HyperChem for Mac is mostly a subset of HyperChem for Windows except for the display of vibrational spectra and electronic spectra. On the Mac, these spectra can be shown with an envelope simulating a line width for each peak.
The Mac product is a subset as follows:
(1) None of the external modules available on the Windows product are available for the Mac. These modules are not part of core HyperChem and were a separate product, ChemPlus at one time. In the Windows product they are called transparently from the core HyperChem and appear as if they are an integral part of HyperChem. These modules have not yet been ported to the Mac. The expectation is that they will be ported and if so will become available to purchasers of the current product provided they become available within 12 months of the purchase. The modules include:
- NMR (prevously HyperNMR)
- Database (previously HyperData)
- Conformational Search
- RMS fitting
- Raytracing
- Script Editor
- Crystal Builder
- Polysaccharide Builder
- Polymer Builder
- QSAR Properties
Apart from these modules most of the remaining core of HyperChem is available. The differences, however, are:
(2) Tcl (tool command language) scripts are not available but only Hcl (HyperChem command language) scripts.
(3) The Mac product has no annotations
(4) The drawing of potential curves (Potential menu item) depends upon a 3rd-party module in the Windows product and has not been reproduced in the Mac product yet.
(5) No video tutorials are available for the Mac product.
Other than these explicit differences, the core of the two products are essentially identical in capability. Hypercube is actively extending the Mac product with the intent of full compatibility. New versions of the Mac product for the foreseeable future will be available as free upgrades.