I am using Dorico Pro 3.5 on a MacBook Pro (later 2013 model) running Catalina. I can’t afford to update to a newer laptop anytime soon. So my questions is this: If I upgrade my OS, do I go to Big Sur or Monterrey, and why?
I’m also planning to delay upgrading my Dorico from 3.5 to 4 for a few months, as I see nothing in the list of improvements that I can’t live without. Is there any excellent reason why this delay is a mistake?
Opinions please.
I don’t think your 2013 Mac can run Monterrey. Dorico 3.5 and 4 run very well on Big Sur.
For me D4 has the advantage of the templates, Library Manager, jump bar, and insert mode improvements which has made some of the work faster and easier.
I echo @lafin’s list of D4 improvements, and I’ll add that just today I’ve used both the numbered bar regions and player names in staff labels, plus the crosshairs in Engrave mode have proved invaluable.
For what it’s worth, though my MacBook Pro is much more recent than yours (the 2019 16” model) I’m still running Catalina. Don’t feel that you need to update your OS.
Well, Apple keeps sending me update reminders that say I should update to Monterrey, so I assumed it would run on my hardware or they wouldn’t send the reminders. But perhaps those are in the nature of ‘junk mail’ and are sent to everybody running any Mac OS on any hardware, however ancient.
UPDATE: I checked the official compatibility list and you’re right, it won’t run on my Mac. So I think I’ll go with Leo’s suggestion and stay with Catalina for now.
A personal choice, but I always run the most up-to-date OS I can on my Mac to ensure the best possible security. You could try this advice from Apple:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201541
As Leo says, D4 has some great new features, such as the crosshairs in engrave mode. For me, the jump bar is one of the best features of D4: https://steinberg.help/dorico_pro/v4/en/dorico/topics/user_interface/user_interface_jump_bar_r.html?hl=jump%2Cbar