Plant Base 2 - MacOS Edition

Native Plant Base application for Apple MacOS systems.

Derived from the Windows program and shares much of the same code but adapted to suit the MacOS environment. It is a stand-alone application with no other software dependencies - same as the Windows and Linux editions.

An important concept of Plant Base 2 is that the database files are the same on all platforms. The data files for the Mac are exactly the same format as other editions and can be shared with Windows, Linux and Android systems without needing any kind of conversion.

The current edition is built for Intel processors. We do not offer a specific build for Apple silicon processors used in the newer M-Series Macs. However, the application should run under Apple's Rosetta 2 compatibility layer.

Our resources for development and testing on the Mac platform are more limited than others. Development and testing is done on relatively old releases of MacOS, which does give good compatibility with a wide range of customer machines. However, we cannot guarantee the application will run correctly on all systems, so please take advantage of the free trial period.

Installation

The download file is a normal Mac "dmg". It contains the application itself and a folder with the data files. Full installation instructions are also included.

The application (PlantBase.app) can be dragged/copied into the usual Applications system directory or an alternative location. The data folder is typically placed under the user's Home directory, but can be anywhere on the system. If not found automatically, the location of the data files may need to be given at the start of the first run.

Initially new installations will run as a 20 day trial. Further use requires a licence code. This licence code is exactly the same for both Windows and Mac editions. Existing Windows customers can simply use their original code. New users will need to purchase a licence code, valid for both Mac and Windows.

From Plant Base version 2.1.10 the default application is 64-bit, as required from MacOS 10.5 Catalina onwards. From Plant Base version 2.2.0 only a 64-bit app is provided, but a previous version is included in the install files with both 32-bit and 64-bit builds. These alternatives may be needed for users with older Mac systems that cannot run the latest version. Versions up to 2.1.16 will run on MacOS 10.6 Snow Leopard or later. There is very little functional difference and all versions can operate with the same database.

Important :- Plant Base is not available from the Apple Store and is not digitally signed with an Apple developer identity. On MacOS Mountain Lion or later your system may therefore complain about installing or running it. However, it can be enabled by adjusting the Security & Privacy settings in System Preferences to create an exception. The exact procedure has changed with different releases of MacOS - best to search the Mac support forums for the method and full explanation.

Here are external links for a couple of examples and there are many others:
https://www.macworld.com/article/672947/how-to-open-a-mac-app-from-an-unidentified-developer.html
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh40616/mac

You can be assured that Plant Base, downloaded from our our own website, is safe to install and run. As a self-contained program it does not make or require any changes to your system's software or configuration. The program does not require internet access, even for registration, and contains no spyware or malware of any kind. The MacOS edition of Plant Base has been available since 2014.

The Plant Base Mac application does not use an Apple specific development system, but is coded with exactly the same independent cross-platform programming language as our Windows and Linux editions - the excellent PureBasic (www.purebasic.com).

Mac and MacOS are trademarks of Apple Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.