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Hi Farai,
Modano can only be used on the Windows version of Excel, so to use it on a Mac you will need to use either Boot Camp or Parallels Desktop. You can read about it here:
www.modano.com/software/installation/mac_users
The inability to run add-ins like Modano on Mac Excel flows from the longstanding issues between Microsoft and Apple, which resulted in the Mac version of Excel falling way behind the Windows version. It's annoying, but I've used Boot Camp on my MacBook Pro, and with Windows 10 and Office 2016 supporting high-resolution, it's actually quite a beautiful (and very high performance) setup.
Hi Mike, I am planning to move on from my windows laptop to a Macbook Pro 14 M1. I understand Modano works seamlessly on Mac with Parallels installed. Is it still applicable now and is there anything/limitation of using Modano on Mac that I should pay attention ?
Thank you
Hoang
Hi Hoang,
You should be fine using Modano on a Mac using Parallels. I do so at home on the Mac we travel with to watch Netflix and it's a great experience.
Probably the only negative feedback we've had is that for very large models Excel is more stable on Windows machines, but most hard core financial modelers building massive (i.e. 10MB - 20MB+ *.xlsb files / 30MB - 50MB+ *.xlsx files) don't use Macs so it's not a common problem we come across.
Within Modano, we've been using HP EliteBooks for the past 3 years which look identical to a MacBook Pro, cost about 40% as much, and have proven ultra-reliable with regards to both performance and practicality. So I always ask people if there's a specific reason why they're spending more on a Mac if their primary use case is financial analysis.
But they are cool and beautiful machines so I accept that sometimes the brand love is too strong!
M.
Thank you for your answer, Mike. I appreciated it! Modano is one of important factors I need to consider for a new laptop given I use it almost every day.
The reason for me to buy a Mac is it is beautiful, and performance of the new M1 chip is really changing my perspective although I am a 20+ years Windows user :D
Best,
Hoàng
Yes they are beautiful... And expensive haha.
Let us know how you go Hoàng.
M.
Hi Mike, I installed Modano via Parallels this week and it works like a charm (2.5-3x times faster than my previous windows and very stable without any lagging/crashes) which I am really impressed. Perhaps it is because my windows laptop only has 8GB RAM (4 cores CPU and 8 threads) and the new one's is 32GB (10 cores CPU and 16 cores GPU) which I assigned 16GB for the virtual machine.
The only issue I am still figuring out is shortcuts (not sure there is a way to make the shortcuts work exactly the same way they work on a native windows Excel, things like Ctrl, Alt, Shift, etc). I know Parallels allows users to map out the shortcuts between Mac and Win, but it appears not exactly to what I wanted. Either way, it seems a right choice.
Best,
Hoàng
Hi Mike,
I am contemplating upgrading my now nine year old MacBook Pro to the latest 14 inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip, 16GB Ram and 1TB storage. Through reading this informative post I’ve learned that running Modano via Parallels standard edition I can only allocate 8GB of RAM to Windows; will this be sufficient for normal day-to-day Modano usage? Thanks Matt
Hi Hoang & all,
I have been contemplating moving to a Mac (I just can't get by that battery life...), but the biggest thing holding me back is that issue of shortcuts. Everything else sounds fine.
Did you manage to find a workaround for that? Is it possible to remap say options or command, or whatever to separate keys?
Thanks!
Jun
Hi Matt, 8GB of RAM should be enough for the virtual machine, but I would strongly recommend you to go with 32GB if possible because Parallel is a ram-hungry software. In fact, I was battling myself between 16 or 32GB for the Mac and ended up with 32GB because it gave me more peace of mind, especially for the next 3-4 years. Alternatively, you should go with Parallel Pro edition so that you can assign more than 8GB ram to the virtual machine (this is not recommended by the developer given it may cause issues with Mac OS)
Hi Jun, Yes, Parallel gives you the ability to customize the shortcuts and remap everything. You just need to spend time at first to change the shortcut as per whatever you want. I run Modano in Parallel in the last 6 months and think I will never come back to native Windows anymore :D
Hi Hoang,
that’s really helpful thank you. I shall place my order for the 32GB version imminently!
Hi Hoang,
Super helpful, thanks so much on this.
Initial setup is fine, so long as it can be done. Damn, I guess this is back on the table for assessment again haha - I thought I'd ruled it out.
Jun