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FAQ: Can I run NodeXL on a Mac?

NodeXL is Windows and Office only. Mac users can now subscribe to the NodeXL Pro Cloud Edition and receive access to a fully configured Windows machine via Amazon Web Services.

Mac users interested in NodeXL may also use a Virtual Machine.

We recommend REMOTE virtual machines like those offered by Amazon.  Here is an article about creating a virtual machine in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2):

http://www.smrfoundation.org/2018/01/02/using-nodexl-in-the-cloud/

While it *is* possible to run a local VM on a MacBook, this is not a performant way to run the application (it can be slow!).Further, a MacBook running Windows plus Office plus NodeXL should have no less than 16GB of RAM.In contrast, the remote virtual machines may be accessed using the free “Remote Desktop” application from Microsoft (available for all Macs):

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/clients/remote-desktop-mac

Remote VMs place almost zero resource demands on the client machine (the Mac) and do not require special amounts of RAM or features to perform well.

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