Installing Greatbook
Greatbook is one application, installed differently depending on the computer. Windows and macOS get an installer you double-click. A Chromebook cannot run a program like that, so there Greatbook installs from the web and ends up with its own icon and its own window just the same.
Windows and macOS
| Windows 10 or 11 | Download Greatbook_0.9.92_x64-setup.exe Installs for you alone, so it needs no administrator. |
|---|---|
| macOS, Intel or Apple Silicon | Download Greatbook_0.9.92_universal.dmg Open it and drag Greatbook to Applications. |
The warning you will see the first time
Neither installer is signed yet, so both systems will stop you once. Nothing is wrong with the apps. The computer has no way to check who made them, so it warns you.
On Windows, SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC". Choose More info, then Run anyway.
On macOS the first launch is blocked because the developer cannot be verified. Open System Settings, then Privacy and Security, scroll to the message about Greatbook, and choose Open Anyway. Then launch it again. Right-clicking and choosing Open no longer works on recent versions of macOS.
Chromebook, in Chrome or Edge
Open the web app. Chrome shows an install button in the address bar, and the app's own top bar has one too. Choose it and Greatbook gets an icon in your launcher and its own window, with no tabs and no address bar.
Once installed it works with no internet connection.
This is the same application as the installers, not a cut-down version. The only real difference is where your gradebook file can live, which the next page explains.
Which one should I use
It depends on the computer you mark on, and there is no wrong answer between them.
- A school Windows laptop or a Mac. Take the installer. It writes your gradebook straight into your Documents folder with nothing to set up.
- A Chromebook. Install it from the web.
- Firefox or Safari. Take the installer. Neither browser can give a web app permission to write to a file on your computer, so the web app has nowhere to keep your gradebook and will ask you for Chrome or Edge.
- Someone else's computer, or just a look. Open the web app and choose Try a sample class. Nothing is saved anywhere you would have to clean up.
Updating
The web app updates itself the next time you open it with a connection.
The Windows and macOS apps check for new versions and offer them. Nothing installs until you choose it, so an update will not start while you are working. Settings, then About, has the version you are on, a button to check now, and a switch to stop checking.
Your gradebook is a separate file and is not touched by an update.