Determining 32 or 64 bit compatibility

I’m using Make 2017 with Mac OS 10.10.5 Yosemite. Everything works fine, but rummaging around for plug-ins, I’m often faced with the 32 or 64-bit question. Regarding further upgrades and/or updates, how can I ascertain which of those my computer uses (or can use)? I’ve looked through System Report under “About this Mac”, but can’t find anything relevant.

Though I’m not an expert, as far as I know macOS 10.10.5 Yosemite is only available for 64bit (and any more or less recent Apple-PC is), as well as SketchUp 2015+ for macOS.

Pure Ruby plugins are compatible, and for binary plugins (that mention 32/64bit) you would need the version that matches your SketchUp version, in this case 64bit. This is very likely for all recent plugins the case.

You can check this out: How to tell if your Intel-based Mac has a 32-bit or 64-bit processor - Apple Support

You didn’t say what model of Mac you have, but all Macs have used 64-bit Intel processors for years now (typically i5 or i7). The fact that you can run SU 2017 at all confirms that your machine is 64-bit, as SU 2017 is not distributed in a 32-bit version.

Most extensions/plugins are written in Ruby and do not depend on the bit-ness of the computer. For these, the biggest question is whether they have been updated for compatibility with Ruby 2 vs the older Ruby 1.8 that SU used before 2014. Some old plugins run fine, but others fail due to changes in the Ruby language.

Some extensions also use compiled code to gain performance over pure Ruby. In these, the code must be compiled to run on your computer’s architecture and OS. But, again, if there is a Mac version at all and it is not ancient you can assume it is 64-bit compatible.

Case closed; Thanks!

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