Vectorworks Operating System Compatibility List

Thanks Jim....very helpful! This is good news for me. I have two mac mini computers one with Snow Leopard  and the other with High Sierra. Vectorworks 2011 would work on Snow Leopard. 

Last updated on June 24, 2019.

Last updated on October 9, 2019.

This chart is very helpful in my considering whether to invest in a new Mac or not and all of it's associated costs.   I am wondering why all versions of Vectorworks is supported by Windows 10, but only the two latest versions of VW for mac (2019, 2020) will work with Catalina.  I have VW 2018 - so it looks like I will be keeping my old computer and avoid upgrading to Catalina. :(

The main reason for the difference in compatibility is a difference in attitude between Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft makes backward compatibility an absolute priority. That means that newer versions of Windows will support older versions of Vectorworks.

 

Apple on the other hand cares less about backward compatibility and more about moving the Mac platform forward. From version to version of the operating system them keep making changes that break older versions of Vectorworks. Vectorworks has decided that they are better off spending the engineering resources on making VW better rather than making older versions run on newer versions of the Mac OS. Especially as they are advocating for users to subscribe to Service Select where the newer versions are included in the annual subscription.

 

Apples changes over the last couple of years have been especially bad about breaking older software.

That's very helpful.  Can't say that I am a big fan of planned obsolescence but it sounds like par for the course when working with Macs.  Thanks Pat!

I don't think it is so much a case of planned obsolescence as it is a case of we want to go in this direction and if it breaks something then oh well on Apple's part.