Running RIMMF on MAC OS X

We are working on a compilation of RIMMF3 that will run on OS X without requiring the installation of Windows, a virtual machine, etc.

This compilation relies on the WINE emulator; the download package is a single file that includes all of the WINE environment as well as RIMMF.

The download is named: rimmf3.app.zip (about 160 MB) [send email to request link]

Fetch this file to your desktop, then see the Installation notes below.

Keep in mind that RIMMF is Windows software. Although it may run on OS X, it will not run the way other Mac software does. A basic knowledge of Windows is, therefore, recommended.

What will help us make the Mac version better is Mac users who can go through the RIMMF tutorials (link on the left sidebar) and report back to us on the problems they discover; suggestions are also welcome!

Going through the tutorials is the only way we have of conducting standardized testing.

Please use the Contact us option to establish email communication. Once that is done, you can email us directly in the usual manner with your problem reports.

The basic functionality of the Mac version is good. We know there are a few problems with shortcut keys, especially those that use the 'Alt' key, and we are working on this. There may also be other problems that we have not foreseen because of our lack of a dedicated test machine.

• After the RIMMF package (rimmf3.app.zip) has been downloaded, double-click on it to decompress it. This should result in a file named 'rimmf3.app'

• When you launch this file you may receive a warning because it is not from the Apple store and has not been Apple codesigned¹⁾. The way around this warning seems to be to Control-Click on the icon.

• The first time you launch the rimmf3 app it will install the WINE environment, etc. In fact, the menu bar will say 'wine' instead of 'rimmf3'. Once rimmf seems to have started (the picture of the little house goes from grayscale to colour), close it. Now launch it again. This time (and each subsequent launch), the menu bar should say 'rimmf' and the program will start normally.

• In some cases, when RIMMF runs for the first time, a couple of messages that say 'Copyfile failed' may pop up. If this happens, dismiss the messages, wait til the startup is complete, and close the program. Then start the program again.

• Use the same steps as above to update a previously installed version of RIMMF

• It seems to be important to close RIMMF and restart it the first time you run it on your system (so we are just saying that again here)

• Note: in the main menu of your MAC, when RIMMF is running, there will not be any options–just the word 'Rimmf'. The functionality that is typically present in the Mac menu bar is, in Windows software, built-in to each program. So, just use the RIMMF menu bar. For example, to close the program use the File|Quit option from the RIMMF menu, etc.

Here is a list of the main problems noted so far, including any steps made to address them.

• Keyboard issues. RIMMF uses right-clicks, function keys, and a lot of other shortcuts. However, all of these shortcuts are present in the RIMMF menu system. To seee a list of shortcuts, press control-K.

To make RIMMF work more like the way it does in Windows, you may want to do the following in the System Preferences on your Mac:

1. Select the 'Keyboard' option to use 'F1, F2, etc. as standard function keys'
2. Select 'Secondary Click' in 'Trackpad' and set it to 'Bottom Right'.

• In the Mac version of RIMMF we have setup F9 to work as an Insert key (you will need to know this if you are using a macbook, which appears to have no way to emulate Insert)

• Some 'Views' may not work. For example, asking RIMMF to show a MARC View of an 'RDA record'.

This should be fixed in the current version. The problem stems from the fact that RIMMF often uses a Windows API to display views/files; this API relies on the O/S to pass an 'open' request to the default app for the type of file being viewed (.mrc, .xml, .rdf, .nt, .txt, .html, etc.). We have not yet figured out how to mimic this in WINE (or know if it is even possible). So, in cases where the default 'open' behavior is not functioning, we have wrapped the data from the view in html–in which case, it should be opened by Safari on the Mac.

• Windows hiding behind other windows.

This should be fixed in the current version. Originally there was a problem caused by a difference in how windows are 'owned' in Windows vs. OS X. We fixed this by 'de-owning' the windows in the MAC version, thus allowing them to come to the top when they are clicked on.

• This page is currently not connected to the rest of the RIMMF wiki. We are requesting that each person that wants to try the Mac version of RIMMF, read through these notes, and then, if applicable, use the contact us link (on the left sidebar) and ask for the download link. Until we have a better overall picture of whether the Mac version is viable, we ask that you to refrain from sharing links to this page.

• The Mac version of RIMMF may be several release levels behind the Windows release. For the time being, this will be the status quo, as we don't yet have a 1) Mac that is dedicated to RIMMF production, nor 2) a routine for automating the production of the Mac package.