Apple macOS 14 Sonoma Compatibility - Feedback

[zeno]

On 11/24/2023 at 3:42 PM, StefanoT said:

With VW24 Update 1 and 1.1 on macOS Sonoma (latest) we’re experiencing incremental crashes not related to specific commands till it becomes very unstable (>2 crashes per hour).

 

Running “Repair” from the installer does not seem to solve the issue. Clean reinstall does solve it, at least for a while. This was a recurrent behavior on 2 different users/devices  (MacBookPro Intel and MacMini M2), starting from a few crashes and quickly in a few days becoming very unstable.

 

We have already shared this issue with our local distributor, and we got answered Sonoma is not officially supported yet, but we still believe - as VW addicted 😉 - it is worthy to share here. 

 

Hi Stefano

 

are you able to check the same steps on Ventura?

[Benson Shaw]

No posts in a while. Finally thinking of upgrade from MacOS Ventura to MacOS 14.3.1 Sonoma.

 

Are we fully compatible now for vwx2024?

 

Thanks

 

-B

 

[E|FA]

I'm running VW24 Architect Update 3.1 on M2 MacBook Air 24gb macOS 14.3.1 with no issues that I would associate with the system.  More memory would be nice, but not keeping dozens of Safari tabs active helped a lot.

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

I have a MacBook Pro M3 chip with Sonoma.  Running VW 2024.

 

We are not fully compatible.

 

There are memory handling issues.  Not the first time I have seen this and probably to be expected.  It could be a combination of Unified memory and how VW's handles it, or just Vectorworks.....or just Sonoma.  To be determined.

There may not be enough users running this combination yet for VW's to get enough info

 

 

[zoomer]

Looks like Blender has same problems with memory (leaks ?) on M3.

 

Maybe because of Apples new M3 dynamic memory.

But there are 2-3 Apple employees helping to make Blender fully

Apple ARM compatible and already some service requests

So Apple should be already aware of potential issues.

 

 

[rb-arch]

So, I take it there are no plans to make Vectorworks 2022 compatible with Sonoma?  Software is only 2 years old and no longer supported?

[Pat Stanford]

1. VW2022 is still completely compatible with everything that was available when it was shipped.

2. Blame Apple. They are the ones who have changed the OS in such a way as to break older software.

[MGuilfoile]

I assume that those persons using VW2022 purchased a perpetual license, otherwise you would simply upgrade to VW2023 or VW2024, yes? Assuming that is the case, the reasonable--and I feel honorable--thing for VW to do is send a perpetual version of VW2024 to those users. That is the thing about this word "perpetual." Having worked in and for museums most of my career, I can tell you that an accessioned object at a museum is generally accepted with terms that the institution care for the object "in perpetuity." But neither side can predict the future. There may be fires, floods, political unrest, or uncontrolled third parties who change their software in unpredictable ways. And regardless of the calamity, a reputable museum will do everything possible to secure its collection. The reputation of the institution is, in many ways, established in how it reacts to these types of unpredictable events that test it. How do they measure up? Reputation is not only an important thing, it is the ONLY thing that matters. It can be lost in an instant, but take decades to recover--if ever. VW might want to think about that as it considers its options regarding the non-working 2022 perpetual licenses out there. It sounds like neither party is at fault, so what to do?

 

So, here is what I would suggest to Vectorworks: Live up to your promise of delivering a "perpetual" product. Give users of perpetual 2020 through 2022 versions that do not work under Sonoma, a perpetual version of VW2024. Even though it's not your fault, you should live up to your bargain of "perpetual" regardless. This may not mean forever, but, really, I think a reasonable person would say two years is far too short of a term for a software to work. I'd say something more like five years, but whatever it is, put it in writing. 

 

Just my opinion.

MH Brown

[Jeff Prince]

7 minutes ago, MGuilfoile said:

I assume that those persons using VW2022 purchased a perpetual license, otherwise you would simply upgrade to VW2023 or VW2024, yes? Assuming that is the case, the reasonable--and I feel honorable--thing for VW to do is send a perpetual version of VW2024 to those users. That is the thing about this word "perpetual." Having worked in and for museums most of my career, I can tell you that an accessioned object at a museum is generally accepted with terms that the institution care for the object "in perpetuity." But neither side can predict the future. There may be fires, floods, political unrest, or uncontrolled third parties who change their software in unpredictable ways. And regardless of the calamity, a reputable museum will do everything possible to secure its collection. The reputation of the institution is, in many ways, established in how it reacts to these types of unpredictable events that test it. How do they measure up? Reputation is not only an important thing, it is the ONLY thing that matters. It can be lost in an instant, but take decades to recover--if ever. VW might want to think about that as it considers its options regarding the non-working 2022 perpetual licenses out there. It sounds like neither party is at fault, so what to do?

 

So, here is what I would suggest to Vectorworks: Live up to your promise of delivering a "perpetual" product. Give users of perpetual 2020 through 2022 versions that do not work under Sonoma, a perpetual version of VW2024. Even though it's not your fault, you should live up to your bargain of "perpetual" regardless. This may not mean forever, but, really, I think a reasonable person would say two years is far too short of a term for a software to work. I'd say something more like five years, but whatever it is, put it in writing. 

 

Just my opinion.

MH Brown

That’s a hard position for me to support, especially in the technology space.  If I were electing to stay on a previous release in perpetuity, the prudent thing to do is to maintain that vintage of hardware and OS in perpetuity as well.  The user has the choice here and if they want fancy new OS features, they should upgrade their other softwares accordingly.
 

 I have not upgraded to Sonoma yet because I like my software to work 🙂  I don’t understand why people feel compelled to run the latest of everything and then expect it all to work…. New Release = Beta Tester in the software world.

[MGuilfoile]

I see your point, Jeff, and generally agree. In fact, I have a 2008 MacPro with twin Xenon processors running OS10.6.8. I maxed out the ram, installed an SSD, and upgraded the video card. This machine and OS are, in my opinion, the most robust Apple has produced. It is, as you say, frozen in time for the sole purpose of running Logic 9 music creation software. It works amazingly well and I would never expect any modern software to run on it.

 

But I feel this is different and I'm actually not looking at what is best for the VW users. I'm looking at what is best for Vectorworks as a company. In all cases like this, the question is where to draw the line. I feel that updating an OS to the next version does not meet the standard of a wreckless action. It is actually promoted by both Apple (or Windows) that you should upgrade. Vectorworks does the same. It's not like the users of 2022 are jumping three or four OS versions and expecting it to work. It would be different, for example, if I expected the 2024 version of Logic to run on my 2008 MacPro. So, I'm suggesting drawing the line at five years for a perpetual license. Not only would that fulfill their promise of software that will work for a reasonable term, but I also think it is very beneficial to Vectorworks to show this level of support for its users. It is a very small price to pay and a great opportunity for VW to show it cares about its user base--and building it. I admit companies rarely think about goodwill being a positive business decision. But they should. Vectorworks has a tiny user base. This is an easy way to help build it.

 

MH Brown

Edited April 26 by MGuilfoile

[Jeff Prince]

I’m glad I’m not in the software business 🙂

 

[MGuilfoile]

Me too!

[fcahz]

hi there! just want to add:

 

I bought 2 days ago MacBook Air m3 16gb ram and 512 gb. Installed latest version of VW 2024 and system update for Sonoma 14.4.1. It just sucks. Im not sure how to deal with this situation because it's crashing every 10-30 minutes. Im not sure if it is Sonoma or VW or both? I was working yesterday only in Indesign and had no problems at all. Hope this can be fixed any time soon, I need to work!

 

Error:

panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffe001f6b8fdc): DCP PANIC - program_swap: Async Swap request landing on unsupported platform. Force panic
 - iomfb_mailbox_async(86)
program_swap: Async Swap request landing on unsupported platform. Force panic

 

[FBernardo]

22 hours ago, fcahz said:

hi there! just want to add:

 

I bought 2 days ago MacBook Air m3 16gb ram and 512 gb. Installed latest version of VW 2024 and system update for Sonoma 14.4.1. It just sucks. Im not sure how to deal with this situation because it's crashing every 10-30 minutes. Im not sure if it is Sonoma or VW or both? I was working yesterday only in Indesign and had no problems at all. Hope this can be fixed any time soon, I need to work!

 

Error:

panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffe001f6b8fdc): DCP PANIC - program_swap: Async Swap request landing on unsupported platform. Force panic
 - iomfb_mailbox_async(86)
program_swap: Async Swap request landing on unsupported platform. Force panic

 

 

EDIT: A question, does this happen when connected to external screen only?

 

If you're having so many issues, I would advise in getting a Time Machine for your Mac, and then revert back to the previous update, although this action will wipe your Mac and install the version of the OS you choose. (Time Machine is quite important)
 

How to revert to a previous update

Go to Apple menu > Restart.

Press and hold Command+R until you see the Apple logo.

Choose Reinstall macOS from macOS Utilities.

The version of macOS that came with your Mac will be installed, and you can then download updates from Apple to update it to the version you want.

Edited April 29 by FBernardo

[MGuilfoile]

It might be a good idea not to leave the OP hanging and tell him which OS to re-install. It may not be the one that came with the computer. Sort of buried the lead there.

MH Brown

[expowise]

do you use an external screen?

[expowise]

I have noticed the same issue and also that it is caused by the external screen that I use with my brand new matchbook pro.

If I work on my iMac pro it works perfectly.

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

I have a MacBook Pro M3 Chip with Sonoma.  I also have a second ASUS monitor.  In general everything is fine. no issues, except for this.

 

[shorter]

Is there an official statement on whether Vectorworks 2024 SP5 is compatible with Sonoma 14.5?

Edited June 17 by shorter

[FBernardo]

Hopefully the team is already testing the Sequoia OS and the issues with the 14.5 are gone? 

[shorter]

I have clients waiting to be given the go ahead to upgrade to 2024 and sonoma 14.5...

 

Please tell us, oh mighty leader

 

[FBernardo]

I have the 14.5 on my M1 MacBook Pro and use it connected to a UW monitor and haven't got any issues so far, but again I haven't printed from it just publish to pdf's... 

 

If there is anything I could test it out... let me know!

[Michael Berglund]

I have been using MacOS Sonoma and VW24 since they were released and haven't experienced any issues related to Sonoma 14.5. 
 

Like Fbernardo I have not tried printing directly from VW, only exported as PDF and then printed. 

[tdiamond]

For those of you running external/multiple displays and experiencing performance issues on macOS 14.4/14.5…

 

In System Settings > Desktop & Dock, can you please try turning 'Displays have separate Spaces'. Let us know if this helps.

 

[Michael Berglund]

21 hours ago, tdiamond said:

For those of you running external/multiple displays and experiencing performance issues on macOS 14.4/14.5…

 

In System Settings > Desktop & Dock, can you please try turning 'Displays have separate Spaces'. Let us know if this helps.

 

 

Forgot to mention that in my last post, but I have also been using external screens and have had no Issue. With or without the MacBook Pro in "clamshell mode / Open-Closed"

 just checked my settings and "Displays have separate Spaces" was enabled on my system by default. 

Edited June 20 by Michael Berglund