Although not officially supported or tested by 3D, a number of inspectors have used some of the options mentioned in this article to successfully run their 3D Inspection System software on a Mac computer or MacBook. NOTE: This option is not compatible if using a MacBook with an M1 or M2 chip.

This thread will contain some further information provided by various users that may be helpful if you are using such a setup.

Robert Matlock says:
Attached is the virtual machine configuration for Parallels.  It took me a while on the phone with Parallels tech support, but this got it working.  Hopefully it saves someone else all the time I had to take setting it up.  The attached zip file has a PDF in it with a screen shot for every screen in the virtual machine config on parallels.  After we got 3D working, I made this file so I could recreate it later in case something else changed it.

Virtual_Machine_Configuration_for_using_3D_Inspection_System.zip (right-click and save to your computer to open and view)

Donald Johnston says:

I have been running 3D on an iMac using Parallels for a while now (2 Years). I have OSX (10.1.0) and Parallels (10) installed with 3D 12. Basically, you have to setup 3D to run from Windows C Drive only, not the shared drives/folders on the Mac. It has to function in the root folder of Windows. 3D will not allow you to use a mapped drive to a network location for the basic program functions. Therefore the Parallels ability to only use data folders, etc on the Mac become useless for 3D. But you can view and use stored items there. That being said, here is what I did:

1. Do not map the Mac User Folder "Documents" to Windows. All others are okay. This is under Parallels Options-Sharing-Shared Profile-Configure. This allows the Windows Documents folder to exist in the VM and gives you access to install to C Drive pointing data files to Documents in Windows.
2. I chose to place my data files in the Documents Folder of Windows. I found if it didn't, the data connection between the Windows and Mac for the folder location on the Mac would be intermittent or lost causing the file to simply disappear during entry. So I only selected to only store data files on Windows. This increases my Virtual Machine size and TimeMachine backups grow in size rapidly. Since they are here I can see them in Finder on the Mac side more easily than if they were on the Windows root C Drive location under Program Files.
3. Install 3D into Windows Virtual Machine as if the Mac did not exist. --- So the program runs from C: Win8\ProgramFiles (x86)\3D Inspection System 11. (All printing functions, iCloud, DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Preview, Adobe, photos, iPhoto, report information, QuickBooks, etc. are avaliable on the Mac and Windows VM as needed, natively.)
4. Copy your 3D data folders into the Windows Documents folder. Point the 3D software here in the Preferences-File Locations tab.

Anyway, it's a little late at night while I write this, so if it is confusing, I can make it better and/or give you screen shots.

Overall, 3D cannot take advantage of the full capabilities of Parallels. But it does run very smoothly for me. Everything runs as if it is native to the Mac in Coherence Mode. I even use Parallels Access on tablets which runs 3D as a native app on any tablet. It's really a very nice Remote Desktop that presents all software on the Mac or Windows desktop as full-screen tablet/phone apps on any tablet/phone (Apple, Android, Windows, Linux).

Further launch details in case it is helpful for anyone setting up such a system environment

- When launching the software, the program ALWAYS checks the My Documents\3D Inspection System\appPath11.xml file to determine where your data files are located, as well as to access user and temporary files and folders used by the program. The data and user folder locations themselves can be specified or adjusted to a new location in the report writer Preferences > Preferences, File Locations tab, but the program will still always check the main My Documents\3D Inspection System\appPath11.xml to find the locations at launch time.

- A problem could occur if there is a problem with the system accessing your My Documents location in the standard windows way, when it tries to access that appPath11.xml file.

(One user not on a regular network, but sharing files with the Mac OS side told us he consulted with his local Mac tech and says he was able to reconfigure Parallels to allow 3D to run properly. Apparently his computer tech said that profile sharing in Parallels had to be turned off/unchosen.)

- You might also see if opening the appPath11.xml file directly in windows shows that your data and user locations are set to actual paths containing drive letters that exist on your system and can be accessed that way using My Computer in Windows.  One may also delete the appPath11.xml file to revert back to the initial settings.

(Whether it is helpful or not, another user says the mapped network drive has nothing to do with working on a network and was easy to set up by using File Explorer to click on "Computer" in the left hand column. Near the top of the window below the address bar, use "Map network drive" to "Browse" to the My Documents or 3D data folder and assign a mapped drive letter to it and then use that in Preferences as the data folder)

If anyone would like specific assistance with setting up on a Mac, user Bob Kille (who personally runs 3D on Mac) offers a consultation service for this purpose, as well as offers general one on one training services for 3D software.  Bob says you must have TeamViewer installed as that is his usual way of assisting or training. Bob contact information for his rates and availability may be found here: http://www.3dinspection.com/3d-add-ins/services/acu-spect.html