camp
This method should give you full BarTender functionality.
Install Windows as a separate boot option on your Mac computer. With this approach, you can boot the Windows OS after powering on the Mac, and then install and run BarTender just like you would on a regular Windows computer.
Most Mac computers have a feature called Boot Camp, which allows you to create a hard drive partition and install Windows. You will have two partitions on the computer: one containing the Mac OS, and one containing the Windows OS. You can choose which one you want to use when booting up the computer.
Printing BarTender Documents From a Mac
External applications can control BarTender, so it's possible to print BarTender documents without actually installing BarTender in your Mac OS. You will need to both install BarTender and design BarTender documents on a Windows computer and then you set up a method for controlling BarTender from an application on your Mac.
BarTender Print Portal
This method should give print functionality to a Mac but requires the BarTender documents to be designed on the Windows computer.
You can select labels to print through an internet browser on a Mac by hosting the BarTender Print Portal on a Windows computer.
BarTender Print Portal is a web-based application that provides an interface for selecting and printing BarTender documents. Prior to BarTender 2016, this application was called Web Print Server (or WPS). With either application, users can print documents simply by browsing to a web page hosted by a Windows server that has BarTender installed.
Print Portal, introduced with BarTender 2016, includes many features that make locating and printing documents quick and easy. With its built-in security measures, administrators can require users to login to the site, and even assign user permissions granting access to specific documents on the server based on the user logged into the site. Print Portal's intuitive interface lets users quickly locate the document they need to print and send it to the printer with a simple "click" operation.
Custom Integration
This method should give print functionality to a Mac, but requires the BarTender documents to be designed on the Windows computer.
You can integrate BarTender with another application so that it can interact with your Mac. You would need a Windows computer to install BarTender and design your documents, and then you could set up the integration so that you could print your labels from your Mac computer.
Integration Builder
Using BarTender Integration Builder to create flexible integrations, you can import data from external systems and run tasks automatically. BarTender's native integration platform consists of two user applications that operate alongside two Windows services to ensure that your printing operation is running seamlessly at all times. This setup lets you perform enterprise-level tasks, including:
- Initiating printing automatically at trigger events, such as the arrival of an e-mail, a saved file or a modified database
- Connecting to and communicating with clients via TCP/IP, UDP or HTTP
- Performing basic file operations: such as Move, Rename, Delete or Copy
- Integrating directly with ERP systems with direct support for SAP, Oracle or IBM WebSphere connectivity.
SDK and ActiveX
You can use the BarTender Software Development Kit (SDK) or ActiveX controls to build a custom program in C# or VB .NET that controls BarTender.