Guide/Part One · Get started
Windows & macOS
GLASS runs on 64-bit Windows and on Macs with Apple silicon. Both are the same app, built from the same code, and neither is a port of the other.
That means the same features, the same document, and the same behavior on either machine. A .glass file written on one opens on the other with nothing lost, and the same is true of the .glasspack files you exchange with an editor. If the other computer is missing a font the document uses, GLASS lists it and shows a stand-in font, without changing the document. There is no Windows-only or Mac-only capability.
What does differ is convention, because an app that ignores the conventions of the machine it's running on is tiring to use. On macOS the menu bar is the real menu bar at the top of your screen rather than a row inside the window, and the window's traffic lights sit in GLASS's own top bar. Preferences is in the GLASS menu (⌘,) instead of the File menu. Full screen is the system's View ▸ Enter Full Screen (⌃⌘F) rather than F11. The keyboard shortcuts are the ones Mac writers already know. On Windows, you can reach the in-window menu bar from the keyboard with Alt or F10; see Accessibility.
If you write on more than one computer, keep GLASS up to date on all of them. A document saved by a newer version opens read-only on an older one, so nothing the newer version added is lost. Intel Macs and Windows on ARM aren't supported in the alpha.
Throughout this guide every shortcut is written for both machines, Windows first and macOS second, like this: Ctrl+S / ⌘S. Some Mac shortcuts are not simply the Windows one with ⌘ in place of Ctrl. Redo, for example, is Ctrl+Y / ⌘⇧Z. See Keyboard shortcuts.
System requirements
| Windows | macOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 21H2 (build 19044) or newer | macOS 15 Sequoia or newer |
| Processor | 64-bit (x64) | Apple silicon (M1 or newer) |
| Memory | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Graphics | DirectX 11 | Any supported Mac |
| Download | Installer (.exe) | Disk image (.dmg) |