Windows Apps on a Modern Mac

Many smaller Windows apps, especially indie games and niche tools, leave Mac users asking the same question: how can I run this on my Mac?

For example, CharPad Pro and SpritePad Pro are small Windows apps for creating Commodore 64 artwork, but they don’t have Mac equivalents. With a little CrossOver setup, they run nicely on a modern Mac.

If you do not have them yet, get them for $20. Then get CrossOver. It costs $74, but you can try the full version for two weeks. If you buy it, keep an eye on renewals: after the first year, upgrades are cheaper than a full renewal.

TL;DR

If you just want to see the setup, this short video shows the whole process:

Step-by-step instructions

After installing CrossOver and unzipping the apps, launch CrossOver. You do not need to do anything in the main window yet.

• In the app menu, select Bottle — New Bottle…. Name the bottle anything you want, such as C64, leave the default Windows 10 setting, and hit Create. After a short moment, your bottle will be ready.
• From the menu on the right, select Open C: Drive. Open the Program Files folder, then move the unzipped CharPad and SpritePad folders into it.
• Return to CrossOver, select Run Command from the right-side menu, then choose CharPadPro_W64.exe from the CharPad folder and hit Open.
• In the window that appears, press Save Command as a Launcher.
• Nothing may seem to happen at first, but after a short moment the launcher icon should appear.
• Repeat the same process for SpritePad: hit Browse…, locate SpritePadPro_380_W64.exe, and save it as a launcher too.
• Once both launchers are saved, close this window and return to the main CrossOver window.

Both apps should now appear inside your bottle with their own icons. Double-click either one to launch it.

That’s it. Enjoy, and make something awesome for the Commodore 64. 😄

Many thanks to Niklas Bichinger for the original help.