Running Omnis 7 on macOS Apple Silicon using Whisky

Omnis 7.3.8.3 is old enough to vote twice, yet with a bit of care it runs surprisingly well on modern Apple Silicon Macs.
This guide explains how to install and run Omnis 7 (and jPartner) on macOS using Whisky, a Wine wrapper that avoids the need for a full Windows virtual machine.

This method is light, tidy, and practical.
No Windows licence needed, no VM, and no 20GB disk image.

Tested on macOS Sequoia (M2 Pro).
Omnis 7, jPartner, networking and file access all working.

Requirements

• macOS running on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, or M3)
• Whisky app (Wine wrapper for ARM Macs)
• Omnis 7 installer or an existing Omnis folder
• jPartner folder (optional)
• A little patience; this setup is unusual, but stable once working

Installing Whisky

The simplest way to install Whisky is through Homebrew.

Install using Homebrew

Open Terminal and run:

brew install --cask whisky

Whisky will install into your Applications folder.

Creating Your Bottle

1. Open Whisky
2. Click Add Bottle
3. Choose Windows 10 (Default)
4. Name the bottle Omnis7

You now have a clean Wine environment ready for Omnis.

Installing Omnis 7

Option A — Install from an EXE

1. Drag your Omnis installer .exe into the bottle
2. Install as normal
3. Whisky will add a shortcut to the bottle

Option B — Copy an existing Omnis folder

1. Right-click the Omnis7 bottle → Open in Finder
2. Open the drive_c folder
3. Copy your Omnis7 folder into:

drive_c/Program Files/

4. In Whisky, click Run Executable
5. Browse to:

C:\Program Files\Omnis7\omnis.exe

6. Launch it

Running jPartner (Optional)

1. Copy your jPartner folder into:

drive_c/Program Files/jPartner/

2. Launch Omnis from Whisky
3. Set your jP startup as usual

Networking works normally under Whisky, so jPartner can access the internet.

Networking Notes

Wine on ARM (via Whisky + Rosetta) handles WinSock safely enough for Omnis 7 and jPartner to:

• Connect to remote services
• Perform licence checks
• Use HTTP-based functions
• Access shared network files

This avoids the need for a full Windows VM.

Exporting Your Working Bottle (Recommended)

Once everything works:

1. Right-click your bottle
2. Choose Export Bottle
3. Save the file somewhere safe

This lets you restore your entire Omnis setup instantly if anything breaks.

Summary

Using Whisky to run Omnis 7 on Apple Silicon provides:

• No Windows installation
• No virtual machines
• Fast startup
• Working networking
• Small disk footprint
• Near-complete Omnis 7 functionality

Ideal for lightweight or development use.
For production environments, a Windows VM may still be appropriate.