In the Mac universe, the convention tends to be the user downloads an installer, then runs it. Going through the update, the Download Assistant appears to download the Installer (that’s what it says it’s doing, anyway), then says it’s complete, without giving any evidence of having actually run the installer. For a Mac user, this is confusing. We don’t usually assume that downloading an installer updates a program. You download it, then you run it - or watch as the UI says that’s what it’s doing. It’s a 2-step process, but we see evidence of only one in the Download Assistant. It’s called the Download Assistant, not the Installation Manager… but it appears that it secretly installed the update as well. … just saying…
Yes, it is installing the installer - and it is installing the application / or components you need for running those applications.
If you keep an eye on the Download Assistant, it tells you in plain text about its actions: updating… installing..
And you yourself have to click the button “Install” or “Install all” before the (download and) installation will start. I find this very clear to understand. You will see the download progress, then you will see the checking of the download. At the end a “success tick” appears on the green button - and you have the choice to “Install again”.
I just watched all those steps whilst installing the 6.2.30 update. And I had an assistant, whose main task ist to keep all necessary and possible downloads available in one place. The main task of that assistant is to download various components. You yourself can do the install from within the same window.
If you prefer it the Mac way, as you know it: after downloading is complete you could theoretically go to the Steinberg folder and start the downloads manually the oldfashioned way 
Yes, installing… the installer.
If you click and hold the “Install again” button you can access the installer .dmg directly in its surrounding folder. This makes sense only, if you really want to install again.
And to get back to your initial thread. These audio applications are quite complex conglomerations. They consist of essential, necessary and optional bits. You need this kind of Assistant application - or it will get very complicated for a standard user.
Of all the audio applications I have, this is the only one that behaves in this way. My issue has to do with the labeling and communication of the UI design. Yes, “these audio applications” are quite complex - but that is a separate issue from UI design. A complex app can have a simple installer that communicates its operations clearly.
The SDA is a Steinberg app, it installs all Steinberg products the same way, including Dorico.
For a more traditional, less stressful, less confusing, more reliable installation experience, go here.
How about a simple “I see what you mean?” Steinberg and Dorico WILL NOT be criticized, I see..
Listen, I’m a huge Dorico fan and booster. The app is an incredible achievement.
The installation process is weird. End of story. If anybody cared or was willing to listen, they might consider the worth of my observation.
… where they tell you to not do it that way, use the Download Assistant (
). And, there’s no link to that page from my account or products page… but I wouldn’t use it anyway. Next time I’ll just remember when it says “download,” it means “install.” Jeesh.
Hi @jonburr , I think you have a misconception of an installer. An installer does not need to get installed, it just needs to get downloaded and then executed. Also, an installer can be invoked from virtually anywhere, be it in your downloads folder, your desktop or elsewhere (could even be a network drive).
So what the Steinberg Download Assistant does, is downloading the installer(s) as a first step and then as a second step invokes the installer(s) in silent mode, i.e. the installer runs without a GUI in the background.
This is exactly my point. 2 steps. Download an installer, then run it.
In the Mac universe, a download is a download, then you install it. It’s a security thing - Apple tends not to like things that just download and install by themselves.
Meanwhile, the app itself is called “Download Assistant,” not “Installation Assistant” or “Updater”. I realize that Steinberg is a relative latecomer to the Mac universe, having begun as a PC app.
My issue is PC culture vs Mac culture. To us, silent installation is unexpected and rude.
I think you might want to revise that assertion.
I’ve been using Dorico since 1.x, and I agree that this is confusing to us folks who are literal minded.
Do you understand the word “relative?” Steinberg was born in the PC realm.
Steinberg has been developing for the Mac platform for nearly 88% of its entire history.
To look at the exact breakdown of how that timeline scales relative to their total lifespan:
The Timeline
-
1984: Karl Steinberg and Manfred Rürup found the company, initially developing MIDI software (like Pro 16) for the Commodore 64 and the Atari ST.
Wikipedia
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1989: Steinberg releases the first version of Cubase for the Atari ST.
Wikipedia
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1990: Just one year later, Steinberg ports Cubase to the Macintosh, beginning their continuous history of Mac development.
Relative Development History
As of 2026, Steinberg has been in business for 42 years (1984–2026).
Total History=2026−1984=42 years
Mac Development History=2026−1990=36 years
4236≈85.7%
While they spent their first 6 years focused on early 8-bit and 16-bit systems like the Atari ST and Commodore 64, they adopted the Mac incredibly early in the desktop audio revolution. For roughly 86% of their existence, macOS (and Classic Mac OS before it) has been a primary target tier for their core software development, spanning from the early Motorola 68k days through the PowerPC, Intel, and modern Apple Silicon transitions.
It’s an app that lets you install all the components that you need, by selecting “Dorico 6”, and clicking on “Install All”. It also handles licensing.
It’s not silent. You literally click on a button marked “Install”.
It’s not a million miles away from other things, like Adobe’s Creative Cloud manager, where you similarly select apps and they get installed. The Sparkle update framework used by many apps flags an alert saying “New Update”, and when you click, it gets downloaded and installed instantly.
What problem are you looking to solve? How should it work? (Bear in mind that any solution needs to fit users of all Steinberg’s products.)
If you really don’t want to use it, you can download the individual components as standard Mac Installer.app packages and install them manually – but it will be up to you to keep everything up to date.
I do. But relative to what?
As your timeline demonstrates. Steinberg has been developing products for both PC (Windows) and Mac platforms for about the same length of time (36 years).
So if Steinberg were “relative latecomers to the Mac universe”, they must have been equally late to the PC (Windows) universe.
Dorico was released for both platforms in 2016; and has (IMHO) always conformed to as many Mac conventions as possible - even as macOS has developed over those ten years.
Another way of looking at it might be to think back to the way Dorico and all its necessary dependencies were installed and/or updated before the advent of the SDA: I have a funny feeling that most of us who used the earlier methods infinitely prefer this one.
Especially when the SDA weaves its way through updates where, presumably, certain files need to be deleted or skipped.
Erm? 2016 surely?
Thanks, @Janus - 2016, of course! Have corrected.
Anniversaries on my mind 
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