Publish or Perish on macOS

Detailed instructions on how to download and install Publish or Perish for macOS (formerly OS X)

David Adams - Sat 6 Feb 2016 16:10 (updated Wed 11 Jan 2023 10:43)

Publish or Perish version 8 is available as a native macOS application. You no longer need a virtual machine with Windows inside as you did for previous versions of Publish and Perish.

Note: If you currently run Publish or Perish 6 or earlier on your macOS system, then the new Publish or Perish 8 for macOS can import your searches from the earlier version. At present this requires some manual work; see the instructions below.

License agreement

Publish or Perish is provided courtesy of Harzing.com. It is free for personal non-profit use; please refer to the End User License Agreement for the full licensing terms and conditions.

System requirements

Check that your computer meets the following minimum system requirements:

• macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later, including macOS 11 (Big Sur), 12 (Monterey), and 13 (Ventura)
  
• Some memory (enough to run the operating system, not much more)
• Some hard disk space (ditto)
• An Internet connection

Publish or Perish 8 for macOS includes both Intel and Apple Silicon binaries and will run natively on all supported macOS systems.

Earlier versions of macOS: If your iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini, or other macOS device runs a version of macOS (formerly called Mac OS X) earlier than 10.13, then you might be able to upgrade for free through the Apple App Store or via a direct download:

• How to download macOS (official Apple page) 

Download information

Download the Publish or Perish software installer from the Harzing.com web site:

Publish or Perish installer for macOS (2.7 MB)

Version: 8.8.4275 (11 January 2023) [Changes in this version]

Installing Publish or Perish on macOS

Publish or Perish 8 for macOS includes a standard macOS installer package.

Start the PoP8Mac.pkg installer package by double-clicking on the file that you just downloaded (it may also open automatically, depending on your browser settings). The remaining steps should be straightforward.

After installation, Publish or Perish is available in the normal Applications folder. Use Launchpad or Finder to open it; once opened, you can pin it to the Dock if desired.

Note: The installer package is digitally signed by Tarma Software Research Ltd and notarized by Apple. It should install without issue on any up to date macOS system.

If you do see a Gatekeeper error, then you might have to change the Privacy & Security settings (macOS 13 and later) or Security & Privacy preferences (macOS 12 and earlier) on your system to allow downloaded applications from identified developers (see screenshots below).

Privacy & Security settings (macOS 13 Ventura and later)

Security & Privacy preferences (macOS 12 Monterey and earlier)

Transferring queries from Windows (real or virtual machine) to macOS

To transfer your Windows-based queries to a macOS-based Publish or Perish version, follow this procedure EXACTLY.

1. Exit all running instances of Publish or Perish.
2. In the Windows real or virtual machine, use Windows Explorer to go to the %APPDATA% folder.
3. In that folder, find the Publish or Perish subfolder and enter that.
4. On the macOS side, use Finder to go to the ~/Library/Application Support/Publish or Perish folder. You will probably have to use the Go to Folder command for this (Shift+Command+G) because your personal Library folder is normally hidden in Finder.
5. If you DO NOT need your most recent macOS results, then simply copy Queries6.qml plus the entire Results6 folder from the Windows side to the macOS side, overwriting the macOS queries and results. Then you're done.
6. If you DO need to retain your recent macOS results, then continue with the next steps.
7. Copy the contents (i.e., all the .json files) from the Windows Results6 folder to the macOS Results6 folder.
8. Now you need to merge the contents of the Queries6.qml file from the Windows edition to its macOS counterpart. This requires a plain text editor, preferably a programmer's editor. BBEdit has a free option that is suitable for this if you do not already have a text editor (TextEdit is NOT ideal for this.)
   If you get the copy & paste procedure wrong, you will lose your queries, so make sure that you know what you are doing. If in doubt, don't. Also, make a backup of the macOS Queries6.qml file before you start.
9. Open both Queries6.qml files in separate instances (or at least separate windows) of the plain text editor.
10. In the Windows edition, copy the elements inside the PoPRoot as a single set to the clipboard. This is not the PoPRoot tag itself, nor its attributes, but everything that follows on the lines after its opening '{' brace up to and including the line immediately before its closing '}' brace at the end of the file.
11. Paste this lot into the macOS copy of Queries6.qml immediately before the closing '}' brace in that file.
12. Save the macOS copy (the Windows copy should be unmodified).
13. Now start the macOS edition of Publish or Perish; your older queries should be there.

Support Publish or Perish

The development of the Publish or Perish software is a volunteering effort that has been ongoing since 2006. Download and use of Publish or Perish is and will remain free (gratis), but your support toward the costs of hosting, bandwidth, and software development are appreciated. Your support helps further development of Publish or Perish for new data sources and additional features.