Alternate for Keyman on a Mac Re: Crossovers and parallels

[Alan Buseman]

I assume you are aware that Toolbox has a built-in keyboard mapping option
that includes dead keys. This was added for situations like Crossover/Toolbox 
where neither external keyboards nor Mac keyboards work. It is not nice to 
have to make a keyboard mapping just for Toolbox, but at least it works.
See Toolbox help for instructions on how to make a Toolbox keyboard.

On the general question of Mac Toolbox, I want to say that I am a Mac user
and I have tried various approaches over the years to find a way to make
a cross platform version of Toolbox, but none of them have worked out so far.
But I follow this list, and I do sympathize with Mac users on this issue.

Alan Buseman, Toolbox development

On Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:50:27 -0500
 Claire Bowern <clairebowern at gmail.com> wrote:
>It looks like only some keyboard remappings work in Crossover/Toolbox. In my keyboards,
>the characters that use remappings work, but the ones that use deadkeys (e.g. ä produced
>by ; and then a, as sequential keystrokes) do not. For the typing I do, I can't imagine
>using drag and drop, and even deadkeys are inefficient.
>Claire
>
>
>On Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 10:30 PM, #HIRAM RANDALL RING# wrote:
>
>> Hi Tom and all.  
>>  
>>   Regarding an alternative solution for Keyman on a Mac, try using Ukelele (developed
>by an SIL programmer who uses a mac). http://scripts.sil.org/ukelele - it creates a
>unicode keyboard layout file recognized by Mac that you can load on startup.  
>>  
>>   Mine is loaded permanently, and I can access Roman characters as well as more
>esoteric sounds like: ŋ, ɲ, ɪ ɛ, ə, ʔ, ∫, ʒ, and even diacritics etc.. which I just
>typed now by using the 'alt-option' key along with preset characters. Those characters
>should come through fine if your email program is set up to read unicode - basically, if
>it's unicode and you can find it in your character map, you can map it to a key in
>Ukelele.  
>>  
>>   I have been using Crossover with mac to run Toolbox for the last year (your option
>#3), and have setup a unicode keyboard in Ukelele (a simple drag-and-drop from the
>character map) that works great for inputting characters - not only in Toolbox, but in
>just about any other document editor as well.  
>>  
>>   The one place it doesn't seem to work is in Transcriber for Mac, which is another
>issue, as I use the Transcriber > Toolbox > Elan workflow for time-aligning my
>transcriptions of sound and video. Unfortunately the Transcriber program is not
>user-friendly on Mac at all (the newest version doesn't even run on my mac), and I can't
>figure out how to get it to recognize unicode characters, so if I want IPA I have to
>manually replace characters once I get the transcription into Toolbox.  
>>  
>>   The best way I've found for using Ukelele is to set up your special keys to work
>when holding down the "alt/option" key, as this is a key that Crossover and Toolbox and
>other programs don't use much for mapping special functions.  
>>  
>>   There is some good documentation to go along with Ukelele as well, which I found to
>be helpful in setting up my keyboard map and putting it in the right place for OSX to
>find it.  
>>  
>> Regards,  
>> Hiram
>>  
>>  
>> On Dec 9, 2011, at 8:45 AM, Tom Honeyman wrote:  
>> > For those that might be a little lost about what this thread is about, essentially
>Toolbox and many other Linguistics oriented programs run only Windows (XP, 7 etc), and
>there are people out there on Apple computers or running a Linux based operating system
>who would like to be able to run these programs. However, if you're running a linux
>based operating system, I suspect you're technically savvy enough not to need to read
>this email.  
>> >  
>> > If you're on a Mac, and you're confused about the options then read on.  
>> >  
>> > To run Toolbox and potentially other Windows only programs, broadly speaking there
>are 3 possible solutions:  
>> >  
>> > (1) get a separate computer running a windows based operating system (or use "Boot
>Camp" if you're on an Intel based mac (ie relatively recent mac)).  
>> > (2) run a "virtual" computer inside your computer and install Windows on this.
>> > (3) emulate windows and run your applications through that, using Crossover or Wine.
>> >  
>> > Solution (1) requires that you buy or find a separate computer, but this is at least
>reasonably straight forward. If you're not tech savvy but you're okay using a Windows PC
>then this is often the easiest solution. But the cost of this solution is the cost of
>the new computer (or find a second hand one - Toolbox does not need the latest and
>greatest computer). Consider getting a cheap netbook if this solution appeals. A major
>disadvantage for this solution is that your files will be spread across two computers.
>But you could always store them on a USB flash drive and then plug that into the
>computer you want to use.  
>> >  
>> > Solution (1a) is "Boot Camp". Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/) is
>an alternative for the moderately tech savvy mac users. It allows you to install Windows
>straight onto your mac, but will mean you have to restart your computer every time you
>want to use Toolbox, and you cannot simultaneously use Toolbox with your regular Apple
>programs. The costs associated with this solution are the purchase a of Windows license.
>There are academic versions available, and some academic institutions may have a site
>license which means you don't have to pay at all.  
>> >  
>> > Solution (2) is technically harder than solution (1). There are three possible
>contenders: Parallels and VMWare Fusion, and VirtualBox. The first two are commercial
>products with various degrees of technical support available, the third is free, with
>community based support. Again if you are not tech savvy, I would lean towards the
>commercial solutions. And so the costs would be both the cost of the software _and_ a
>windows license. Advantages to this solution are that you can run Mac and (any) Windows
>programs side by side. Some confusing points can be locating your files, cutting a
>pasting between programs, and managing a "virtual" computer inside your actual computer.
>But the advantages are many - everything is (pretty much) in the one location, the
>windows programs run very robustly, and especially with the commercial software, the
>tightness of integration means you may not even be aware of the difference between
>Toolbox and any other application on your mac.  
>> >  
>> > Solution (3) is also technically harder than (1), and while Toolbox runs reasonably
>well, I have failed to run many other SIL Linguistics programs. The cost is lower
>however - you only need to purchase Codeweaver's Crossover, and there are academic
>versions available. The software is updated frequently, but their business model is to
>make you pay for support (and major updates) on an ongoing basis (but you don't have to
>update if everything works!). Integration between regular Mac programs and windows
>programs is reasonably tight, but at times confusing - for instance when it comes to
>closing/quitting Toolbox. Keyman does not work, and I have yet to come up with a
>reasonable solution to typing in non-standard characters. Key combinations can also be a
>little confusing. Cutting and pasting between documents can be a little buggy. The major
>advantage is that this is the cheapest solution to get Toolbox running on your mac.  
>> >  
>> > Crossover is actually a commercial repackaging of the freely available and open
>source "Wine" software. If you know how to install Wine then this email is not for you.
>But FYI it is the only legal free solution that does not require the purchase of a
>windows license (actually, technically in some cases you are required to own a windows
>license but you don't need to use it).
>> >  
>> > So here is how I would break it down based on different user's scenarios:  
>> >  
>> > "Argh, it's all too hard... I want an easy solution!": use a separate Windows PC
>computer with a thumb drive to store your files. Of course lugging around two computers
>may actually be harder in some cases!  
>> >  
>> > "I'm not afraid to try something trickier. I want to run Toolbox only and I want the
>cheapest (legal) solution": run Wine, or if you don't know how to do that, run
>Codeweaver's Crossover. VirtualBox is potentially a better cheap option if you can get
>ahold of a windows license for free (ie through work etc).  
>> >  
>> > "I'm not afraid to try something trickier. I want convenience. I don't care what it
>costs": run Parallels or VMWare Fusion (where the integration is more transparent), or
>if on a budget, run VirtualBox. Of course, VirtualBox will be the cheapest if you can
>get ahold of a windows license for free.  
>> >  
>> > None of these solutions are perfect. So in addition, consider writing a friendly
>email to the SIL Toolbox/Fieldworks team praising them on their excellent software (a
>bargain at that price too if I may say so!), and saying how nice it would be if they
>could produce a genuine cross-platform solution.  
>> >  
>> > Cheers,  
>> > Tom
>> >   
>> > On 08/12/2011, at 11:33 AM, Xavier Barker wrote:  
>> > > You don't even need to be booting the VM everytime you use it.  You can pause it
>(or save state) and just reload it in a ready state every time you need it, which is a
>great option if you're seriously so time poor you can't wait a few minutes for the VM to
>load.  You'll find a lot of software is dependent on a fair bit of backend stuff
>happening in Windows (like Keyman) which is why they don't work as expected under
>emulated conditions.     
>> > >  
>> > > On 08/12/2011, at 11:24 AM, Aidan Wilson wrote:
>> > >  
>> > > > Given how many programs you intend to use, I argue again that a virtual machine
>is the best approach. I agree that crossover allows you to easily open a project without
>booting the machine, but the ram and cpu usage is higher when you have crossover and a
>virtual machine running. It's best to have everything in one VM.
>> > > >  
>> > > > --  
>> > > > Aidan Wilson
>> > > >  
>> > > > PhD Candidate in Linguistics
>> > > > School of Languages and Linguistics
>> > > > The University of Melbourne
>> > > >  
>> > > > +61428 458 969
>> > > > aidan.wilson at unimelb.edu.au (mailto:aidan.wilson at unimelb.edu.au)
>> > > > @aidanbwilson
>> > > >  
>> > > > On Thu, 8 Dec 2011, Margaret Carew wrote:
>> > > >  
>> > > > > Sorry about that, I can’t get it to work either
>> > > > > I’ve had the LP/crossovers download sitting here – I just tried running it,
>but it won’t load my database.
>> > > > > MC
>> > > > > On 8/12/11 9:25 AM, "Claire Bowern" <claire.bowern at yale.edu
>(mailto:claire.bowern at yale.edu)> wrote:
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >     I've had no luck getting Lexique to work on Crossover - what settings did
>you use?
>> > > > >     Claire
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >     On Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 6:52 PM, Margaret Carew wrote:
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >           Crossovers and parallels Thanks for all the input on Crossovers and
>parallels for toolbox.
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >           After my own couple of weeks of testing I’ve decided to use both –
>I’m going with a parellels virtual
>> > > > >           machine, mainly so I can use Miromaa, running under windows 7.
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >           However, I like crossovers for toolbox because you go straight to it
>(the crossovers/Toolbox icon) and
>> > > > >           start up from there. If I need to I can also use it in Parallels,
>accessing the same files etc, but it
>> > > > >           seems to run a bit slower (also has the whole windows start up
>routine which is boring).
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >           And I think Lexique pro works the same way through crossovers.
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >           The cost wasn’t exhorbitant, paid $70 for parellels (on special last
>week!) and about $40 for
>> > > > >           crossovers. (and have access to licences for the big ticket software
>through work).
>> > > > >  
>> > > > >           cheers
>> > > > > --
>> > > > > Margaret Carew
>> > > > > Arandic Endangered Languages Project
>> > > > > Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
>> > > > > Alice Springs NT 0870
>> > > > > 08 8951 8344 / 0422 418 559
>> > > > > margaret.carew at batchelor.edu.au (mailto:margaret.carew at batchelor.edu.au)
>> > > > >  
>> > >  
>> >  
>>  
>