Authors
Video Tutorials
How to Use Articulate Storyline on a Mac (with Videos!)
Here’s a question we get a lot: “Is there a Mac version of Articulate Storyline?” Lots of folks like to use Apple-built hardware such as iMacs, Macbook Airs, and Macbook Pros to create, design, and imagine. We get it! We love Macs too.
While there is no Mac-native version of Storyline, it's super-easy to use Storyline on your favorite Mac hardware using a virtual environment. All you need to do is get virtual environment software that creates a Windows interface on your Mac. There are a ton of options for creating virtual environments, including Parallels, Apple Boot Camp, and VMware.
With a virtual environment, you’ll be able to switch back and forth between your usual Mac display and viewing a Windows interface with Windows programs.
We've created a few short videos to walk you through the process. In this series, we'll show you how to use Parallels to run Storyline on your Mac in no time.
Step 1: Install Parallels
Step 2: Install Windows
Step 3: Install Storyline
Step 4 (optional): Getting Resolution Right for Retina Displays
If you’re interested in learning more, here are some helpful resources:
Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.
- AshleyChiassonCommunity MemberYAS! Props to also including the DPI information - that made me feel nutty for a good little while :P
- -S-DysonCommunity MemberRunning Storyline under a VM is "super easy," but only when everything is setup perfectly on the VM and Windows is properly installed. We've had problems with this setup and it's been very difficult to troubleshoot issues between the Articulate software, the VM software, and Microsoft Windows. An OS X version would simplify the technical issues, strengthen our use of Storyline, and allow us to seamlessly integrate it into the rest of our design pipeline, which is OS X-based.
- Hi S. Dyson, You're right that everything should be setup correctly both before and during the VM installation process. Hopefully the video tutorials in this article help users see how easy the installation process is.
If you're still experiencing any issues with your install, you really should contact us so we can help get things working correctly.
- AlandaPettitCommunity MemberI have had difficulties running a parallel OS. In theory it sounds great, in reality, there are issues that pop up which I had no control over that impacted my projects and I lost clients.
- Hi Alanda, Many of us work exclusively in Parallels and Storyline. If you're experiencing anything that prevents you from working in Storyline on your Mac, please contact us. We'll do whatever we can to help resolve the issue.
- AlandaPettitCommunity MemberI am speaking of running Parallel in general. At the time, I had my Mac laptop and a monitor so that I could work dual screen. I needed to capture an application and needed to use Parallel because the contracting company used Captivate. It capture extra things on the screen that I could not control due to the Parallel. When I had used Captivate running Windows with dual screens I had never had this issue. I am assuming this would be the case with Storyline. My point is I am not a fan of the Parallel option. I had a horrible experience and it cost me a job. I now work for a company that is Windows based and do not have the issue. I have a company issued laptop. However, if I wanted to do side work, I would not want to use the Parallel option with my personal laptop because I do not trust it and do not want to jump through hoops that cause me great headaches and additional time to create a product that would take less time if I had the application designed to use for a Mac. Other applications are created for both operating systems, and I find that since Storyline is not, it is frustrating. Perhaps a cloud based option like Adobe would be a solution.
- AdrianaBertolanPartnerThis is a great entry!!!!
- Thanks, Adriana! We have a growing number of users who work exclusively in Storyline on their MacBooks so hopefully this helps encourage more users.
- AlejandraAlmaguCommunity MemberLove Parallels! Just remember that if you update to OS X El Capitan you'll need to upgrade to the latest version of Parallels as well (if you aren't already using it).
- Great tip, Alex! I've found each new update (Parallels and OS X) works better and faster than the previous version. I always keep both updated with the latest versions. Thanks!
- GraemeYoungsCommunity MemberHi all, We've made it easy to order a complete package with all the pieces you need. We also include an installation guide and support:
http://omniplex.co/articulate/storyline-for-mac-pack/
Hope this helps!- Thanks, Graeme!
- RubenSulliceCommunity MemberHi there ! the link above is broken, can I get the right one, please ?
Merci
- RuiHuCommunity MemberI have been using dual systems on my Macbook retina. So far so good, except for the super tiny fonts and screen. I hope there is a fix for this!
- Hi Maggie,
Can you check out the 4th video above? I address the tiny fonts and how you can get a more natural view.
If that doesn't help, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to help you out!- RuiHuCommunity MemberHi David,
Thanks for your reply and sorry for my super delayed response -- I am actually using dual system with Boot camp. So I partitioned the hard drive into two sections, then I installed windows directly from the MACbook retina hard drive. Therefore, the solution in 4th video seems not working for me. I tried to directly change the resolution in windows but it didn't work well - the font gets bigger, and everything is very blurry. Thanks in advance for any advice on that.
- ShawntaeBrownCommunity MemberI know this is 2 years old. I also have MacBook Retina (2017 version) and I am concerned it will not be able to run the Parallels software and articulate. I have the cheapest version with 1.2 GHz m3 processor, 8gb memory, and 256ssd. Do you think this is powerful enough before I spend hundreds on the cost to make the machine run articulate?
- GabrieleDovisitPartnerHi, useful, thanks.
In our company we all use Storyline on Mac without issues. We tested it with both Parallels and VirtualBox from Oracle (which is free) for a long time right now.
As Articulate partners, we also offer a service for our customers who want to use Storyline on a Mac by giving them the solution, Parallels or VirtualBox, remote installation and configuration service, and 1 month or 1 year support. - SylviaWrightCommunity MemberWow, this has been SO helpful. I can FINALLY read the text in SL2 on Parallels. THANK YOU David!
- ChristianB-c5aaCommunity MemberI love Parallels and am happy to see you include them as the way you can use Articulate Storyline. Fooled around with using Fusion and VirtualBox but found that Parallels provides the best performance.
You can check out their product page here: http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/