macOS and Windows Differences

macOS and Windows differences

This page summarizes the platform behaviors that matter when using the same ChemDraft release on macOS and Windows.

Area	macOS	Windows
Application origin	tauri://localhost	http://tauri.localhost through WebView2
Main menu	App-wide native menus.	The document window carries the menu; attaching a menu to palettes/popovers is unsafe.
Primary shortcut spelling	Cmd conventions, such as Cmd+S.	Ctrl conventions, such as Ctrl+S. Ctrl+Y is also Redo.
Browser refresh keys	WKWebView has no browser reload shortcut.	F5, Ctrl+R, and related reload chords are suppressed because a reload can discard unsaved webview state.
Utility windows	Palettes, panels, and dialogs are owned by the document window.	They are also unfocused and owned by the document window, so they do not steal focus or appear in the taskbar.
Updates	Sparkle checks signed packaged-app updates; File → Check for Updates… is available.	tauri-plugin-updater checks a signed feed daily and offers an interactive update; File → Check for Updates… is available.
Installer	DMG, with the stable app in /Applications/ChemDraft.app.	Per-user NSIS setup; not Authenticode-signed, so SmartScreen warns for manual downloads.
File registration	.chemdraft; CDXML is an alternate handler.	.chemdraft only; .cdxml is deliberately not registered.
Clipboard	Native formats are handled by the desktop shell.	Native handling includes UTF-16, CRLF, and Office-related formats.
Quitting	The application follows macOS window/application conventions.	Closing the document window quits after session flushing.

Practical advice

Use the labels shown in menus rather than memorizing a single platform’s shortcut glyphs. In documentation, CmdOrCtrl means use Command on macOS and Control on Windows. Do not use F5 or browser reload shortcuts in the Windows app; the app reserves them to protect the active document state.

When opening documents on Windows, use File → Open… for CDXML or choose an application through Windows’ Open with UI. The installer’s restraint prevents it from taking over another application’s CDXML association.

For plugin packages, the desktop serves installed content from the application’s own origin on both platforms. This is why a plugin package that works in the desktop must still pass host installation checks rather than being opened directly from an arbitrary path.

Next

• Installation
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Troubleshooting