Review: FreeHand on OSX Mavericks with Crossover

[FFH Mark]

I am using Mavericks OSX 10.9 as my main system—although I have a separate volume with Snow Leopard installed. I have tried several virtual systems with FreeHand but I updated my version of Codeweaver's CROSSOVER to the latest version 14. This allows a Windows version of FreeHand MX to run on a Mac, without installing Windows. Here is my review:

A major bug in Crossover 12 was that FreeHand's paste inside didn't work. While it worked on the actual file, it did not render on the screen. All I saw was the overlapping objects where they were supposed to be masked. This was a big flaw and I couldn't fully recommend using Crossover with this bug. In the latest upgrade to v.14, that bug is fixed and the onscreen rendering now looks accurate.

Because I am using a Windows version of FreeHand, there isn't the smooth interface I am used to on a Mac. Windows file navigation feels awkward for a Mac user. Also your FH fonts will need to be reinstalled in Crossover since it doesn't access your Mac's font library.

The best part of Crossover is that FreeHand operates in its own space in Mavericks like any other app. So I can switch between FreeHand and my Mac apps via the TAB bar.

Exporting my FH page or selected item to the desktop works the same. I exported in all the formats as well as PDF. Illustrator CC and Affinity Designer opened my FreeHand-exported PDF as fully editable with live text. This shows me that using FreeHand as part of my Mavericks workflow and finishing up in another drawing app works well. I vastly prefer FreeHand's drawing tools over Illustrator.

Unlike the Mac version of FreeHand in OSX, I can't drag-n-drop an object to other apps and have it editable. I would do this with InDesign a lot. I can copy-paste but the vector selection is flattened so I will have to use export to get around this.

All in all, Crossover offers another alternative to a virtualized FreeHand for Mavericks/Yosemite. I got a copy for very cheap in an app bundle this month but the regular price is $49. It is offered regularly in bundles and specials so keep your eyes open. It is easy to set up and tech support is part of the price. Crossover is a derivative of WINE, the opensource version, so you can get FreeHand working free via WINE but it may take some effort and offers no support. I didn't try it myself.

https://www.codeweavers.com/compatibili ... app_id=788

[FFH Mark]

The bundle I mentioned is still on and for less than $10 you can get Crossover and 9 other apps. A few are design related.

CREATABLE WINTER MAC BUNDLE
https://creatable.co/mac/the-winter-mac ... aign=Email