Installing (or running a previously installed version of) TopSpin on Ventura can give a CodeMeter error. CodeMeter must be upgraded to the latest version: this can be obtained from https://www.wibu.com/support/user/user-software.html (click on "CodeMeter User Runtime for OS X, macOS").
I haven't done any extensive testing (my TopSpin-using days are pretty much over), but the permissions issue seems to have gotten much better on Ventura, so you might not need the rest of this gist—though if you do find that you have trouble accessing files, read on...
Due to new security measures introduced in Catalina (macOS 10.15), many apps including TopSpin don't work the way one might expect, especially when trying to access files on the Desktop and other protected folders.
On my own Mac (running Big Sur), this problem still persists in TopSpin 4.1.3. (On Monterey, TopSpin 4.2.0 is even worse: it doesn't even tell you that it can't access the data, it just silently fails.) Furthermore, this can't be solved by changing permissions from inside System Preferences.
This guide will walk you through:
- How to open TopSpin using the macOS Terminal in order to circumvent this issue.
- How to create an app which you can place in the Dock and click on, so that you don't have to open the terminal every time.
The main workaround, as suggested by Clemens Anklin, is to use a terminal to open TopSpin. To do this, open the macOS Terminal app from Applications > Utilities. This will give you a prompt where you can enter commands.
First, to see which versions you have installed, run the command
ls /opt
This will show you a list of directories, including TopSpin's installation directories. Then, run
/opt/topspinX.Y.Z/topspin
where X.Y.Z is replaced with the TopSpin version you have installed, e.g. 4.0.1.
If TopSpin is launched through the Terminal, then macOS should then request appropriate permissions the first time you open files on the Desktop or other protected folders. You only need to grant these permissions once, as long as you run TopSpin via the terminal.
Continually opening Terminal and entering a command can get a little tedious after a while. If you are familiar with the terminal and the shell you use, you could make an alias by modifying ~/.zshrc, ~/.bash_profile or similar.
But here, we will go one step further by creating a new "wrapper" app that opens TopSpin (indirectly through the Terminal) when you click on it. This app can be added to the Dock so will behave similar to any other macOS application.
Note that you will have to grant the new app the same permissions as before.
-
Open Script Editor (in Applications > Utilities).
-
Click New Document and paste the following line in (replace the version number accordingly):
do shell script "/opt/topspinX.Y.Z/topspin" -
Save the file and make sure to select Application from the File Type dropdown.
Now, you should have an app which will open TopSpin when double-clicked. You can drag this to the Dock and launch it from there as well. Make sure to give the new app any permissions it requests for (e.g. to access files on your Desktop).
If you don't want to keep the new app hanging around on your Desktop, that's fine; just drag it to Applications or wherever you want it to be. But don't delete it!
We could also give our new app the original TopSpin icon, so that it is visually distinctive. To do so:
- Open the Applications folder.
- Right-click on the original TopSpin app and click Show Package Contents.
- Navigate to Contents > Resources where you will find a file named topspin.icns. Keep this open for now.
- Right-click the new TopSpin app that we just created and click Get Info.
- At the top-left of the Info screen, you will see the default icon for any new application. Drag-and-drop the topspin.icns file onto this default icon (not the large one near the bottom of the Info screen).
- Enjoy your new TopSpin app!
