How do you run AutoCAD Civil 3D on a Mac?

I have a Macbook and am wondering if I can run Civil 3D on this machine.

Asked on March 14, 2017 in Civil 3D.
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6 Answer(s)

Hi there and welcome to CAD Answers

A similar question has been asked here: https://cadanswers.com/question/does-bootcamp-support-autocad-on-windows-7/

You basically need to run AutoCAD in Boot Camp; it will run slightly slower than on PC but you won’t even notice

Here’s how it’s done:

 

Answered on March 15, 2017.
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If you don’t want to use Bootcamp, you could try to use Parallels on your Mac, which enables you to run both operating systems simultaneously.

I haven’t tried it for AutoCAD which I expect will be a lot of memory and processor intensive but for other programs it works wonderfully well.

They have a 14 day free trial here: http://trial.parallels.com/?lang=en&terr=us so I  suggest you test it with AutoCAD before you buy it.

Good luck, I’d be interested to here how it goes!

Answered on March 16, 2017.
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I read on the Autodesk forums that there are no plans to release Civil3D for Mac, so if you really want to run it on your Macintosh it looks like you’re going to have to go either Bootcamp or Parallels which will allow you to run PC programs.

Here’s a short article on the Pros and Cons of Bootcamp vs Parallels to help you see the difference.

http://www.citymac.com/blog/2015/04/10/running-windows-on-a-mac-boot-camp-vs-parallels

Answered on March 17, 2017.

Good find KingCAD… and with some other options too that I didn’t think of!

 

on March 17, 2017.
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Hey everyone,

There is another option for the OP. He doesn’t need to use Parallels or Bootcamp, he could create a virtual machine in Citrix or VMWare as the article KingCAD posted says.

Personally I’ve used every method. I like Parallels because it let’s you run Mac and PC applications at the same time (with Bootcamp you literally need to choose Windows or Mac OS on startup). Citrix and VMWare will allow you to create a virtual machine on your Mac, but in my experience they are a hassle to setup.

So, depending of whether you need access to your Mac applications at the same time as Civil 3D (choose Parallels) or not (choose Bootcamp).

Hope that helps.

Answered on March 17, 2017.

I’d agree with you Lakers. If ps_c3d goes for Citrix of VMWare he’d have the hassle of finding a Windows image to install. The Parallels or Bootcamp option seem far more simple to me!

Just my 2c worth 🙂

on March 17, 2017.
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Hi there,

I used to use QEMU ; I have no idea if it’ll work with AutoCAD what so ever but it’s pretty easy to use and FREE too

http://www.qemu-project.org

 

Screenshot: QEMU running the ReactOS operating system on Linux.

 

Hope this works for you!!!

😉

Answered on March 19, 2017.
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 Virtual box 

Another free option that works seamlessly on MAC

Download from here:

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

 

Here’s a tutorial on how to use it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eno4l6pKQHc

 

Don’t mind if it’s on windows; they all have the same UI

Answered on March 19, 2017.
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