Download Student Files on a Mac

Unless it is specifically mentioned in the title of the book our courseware is generally designed to run on Windows computers and has not been developed for applications on Macs. Software manufacturers such as Microsoft and Adobe have software that will run on both types of computers. However, there are differences between a Mac version and a Windows version, especially in the names of the keys on the keyboard, and often in what appears on the screen. Even menus and ways of accessing commands may differ. Some software is very close in appearance and operation on both machines, while others may be quite different.

The student files required in our courseware have been compressed into a self-extracting (.exe) file. When this file is downloaded to a Windows computer all you have to is to double-click on this file and the compressed files will be expanded into the appropriate folders on your computer.

The operating system on a Mac computer does not recognise self-extracting files such as those we use for compressing our student files. However, the courseware files themselves can generally be used by Mac software, especially software from Microsoft and Adobe.

Option 1

If you want the access our course files the best way is to have someone download the relevant .exe file onto a Windows computer, extract the files and then copy them to a USB device. You can then set up folders on your Mac and copy these files onto the Mac from the USB device. If you are at a college they may be able to copy these files onto a USB device for you or allow you to use their computers to do this.

Option 2

You can download a free product known as Stuffit Expander Mac (from the Mac App store, or perform a Google search) and install it on your Mac. When you open the program on your Mac you can use it to expand the downloaded .exe file and then copy the course files into a folder on your computer. If you don’t feel confident to do this ask a friend or colleague to assist.

Please note that as we do not have any Macs in our office, we are unable to assist or advise in any matters pertaining to the courseware or the student files other than what has been provided here.