Best apps live in Setapp
If you’ve just recently switched from PC to Mac, you’ve probably noticed that instead of Internet Explorer or Edge that you’re used to, Mac has its own proprietary browser called Safari. In fact if you try searching for “download Internet Explorer for Mac” you’ll quickly realize that the exact IE equivalent on Mac doesn’t exist. What do you do then?
Interestingly, at the dawn of the world wide web in the late 90s, Internet Explorer was the default browser on all Macs. But when Apple introduced Safari as the new default browser in 2003, Microsoft has decided to discontinue the development of IE for Mac shortly after. So unless you run Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier (why would you?), there is no way to directly install Internet Explorer on Mac. And you definitely shouldn’t use the Internet Explorer versions from pre-2003 right now.
Windows apps alternatives for Mac?
Say no more. Here’s a curated collection of apps for any job available with Setapp.
From your hobby to your career, your class notes to your final exam, your mood board to your runway show, padlets help you organize your life. Want to be kept up to date with Macintosh Explorer? Be the first to hear about software updates, special features, discounts and more related to Macintosh Explorer. The periodic newsletter will make sure you always benefit from the latest news, info and announcements. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or later. Download Information File Size: 9.8MB.
How To Use Internet Explorer on Mac
Although natively launching Internet Explorer on Mac isn’t possible, there are other ways to simulate IE for Mac experience. You could mask Safari as different versions of Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge, you could also install a virtual machine and launch IE for Mac that way, or you could simply choose to use any other third-party browser available on macOS.
Simulate Internet Explorer on Mac with Safari
Most of the time, if you need to use Internet Explorer on Mac, it’s probably for testing purposes, to see how certain websites or web apps perform, or to access websites that require you to use IE (yes, those still exist).
Both of those use cases could be easily performed by Safari. To use Internet Explorer with Safari, you just need to turn on developer tools:
- In Safari, go to Preferences > Advanced
- Check “Show Develop menu in menu bar”
Now you can access developer tools directly from Safari, which let you inspect websites, empty caches, and most importantly simulate a variety of other browsers right through the Safari app. To use Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer on Mac:
- Go to the Develop menu in Safari’s menu bar
- Navigate to User Agent and select the browser you’re looking for, whether it’s Microsoft Edge, any of the Internet Explorer versions, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.
- The website you’re on will be automatically refreshed to reflect the browser of your choice. Just don’t forget to switch back!
The User Agent option in Safari should cover nearly all reasons for using Internet Explorer on Mac. However, if you do absolutely need to launch Internet Explorer itself for one reason or another, you could also try doing it with the help of a virtual machine.
Launch Internet Explorer on a virtual machine
While using a virtual machine for Internet Explorer is not by any means an easy solution, it’s still there for anyone who needs it. What virtual machine essentially does is installing a full-scale copy of Windows on your Mac and letting you launch it as an app inside the macOS. From there you can launch Internet Explorer or, in fact, any program you miss from your Windows days.
To set up virtual machine, first you need to buy a copy of some virtual machine software (VMware Fusion is a good one) and a license for Windows. Once you have those in place:
- Download both VMware fusion and the Windows ISO file
- Launch VMware Fusion
- In the Installation Method window, choose “Create a new custom virtual machine”
- Drag and drop your Windows ISO file onto the dialogue window
- Click Finish
- Relaunch the virtual machine and click the play button to setup Windows
Now every time you need to use Internet Explorer on Mac, you can just launch the virtual machine and use IE directly with Windows that way. There are certainly a few downsides to this solution. First, you have to purchase both VMware Fusion and a licensed copy of Windows for the sole purpose of using Internet Explorer. Second, virtual machines tend to be quite heavy on your processor, as they are running the whole operating system inside them.
Another option available to you in case you don’t specifically need to use IE for Mac but rather move away from Safari is to switch to any other third-party browser, all of which are freely available on macOS.
Use third-party browsers on Mac
If Safari is not your first browser of choice and using Internet Explorer for Mac is at the very least quite complicated, you can download any other stable and widely used browser out there and make it the default one on your macOS.
Google Chrome
By far the most dominant browser of today, Google Chrome currently commands 45–65% browser market share. Developed by Google, the browser is available on both desktop and mobile devices, and thus boasts a significant amount of plugins and web apps that are exclusive to it. Chrome has also been praised for its speed and tight integration with all other Google products. As for the downsides, using Chrome means being subjected to Google’s pervading tracking and helping Google to effectively monopolize the web.
Firefox
Firefox is another great everyday browser. Heir to the first commercial web browser called Netscape, it’s an open-source program owned by the not-for-profit Mozilla Foundation. Firefox is fast, secure, and boasts a supportive community around the world. All of this makes it a great alternative to Safari and Internet Explorer.
Brave
Brave is a newcomer to the browser arena that first appear only in 2015. Based on the open-source Chromium project (as is Google Chrome), the browser quickly gained a loyal following due to its aggressive privacy controls and ad blocking. Turning Brave into your default browser might seem a bit experimental at this point, but it nevertheless presents a good option for anyone concerned with privacy.
Microsoft Edge
Although not available on macOS as of early 2019, Microsoft has announced that it’s currently rewriting the Edge browser engine to run on Chromium (like Google Chrome and Brave), which means it will become compatible with macOS too upon release. Fingers crossed, but in the meantime you can choose one of the alternative browsers listed above.
Overall, these are your three options of running Internet Explorer on Mac. You can use Safari’s User Agent to view any webpage just as Internet Explorer would, launch the actual Internet Explorer browser through a virtual machine running Windows, or choose one of the alternative browsers if all you want to do is get away from Safari on Mac.
However, if you’re new to Mac, a browser might not be the only thing you’re concerned about. You also need to find apps to cover all kinds of issues related to optimization, organization, security, and productivity.
Essential apps for all new Mac owners
As soon as you switch from PC to Mac, you realize that sadly not all apps you loved and used daily are available on macOS. So naturally you need to find suitable replacements. The good news is Mac has an abundance of great apps for everything you need. But how do you choose and decide which ones are worth your time?
That’s where a platform like Setapp becomes indispensable. Setapp is a collection of more than 150 essential apps and utilities for Mac that cover all possible use cases and scenarios. All apps in the collection are automatically updated to their latest versions and new apps are added regularly. It’s a godsend for new and seasoned Mac users alike. Discover new apps that are the best at what they do? What’s not to like?
Try all these apps for free
Get around browser restrictions to enjoy your web journey with useful apps for Mac users
Here is an essential introductory set of some of the apps featured on Setapp that every new Mac users should have.
Bartender
A lightweight utility performing a vital role, Bartender keeps your menu bar clean and tidy. As you use your Mac more and more, every new app would want to be featured in your menu bar (top-right corner). This quickly becomes unsustainable, and instead of a quick access to the apps you need, you’ll spend more time just trying to find the right one.
Mac’s default organization settings for menu bar are quite basic, only allowing you to reshuffle icons. Bartender lets you hide them under a single icon and feature just those you need to use right at the moment.
Ulysses
Lauded as the best writing tool for years, Ulysses features a clean interface and lets you focus on the writing process, whether it’s for simple notes, speeches, or anything in between. And the app’s Markdown support makes it much more web friendly, allowing direct exports to WordPress and Medium.
Disk Drill
No one ever wants to lose their files, no matter whether it’s due to physical damage or accidental deletion. Disk Drill solves that problem by essentially insuring and giving you the option to recover your files. As the most widely used data recovery tool around, Disk Drill helps you back your files on a regular basis and save lost files from damaged hard drives if things ever go south.
CleanMyMac X
The ultimate Mac optimization app, CleanMyMac X keeps your Mac free of any junk, safely and completely uninstalls old apps, and protects you from being affected by malware. Just launch CleanMyMac X once a month to do a complete scan of your computer and you’ll ensure your Mac’s top condition.
Best of all, Bartender, Ulysses, Disk Drill, CleanMyMac X, and all other apps featured on Setapp are available to you on a free trial. Just launch Setapp and try out as many apps as you want, turning your transition to Mac from a chore to a pleasurable discovery.
Preface
Without a medical spell checker installed, it is irritating to transcribe with MS Word with those red underscores all over the document. You get frustrated adding such underlined words every time to the inbuilt custom dictionary of Microsoft Word by right clicking and adding. To avoid such repeated annoyance, the more permanent solution would be installing a medical spell checker itself which works in the background.
So for the last month, I have been scouring the net for any free, installable, medical spell checker software for Microsoft Word. After all, it’s going to be a free download! So it’s worth wasting the time sieving through the Internet.
By the way, I am a radiology transcriptionist. With radiology transcription, you don’t encounter complex new medical words daily. You’ll have stereotype reports that can be done without a spell checker. So I didn’t go for a medical spell checker for my computer all this time.
The making of a free medical spell checker
Nevertheless, with my current endeavor of an extensive search on the Internet, I couldn’t end up with any such free, medical spelling check software compatible with MS Word. All that I could find all over the Internet are paid ones or shareware. They would work for one month or so and then expire. The only other option left behind was to prepare a custom dictionary for medical transcription. A collection of medical words in US English that could work in tandem with Microsoft Word. Thus a free custom medical spell checker for medical transcription in US English by a medical transcriptionist was born!
The idea was successful. At first, I was able to gather medical terms lists from Open Source Medical Spelling Word List. It has around 50,000 words, updated until 2007. I had medical words from my own personal collection and custom dictionary. Accommodating all these medical words, the number of words worked out close to 100,000 after filtering out duplicate entries.
New words come into prevalence in the field of medicine on a daily basis. Hence all the words may not have found their way into this medical glossary. Especially, all those trade names and the names of all those complex surgical instruments. If you have any list of such recent medical terms or surgical equipment glossary, mail me to add them in the future versions. Now the installation instructions of our custom medical dictionary.
The Explorer (eshan Awasthi) Mac Os 10
Download link and installation instructions:
- Download Raj&Co-Med-Spel-Chek.zip (692295 downloads) and save it to your desktop.
- Unzip the inside contents, Raj&Co-MedSpelChek.dic and README_Raj&Co-MedSpelChek.txt (license), to your desktop.
- Copy the dictionary file, Raj&Co-MedSpelChek.dic, to the folder where CUSTOM.DIC resides in your system. In my desktop (Windows XP), I found it at C:Documents and SettingsRajApplication DataMicrosoftProof. In my laptop (Windows Vista), it is at C:UsersRajAppDataRoamingMicrosoftProof. So check where the folder “Proof” is there in your system and transfer Raj&Co-MedSpelChek.dic to that folder.
- If the folder “Proof” is not showing up, it will be hiding as a system folder. In that case, go to Tools/Folder Options/View. Click “Show hidden files and folders.” For some others, this folder name is “UProof.”
- Now open MS Word. Go to Tools/Options/Spelling & Grammar/Custom Dictionaries.
- Check the slot Raj&Co-MedSpelChek.dic. Click OK.
- Refer the image below for which slots that need to be checked and unchecked. Make sure to uncheck the slots “Suggest from main dictionary only” and “Hide spelling errors in this document.” Click OK.
- That’s it. Voila! Enjoy working with the free medical spell checker.
Share the joy
Spread the word if you find it useful. I took the utmost care to avoid any error at my end. However, if you find any inconsistency that has crept through, feel free to bring it to my attention to rectify the mistakes in the future versions. We have had an elaborate discussion below on troubleshooting with various operating systems. Click “View Comments” below. Sieve through them until the end of this page if you want any specific help regarding your computer’s operating system. I do update the spell checker whenever I have ample new words. So stay tuned for alerts about the future revisions of the spell checker. Subscribe to my feed or follow me on social media.
The Explorer (eshan Awasthi) Mac Os 11
Update (July 16, 2014): Earlier I had put this free spell checker on my other blog, MT Herald. Since I am closing down mtherald.com, I have moved this custom medical dictionary to my new site here.