Citavi Web

Citavi is a Windows program, a version that can be installed on a Mac is not available.

Since June 2021, a web version is available that permits to work with cloud projects via a modern browser (Mozilla, Chrome, Edge, Safari, ...). The connection with MS Word is established with the Citavi Assistant which can be added from the store (Windows, Apple).

Please consult the manual for Citavi Web for detailed information.

Citavi Web has a reduced feature set compared with Citavi for Windows, please check our list for more information.

Using a Virtual Machine

Citavi for Windows can be run on Macs using a so-called virtual machine to run Windows without having to restart your Mac. And since Windows is kept within a "sandboxed" environment, it can't cause problems with the Mac. By carefully setting up your virtual machine, you can make working with Citavi almost seamless.

This step-by-step guide will help you set up Citavi, Parallels Desktop, and Microsoft Word for Mac so that they work together optimally.

What You Need

To run Citavi on a Mac using Parallels, you need the following:

• A current copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac.
• A copy of Windows 11 or 10.
• If you want to use the Citavi Word Add-In you need to use Microsoft Word for Windows in the Windows environment. Alternatively, you can use a local or web-based TeX editor. You can first copy the BibTeX keys to the Clipboard and then into your TeX program.

Before you begin, you may find it interesting and useful to read the Parallels Desktop User's Guide. It covers the myriad features Parallels offers.

Step 1: Install Parallels

The installation will run automatically once you start the Setup. If you need help, see  the Parallels Desktop User's Guide.

Step 2: Install Windows

Complete instructions for all installation scenarios in Parallels can be found in the Parallels Desktop User's Guide.

Step 3: Run Windows Update

No matter how new your copy of Windows is, there are always updates for it, and to ensure maximum security of your system, you want to have the latest updates.

Right-click the Parallels menu in the menu bar to show the Windows Start menu. Begin typing Windows Update in the Search field and then click Windows Update to begin.

Run Windows Update repeatedly until no more updates are offered.

Step 4: Install Word for Windows

If you want to write papers with Word and not with LaTeX, install Microsoft Word. Please make sure that you are using Word for Windows and not Word for Mac.

Step 5: Install Firefox or Chrome (optional)

If you want to use the Pickers in Firefox or Chrome, you will need to install the Windows versions of each of those programs.

It doesn't matter whether you download with your Mac or Windows browser.

Run the downloaded Setup. (Unless you chose another folder, it will be in your Mac's Downloads folder.) When you double-click the Setup in the Finder, it will open in Parallels.

Step 6: Install Citavi

You can download the latest version of Citavi here. It doesn't matter whether you do this with your Mac or Windows browser.

Run the downloaded Citavi7Setup.exe file (Unless you chose another folder, it will be in your Mac's Downloads folder.) When you double-click it in the Finder, it will open in Parallels.

If you have existing Citavi projects you want to migrate, copy the Citavi folder for user files (by default, that is the folder Citavi 7 inside Documents) to your Documents folder on the Mac.

Step 7: Unlock Citavi for Windows

To use Citavi for Windows, you need a license.

Warning:

Do not force quit Parallels, and do not use the Stop command in Parallels unless the Windows virtual machine has crashed. Both of these can lead to data loss, the same way that unplugging a desktop PC while it is running can lead to data loss. Always shut down or suspend Windows as described above.
When you're done using Citavi, the very best thing is to fully shut down Windows. To do so, right-click the Parallels menu to open the Windows Start menu, then click Shut down. Do not quit Parallels until Windows has finished shutting down!
If you are in a hurry, instead of shutting down Windows, you can suspend it. To suspend, just click the Parallels menu and click Quit Parallels. Parallels will quickly save Windows' state. When you start Parallels again, it will resume Windows as it was. There is, however, a slightly higher risk of data loss with this method.