Background
The Online Bible exists for quite some time, and started as a program for DOS/Windows. To be able to use it on a Mac a wrapper was distributed to emulate Windows. Other Windows emulation tools also worked.
In the US a version was developed specifically for the Mac, with its own website (to distinguish we have called this the US-Mac version in this article). This version has also been distributed in some other English speaking countries. However, this program is quite old, and often no longer works properly with MacOS versions 10.12 Sierra and higher. It is also a 32 bit application and there are no plans to update it. Please see this website for more details: http://www.onlinebible.us/macos.html
It is still possible to use the Windows version with specific Windows emulation software. If you prefer that route, get in touch and we might be able to help.
In 2016 a new native Mac app was developed by Cross Link Services. In practice, this works far better than Windows emulation. It is a 64 bit program and gets regular updates. Please note that MacOS version 10.12 Sierra or higher is required. The app will not work with older release of the Operating System. The app can be installed from the Mac App-store.
Current situation
Compared to the other versions the main gap in functionality is that it is not possible (at this point in time) to add your notes within the app. The US-Mac version also had the possibility to add a Bible quotation is a word processor with hot keys without starting the program. That has become available in the app with the latest version (from 1.5.0 onwards) but that does require Mac OS 10.15 (Catalina) or higher.
The new app is being updated continually, but is lagging when compared to the iOS version. The reason for this is that Apple has committed to allowing the same source code to be used for both iOS and Mac apps. This was made possible in 2019 and that will save development time. New developments are already being made in the app, and in 2020 this process became easier, so the app should quickly catch up with the iOS version. It now contains features not available in iOS (such as a simple copy to a word processor).
We would like to hear specific features you would like adding. No guarantee that they will be built, but we do track the interest in various features. Please raise a ticket (top right on this screen) and send us feature requests.
A further difference is that the Windows and US-Mac were distributed with a standard set of titles on dvd. The new app contains a store in which individual titles can be purchased. It is also compatible with apps for iOS (iPad/iPhone) and Android, so any titles you purchase are interchangeable with other platforms. On the Mac it is also possible to import titles you already have on a Windows dvd, but not from the US-Mac as that was in a different format.
It is possible to purchase modules with your iTunes account, but then they are not interchangeable with other platforms. We strongly recommend creating an Online Bible account - refer the following article: An Online Bible Account
Further information about the use of the software is available under the relevant subjects in the rest of this Knowledge Base. If you are not really familiar with the Online Bible app, you might find it useful to read the following article: Getting started in the macOS version
Installation issues
We are not aware of any installation issues with the Mac app. But should you encounter any problems, please raise a ticket, top right of this screen.