The Classic environment of Mac OS X allows you to use most Mac OS 9 applications. This means that most people only need to restart the computer from Mac OS 9 to install Mac OS 9 software updates. Mac OS 9-compatible applications are referred to as "Classic" applications.
Starting a Classic application
- Double-click the Classic application, just as you would any other. Classic starts up automatically.
- Clicking the disclosure triangle in the Classic startup window reveals the Mac OS 9 startup sequence.
- After Classic starts up, it remains active until you stop it or log out.
- Classic may be manually started or stopped in the Classic pane of System Preferences. Other Classic options are also located there.
Mac OS 9 installation required
- You must install Mac OS 9 before Classic can be used. The Mac OS 9 Installation CD-ROM disc is included with earlier versions of Mac OS X for this reason. It is also included with new computers, in addition to Mac OS X. Update Mac OS 9 to the latest version for best performance. For more information on Mac OS X 10.2 as a standalone retail product, see technical document 106966, "Mac OS X 10.2: Classic Requires That You Already Have Mac OS 9".
- If you have Mac OS 9 installed on more than one disk, use the Classic pane of System Preferences to select the System Folder that Classic uses.
Locating Classic software and documents
If you install Mac OS X on the same disk or partition as your Mac OS 9 system, your Classic applications and documents remain in the same folders. You should note, however, that Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 use different desktop folders. To see items from your Mac OS 9 desktop, use the "Desktop (Mac OS 9)" alias that is on your Mac OS X desktop. If this alias is not on your desktop or does not work, see technical document 106468: "
Mac OS X: How to Replace the Alias "Desktop (Mac OS 9)".
Printing from Classic applications
See technical document 106710: "
Mac OS X: How to Print From a Classic Application".
More information about Classic
See "Classic" on pages 14 and 15 of your "Welcome to Mac OS X" booklet.
You can find more information in Mac Help, or search for other technical documents using the phrase "Mac OS X and Classic".
Troubleshooting
See technical document 106677: "
Mac OS X: Troubleshooting the Classic Environment".