Microsoft Project is the best project, portfolio, and resource management solution—but it’s not available on macOS®. However, with Parallels Desktop® for Mac, Apple® users can use a Windows virtual machine (VM) to run Microsoft Project on Mac®.
Getting started with running MS Project on macOS is easy:
I had a similar problem when i switched to Mac. I came across an app called Project Planning Pro through some forum here. It allows you to view MS Project files and also edit it. It has most of MS Project features too and quite cheap. Before you can install Office 365 or Office 2019 you need to associate it with a Microsoft account, or work or school account. If you have an Office for home product and bought Office at a retail store or online store, but don't have a Microsoft account, it's possible you haven't redeemed your product key yet (if you got one), or you missed the step for linking your recent purchase with an. Unfortunately Microsoft Project, also known as MS Project, wasn’t designed for Mac computers, so it won’t work on any version of Mac OS. But there is a workaround that can solve your problem. It’s not complicated, and in fact, it’s easier to use than the MSP interface.
- Download a trial of Parallels Desktop.
- Set up a Windows 10 VM. It’s very easy to buy a new Windows 10 license inside Parallels Desktop. (You can also use an existing Windows 10 license key.)
- Purchase Microsoft Project and download the .exe file in your Windows 10 VM.
- Start using Microsoft Project to get your job done!
Parallels Desktop is the #1 virtualization solution to run Windows, Linux, and other popular operating systems on Mac. Virtualization of a Windows OS on Mac has endless benefits, including:
- Low cost in comparison to buying a second computer
- Minimized or eliminated downtime
- Increased productivity
- Faster backups
- Easy to recover or migrate to additional Mac devices
- Economic use of energy
- Eco-friendly choice to minimize the amount of electronic waste a single user produces.
If you’re still deciding if Parallels Desktop is right for you, continue reading to understand how a program manager utilizes virtualization to run Microsoft Project.
As a self-employed program manager, Tim specializes in large-scale data migrations and the development of sustainable business intelligence (BI) and analytic solutions. He has a wealth of experience in both IT and capital asset delivery, as well as general management, operational, and strategic roles in asset-intensive industries and regulation.
Like most consultants, Tim needs slick and stable IT to allow him to focus on the real issues. He doesn’t want IT issues to constantly be distracting him. Parallels Desktop offers a reliable platform that allows him to deliver.
As an avid personal user of Apple products, Tim also wished to migrate his work life to Mac. However, for most clients he needed to use Microsoft Project as a Gantt chart management tool. Being able to manage multi-project plans is an essential element for any program manager. Unfortunately, Microsoft Project is one of the few pieces of Microsoft software that has not been developed to run on macOS.
After online research, Tim concluded that the only successful way to use Microsoft Project on a Mac was through a Windows virtual machine. He discussed the issue directly with Apple, and they recommended Parallels Desktop as a solution.
Following a very simple installation of Parallels, Tim can now use Microsoft Project natively within a Windows environment on his MacBook Pro®. This means there’s no translation between products claiming to act as a Microsoft Project editor—quite simply, he’s running a Windows version of Microsoft Project on his Mac. It has proved to be an excellent solution for Tim.
Microsoft Project Mac Os X Free Download
Tim wholeheartedly recommends Parallels Desktop, which he has now been using successfully for several months. Installation was simple, and there are many configuration options that can be changed. (For example, the amount of memory dedicated to the Apple or Windows operating system.) This gives greater flexibility to the user. Tim hasn’t had any issues with Parallels Desktop at all, and the product is extremely stable in every way. Tim also added that Parallels® Toolbox (which comes included with Parallels Desktop) has been useful. He particularly likes the disk cleaning tool, which ensures his laptop is always operating efficiently.
If you’d like to use Parallels Desktop to run popular Windows programs on Mac (without rebooting!), download a free 14-day trial.
Microsoft Project isn’t available for Mac so we’ve looked at the best free project planning tools out there for Mac users.
If you need something that can genuinely compare with a professional tool like MS Project, then first we strongly recommend checking out our look at the best alternatives to Microsoft Project on Mac.
Many of them like the excellent Teamwork Projects have free versions for those on a budget, and pretty much all of them allow you to at least try a free trial.
If you’re on a really tight budget though and want something 100% free to create Gantt charts and Kanban boards on your Mac, read on.
Free Microsoft Project Alternatives For Mac Tips
- It’s important to be aware that the majority of the top project management software nowadays is Cloud based. There are very few desktop options for Mac users and those that do exist require Java. We don’t recommend installing Java on Mac for a number of reasons, mainly due to poor performance and security but if this doesn’t worry you, you’ll find a selection of the best free project management downloads for Mac here too.
- Beware of project planning software in the Mac App Store that claims to be “free” but in actual fact require subscriptions to use them. Examples include Merlin Project Express and Project Plan 365 which allow you to download them for free but then require you to purchase a subscription to do any actual project planning.
With this in mind, whether you’re a freelancer, NGO or small business looking for something free or open source, here are the best free alternatives to Microsoft Project for Mac in order of ranking.
1. Teamwork Projects (Free Forever Plan)
Although Teamwork Projects is a professional project management tool, it also allows you to use a version of it for free. Teamwork Projects is an incredibly powerful alternative to Microsoft Project and yet the Free Forever plan allows you to manage a maximum of 2 projects with 100MB of free storage.
If you just need to manage a few projects at a time, or can delete projects once they are complete, you can easily keep using Teamwork Projects for free for as long as you want.
Teamwork is tastefully designed with a clear, color coordinated dashboard that allows you to instantly switch between Gantt Charts and Kanban boards. You can import and export Microsoft Project MPP files and you can even sync it with the Windows version of Microsoft Project (although this isn’t available in the free version).
Other great features include automatic Triggers and Webhooks to alert other stakeholders and team members when work is complete, useful mobile apps to track projects on the move and contact management.
You can even try the paid plans for free and after 30 days, it will automatically revert to the Free Forever Plan if you don’t want to subscribe.
You can start using Teamwork Projects for free now.
2. Microsoft Planner
If you already have an eligible Office 365 subscription, then did you know that you can use Microsoft Planner for free on Mac?
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In June 2016, Microsoft launched Microsoft Planner (sometimes referred to as Office 365 Planner) – a free online basic project management tool for Office 365 users that works on both Mac and PC.
The slight catch is that Microsoft Planner is only available to Office 365 users on specific plans such as Enterprise E1–E5, Business Essentials, Premium and Education. The standard Office 365 Business Plan & Pro Plus plans are not included for example so you must check your Office 365 dashboard to see if it is available to you.
Planner isn’t exactly a replacement for Microsoft Project but it is similar to web-based, easy to use Kanban oriented Project Management tools such as Trello.
Project 2016 For Mac
Planner can be launched from the Office 365 app launcher and allows you to create new plans, organize and assign tasks, set due dates, share files, send email updates and use a whiteboard.
For Project Managers, Planner gives a simple overview of the status of tasks assigned, unassigned, not started, in progress, completed and late along with the person working on them.
Microsoft claims that one regional authority in Cascais, Portugal with over 1000 employees has moved all of it’s work planning to Planner already and claims significant improvements in collaboration between employees.
At the moment, Planner is quite basic but Microsoft plans to build on it with the ability to assign tasks to multiple users, external user access and more customizable boards among others.
3. ProjectLibre
Microsoft Project
ProjectLibre (formerly OpenProj) is a free open source desktop project management tool that you can download on Mac and other platforms. ProjectLibre can import MS Project 2003, 2007 and 2010 files and is based on the same user experience that you get in Project.
For example, you can create resources and dependencies in ProjectLibre similar to the way you can in Project and it uses the same Gantt chart view to display your projects. The reporting features are basic but reports are easy to generate and you can export all of them to PDF format.
The downside is that ProjectLibre uses Java which is notoriously buggy, slow and insecure on Mac. This means the the interface can be slow and unresponsive at times even when performing the most basic of functions.
If you just need something that can handle WBS, resource association and exporting to PDF, ProjectLibre does the job.
For long term use with more complex activities, it will probably end up driving you mad especially because there’s very little Help documentation when you get stuck (although there’s a very active online community).
4. Gantt Project
Distance from juan tabo south dmg to montgomery dmg. Like ProjectLibre, Gantt Project is another Java based desktop free projects management app for Mac which can also import and export Microsoft Project files.
As the name suggests, Gantt Project uses Gantt charts to display project details and there are more ways to customize the Gantt views than in LibreOffice. Coolterm mac download for pc.
Gantt Project does all the basics like creating tasks and milestones, breaking down tasks and it draws dependency constraints.
It has better reporting features than ProjectLibre although there are virtually no costing tools or ability to add holiday or level resources.
Gantt Project is however completely free to use for as long as you want including for commercial use with no license fees.
5. 2-Plan
2-Plan Project Management Software is a cross-platform Java based desktop alternative to Project for Mac that can be extended with different plugins.
2-Plan is aimed more at large organizations with complex project planning needs and as a result is quite complicated to learn compared to Gantt Project and ProjectLibre.
There are various free plugins to extend the functionality of 2-Plan. However, most of what you need even for complex projects is provided for free in 2-Plan and if you’re willing to put the time in, it’s a pretty powerful Project planning solution.
The big downside is that it’s another Java based application and you will find it slow, unresponsive and awkward to use at times.
We hope this article has helped you find a free equivalent to MS Project on your Mac that’s right for your needs.
If you have any comments, suggestions or experiences with the software featured here, feel free to share them in the comments below.
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