Atari 8Bit and Mac - Atari800MacX

Atari800MacX now supports Synchronized Sound, a Graphical Debugger, VAPI and PRO images, Copy and Paste from the emulator, Configuration files, and a new Hard Disk emulation scheme. There have been other enhancments and bug fixes as well, see below.

As my time to work on Atari800MacX has decreased and been sporatic due to my work committments, I no longer feel correct about taking donations for it's development. However, if you would like to show your appreciation for old computer systems, the Internet Archive is a worthy charity.
If you would like to donate, please Donate through this link.

This is the home page of the Macintosh OS X Port of David Firth's Fantastic Atari 800 Emulator. I have ported the SDL version of the Atrari800 emulator to Mac OS X, and added a full native Cocoa interface, including Preferences, Menus, File Associations, Help and more. It does not require libSDL to be installed separately, but includes it within the application package. It does however require ROM image files from the original Atari systems, which are not included here. Special Thanks go to Jacek Poplawski for writing the general SDL port, and the entire libSDL team that has made this port possible. (As well as to the whole Atari800 team for their invaluable support and suggestions. Please visit their website at http://atari800.sourceforge.net for full info on their emulator core.) Many thanks to Daniel Noguerol for his hard work on the original and ported versions of the R: driver. Also thanks to Al Yarusso at AtariAge for mirroring the binary and source, and MacUpdate for mirroring the binary. And of course Dan and the rest of you who have sent in invaluable bug and testing reports.

Why did I write another Atari emulator for the Mac? Derek Ledbetter has a good port of Atari800 for OS9 and Carbon on OS X. However, I really wanted an emulator that could keep up with all of the features of the Atari800 emulator, including full cartridge and machine support, hard drives, etc. In addition, I wanted a full screen mode in addition to the windowed mode of Derek's port. Also, Derek's port is dependent on Code Warrior™, and I wanted an emulator that could be built with Apple's great free tools provided with MacOS X. Project Builder does not build Carbon executables for use on OS 9, so therefore there isn't an OS9 version.

Media Window

News:

01-22-2022 Version 6.0.1 Released.
01-18-2021 Version 6.0.0 Released.
01-08-2021 Version 5.5.1 Released.
01-07-2021 Version 5.5.0 Released.
12-01-2020 Version 5.4.4 Released.
11-22-2020 Version 5.4.3 Released.
11-16-2020 Version 5.4.2 Released.
11-12-2020 Version 5.4.1 Released.
11-07-2020 Version 5.4.0 Released.
09-17-2020 Version 5.3.1 Released.
08-28-2020 Version 5.3.0 Released.
08-09-2020 Version 5.2.1 Released.
07-25-2020 Version 5.2.0 Released.
07-02-2020 Version 5.1.0 Released.
05-24-2020 Version 5.0.4 Released.
05-20-2020 Version 5.0.3 Released.
05-17-2020 Version 5.0.2 Released.
01-19-2019 Version 5.0.1 Released.
01-01-2019 Version 5.0.0 Released.

Bug Fixes (in version 6.0.1):

Fixed issues in full screen with fixed aspect ratios and garbage being displayed on the screen.

New Features (in version 6.0.0):

Added support for ARM based M1 Macs.
Update libSDL to version 2.0.14.
Removed 2k limit on the number of characters that can be pasted into the emulator>

Bug Fixes (in version 6.0.0):

Fixed issue with not correctly restoring machine type when loading a configuration file.
Fixed issue with not being able to insert a piggyback cartrdige to SDX.

Bugs Fixed (in version 5.5.1):

Fixed issues with mounting hard disk images created inside the emulator (with .img instead of .vhd extensions)

New Features (in version 5.5.0):

Added support for the PCLINK host disk system, providing a working alternative to H: for SpartaDOSX.
Added enhanced copy and paste, so that ATASCII graphics characters may be copied and pasted as well, along with support for automation with delays.
Added ability to specify a string that is pasted automatically at the startup of the emulator.
Added Break key to Touch Bar, and removed Power key. The funtionality of the Power key is now achieved by pressing Shift along with the Reset Touch Bar key.

Bug Fixes (in version 5.5.0):

Fixed copy of text in Full Screen
Fixed copy of text in 80 column modes

Bug Fixes (in version 5.4.4):

Fix issue with Trackball and Mouse emulation. The Y Axis was inverted, making Trackball emulation of little use. By default, the Y Axis is now inverted, but an option has been added to the Controllers tab of Preferences which allows the original behavior.
Fix issue with not being able to sector edit an ATR image that does not contain a supported DOS.

Bug Fixes (in version 5.4.3):

Fixed issue with "ghost"/double characters being entered with non-US Keyboards which was reintroduced with 5.4.0
Fix issue with raw cartridge images with new image types that were added in 5.3.
Fixed issue with Save Media when exiting, where it would not clear the cartridge if it was ejected during operation.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.4.2):

Added full emulation for The!Cart, replacing the limited atari800 emulation which worked for few ROM image types. The new emulation supports Flexi mode RAM, but does not yet support flashing in the emulator.

Bug Fixes (in version 5.4.2):

Fixed issue with "ghost"/double characters being entered with non-US Keyboards which was reintroduced with 5.4.0
Fix issue with raw cartridge images with new image types that were added in 5.3.
Fixed issue with Save Media when exiting, where it would not clear the cartridge if it was ejected during operation.

Bug Fixes (in version 5.4.1):

Fixed issue where H: Patch broke Ultimate1mb emulation
Fixed issue with D: Patch which was introduced in version 5.3.0
Indexed built-in help such that it is searchable

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.4.0):

Added emulation of Ultimate1mb upgrade
Added emulation of SIDE2 cartridge
Added emulation of XEGS
Added emulation of 1200XL
Added Hard Drive image creation to support SIDE2 emulation.
Added Atari Caps Lock indicator LED option
Added Hard Disk sector indicator LED
Added option to enter Preferences dialog from Fatal Error dialog box.
Added F10 as a keyboard shortcut for the Help key in addition to option-F10 and Page Down to support Ultimate1mb menu hotkey.
Added F12 as a keyboard shortcut for screenshot in addition to F13 to better support Mac keyboards without F13.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed keyboard repeat issue which was introducted in 5.0
Fixed issue with erroneous debugger display issue which was introduced in 5.3.
Fixed issue with editing of SpartaDOS ATR images with 512 byte sectors.
Fixed issue with Sector Editing of ATR images with 512 byte sectors.
Fixed issues with Breakpoint Edtior causing emulator to crash
Fixed dark mode issues with Graphical Debugger
Fixed issue wih Cmd-K shortcut not working

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.3.1):

Added tab character translation to Disk Image Editor

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issues with Atari Capslock preventing lowercases letters to be entered in the emulator, especially in XL/XE machines.
Fixed longstanding issue which prevent the emulator from opening and saving files in directories with international characters.
Fixed linefeed translation in Disk Image Editor for SpartaDOS ATRs.
Disabled D Patch for this version, as it is not functioning with the new atari800 core. It will be readded in a future version.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.3.0):

Add continuous scaling of Atari display by simply dragging the window resize handle.
Added ability to set scaling to integer values only, still by dragging the window resize handle.
Changed Fullscreen to use true MacOS Fullscreen, with seperate workspace. This elimiinates the need for a Fullscreen GUI, since the normal Mac windows and dialogs work in Fullscreen now.
Added option to maintain Atari screen aspect ratio in fullsize
Added 80 column card selection pull down to Media Center
Add Touch Bar contatining special Atari keys for use on laptops with Touch Bars
Integrated features from atari800 emulator core, version 4.2, including:

Support for new ROM types
Added support for AltirraOS 400/800, AltirraOS XL, Altirra 5200 BIOS and Altirra BASIC. This means the emulator will now work out of the box without external ROMs
Many core emulator fixes around Pokey, ANTI, GTIA, PIA, and CPU.
Removed built-in Basic for 400/800 type machines for more accurate emulation, and removed seperate OS A/OS B machine types.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed copy/paste in Debug Monitor and Sector Editor.
Removed Drawer from Monitor/GUI Debugger which is deprecated by Apple and was not working in Fullscreen. For now, Debug GUI is always visable, another solution may be available in the next release.
Fixed issue with Rename in Disk Editor that was introduced in 5.1.0.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.2.1):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue where addition of ATASCII printer caused most other printer emulations to not translate line feeds.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.2.0):

Added new printer emultion which is able to print ATASCII graphics characters, which is very useful for printing program listing to a PDF.
Added Austin Franklin 80 Column card emulation.
Added Bit3 Full View 80 Column card emulation.
Added a feaure to automatically switch between the normal Atari display and the 80 column display.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue where XEP80 display was not cleared on system reset.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.1.0):

Added real sounds for opening and closing of disk drives when disks are inserted and removed from emulated Disk Drives. (A preference on the Atari tab of the Preferences pane controls this).
Updated application to use Apple's Metal API instead of OpenGL. MacOS has depricated OpenGL, and this should help to future proof the program.
Readded Drag and Drop of disk, rom, cassette and XEX files to the main program screen. This feature was in 4.x versions, but had been removed in 5.x versions.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issues with keypresses still being issued along with joystick/trigger motions when using Keyboard joyticks.
Fixed a keyboard issue when using a Ctrl+Shift combination, where the shift key state was stuck to pressed after both keys were released. The shift will go back to unpressed only if another Ctrl key was pressed.
Replaced deprecated MacOS API calls, to ease porting to future MacOS versions.
Fixed issue with Disk Sector editor where after doing a Goto Disk sector, the up and down arrows used the old location.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.0.4):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issues with gamepad/joystick hotplug.
Fixed copy, paste, and select all menu items.
Fixed typos in Preferences for CX85.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.0.3):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with extra characters being input with an International keyboard.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.0.2):

Updated SDL Framework for better support of MacOS 10.15 Catalina
Moved Gamepad Identification window from Preferences to Control Menu (This window has not worked since 5.0.0

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with Fullscren in Catalina.
Fixed issue with Cmd-J Keybinding for toggling Keyboard Joysticks.
Fixed dark mode About menu issue.
Fix issue with Gampad names which contain unicode which caused emulator to crash

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.0.1):

Added support for macOS Mojave Dark Mode - including new Media Status Panel images.
This release requires 10.12 Sierra or above.
Added Inverse Key to Function Key Window.

Bugs Fixed:

Fix spelling errors in Preferences panel.
Patched keyboard issues caused by libSDL 2.0 - International keyboard translation is always enabled now.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 5.0.0):

Changed from using underlying SDL Library 1.2 to SDL Library 2.0. This allows operation on Mac OSX Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave. Note, no testing has been done on Sierra and High Sierra.
This release requires 10.12 Sierra or above.

Bugs Fixed:

Sound now works in Mac OSX Sierra and up
Fixed crashes with Atari 825 Printer emulation and Epson FX80 Printer emulation.
Fixes issues with Color Wells for Fullscreen Monitor and Atari 1020 Printer emulation. Changed to use text boxes to specify 0-255 Red, Green, and Blue values for colors.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.6.0):

Note, this may be the last release supporting PPC, 10.4, and possibly 10.5. If you have any bugs you need fixed or new features you feel you have to have for these older versions, please email me and I will consider them.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issues with arrow keys in full screen menu and some of the Atari arrow key mappings.
Fixed issues with assigning tab, return, and delete as joystick keys when using international key mappings.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.5.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added ability to change sound volume in the application through the sound menu or key combos

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issues with some TAB and ESC not being able to be entered in the emulator as well as some international key sequences.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.4.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added support for 512 byte sector SpartaDos X ATR disk images.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed bug where erroneously long frame sleeps caused emulator to lock up.
Fixed issue with window miniaturization buttons.
Fixed issues with some special characters not being able to be entered in the emulator as well as some international key sequences.
Fixed issue with super/subscript modes in Epson Printer emulation.
Fixed issue with R: network emulation and incoming connections, BBS Software will now work.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.3.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added new synchronized sound support, which increases sound accuracy, removes noise from some games, and allows things such as the WoofWoof demo to work which did not work in older versions. The Hi-Fi audio is not selected all the time, but the user is now able to selected between 16 bit and 8 bit sound, with 16 being the default on Intel machines, and only 8 bit sound is available on PPC machines.
Now being built with Snow Leopard, therfore OSX 10.3.9 is no longer supported.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue SpartaDos X piggyback cartridges which was introduced in version 4.0
FFixed issue with Cmd-Option shortcuts for window resizing, etc.
FAdded fix from Atari800 core emulator for mouse emulation handling.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.2.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added a Graphical Debugger. For a full list of debugger features see the manual or built in help.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with Cmd-key menu shortcuts when using International keyboard mapping.
Reverted to Atari800 CVS code for PRO disk image handling, as it handles some images mine would not.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.1.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added ability to change definition of Macintosh Arrow keys between one in Ctrl+Atari arrow keys, Atari arrow keys only, or F1-F4 function keys.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with erroneous CapsLock keystrokes being signaled to emulator.
Correct handling of Shift-Ctrl-0 through Shift-Ctrl-9 and other Shift-Ctrl keystrokes by emulator.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.0.1):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed monitor history command.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 4.0.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added support of VAPI copy-protected disk images. This does not yet enable all images, but perhaps 90%. If the VAPI dll source is ever released, this number may be increased. The current images from www.atarimania.com which are known not to work are:

Added new D: patch, which provides an alternative to the H: hard drive emualtion. This sets up D5:-D8: to access hard drive directories one and two, with or without line feed translation. This allows the Macintosh hard drive direcories to be accessed by programs which do not recognize the H: device fully, such as MyDos and Action!.
Added multiple preference configurations, allowing you to set up multiple machine configurations, and load them by opening a .a8c file.
Added ability to paste text from the Macintosh to the Atari. The pasted text is input as keystrokes to the emulator, and should be usable in most programs.
Added ability to copy text from the Atari to the Macintosh. The copied text can be selected using Select All, or by using the Mouse to define a selection rectangle on the screen. It works in normal video or XEP80 modes, but is not available in full screen mode, or if the Mouse is being used for Mouse Controller emulation.
Added emulation of Atari 1200XL Function keys. You can press the Atari F1 by pressing Option-F1 in the emulator, along with optionally shift and or control. F2-F4 work the same way.
Added alternatives for the Atari keys mapped to the Macintosh Insert/Delete/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown keys as those keys are not present on some new Macintosh keyboards.
Added ability to use multiple analog joysticks on the same gamepad as multiple Atari joysticks.
Added the following features from version 2.1 of Atari800 Core Emulator

Bugs Fixed

Fixed caps lock with International Key Mapping on.
Fixed a bug with turning joystick emulation on and off which was causing a stuck joystick.
Fixed a bug where one analog joystick was not selectable on Gamepad 2.
The following fixes were added from version 2.10 of Atari800:

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 3.9.1):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed State Save with XEP80. State save was inadvertantly left out of the 3.9.0 XEP80 source.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 3.9.0):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with 8Mbit Flash Cartridge images not working.
Fixed issue with XEP80 Emulation not working with the new SpartaDos cartrdiges
Fixed issue when Joystick emulation was turned off with control menu, joystick trigger was always reported as pressed.
Fixed issue with Right keyboard Meta keys not being recognized on newer Macs. This replaces the bad fix which was issued with version 3.8.0

Other Changes:

MacOSX 10.2 is no longer supported, as I am now using 10.5 and Xcode 3.1, and they no longer support building for 10.2

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 3.8.1):

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed keyboard issue which was introduced in 3.8.0 in attempt to fix another bug. Bad fix has been removed to be redone at a later date.
Fixed issue with built in help, some images were not displaying.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 3.8.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added emulation of the XEP80 80 Column Display Adapater.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with monitor not displaying certain ASCII characters correctly in memory dumps.
Fixed issue with Right keyboard Meta keys not being recognized on newer Macs.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 3.7.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added option to not mute sound when emulator is not the active program.
Added the ability to swap disks between any two drives by holding the option key while dragging a disk from one drive to another.
Added the ability to swap two disks from the drive management panel, and added keyboard shortcuts to the drive managment panel. See help pages for operaton.
Updated to version 1.2.12 of libSDL. See joystick calbration bug fixed below.

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with joystick calibration by upgrading libSDL library. It is no longer necessary to move the joysticks in all cardinal directions before use to have them work correctly.
Fixed issue with Stero Sound option not being saved.
Fixed issue with Main windows not having focus when starting from the command line.
Fixed working directory issue when starting from the command line.
Fixed bug with Frame Skip preference not being displayed correctly.
Fixed bug with Real Time clock emulation, which has not been working in last several versions.

New Features (in version 3.6.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added support for a second cartridge (piggyback) when the first cartridge is a SpartaDos X cartridge.

New Features/Bug Fixes (in version 3.5.0):

Features Added/Changed:

Added support for the new SpartDos X 128K Cartridge.
Added menu to the Control Menu to allow the user to control the artifacting mode.
Allow gamepads with 3 joysticks of the same type to be used (Gravis Eliminator Aftershock is an example).

Bugs Fixed:

Fixed issue with "new" artifacting in certain games, such as SCRAM.
Fixed issue where Artifacting mode was not taking effect until program was restarted (After being set in Media Status Window).

Features (version 0.2.1 and up):

Full functionality of Atari800 Release 1.3.2 SDL version, including full screen and joystick support.
Addition of other Atari800 core features not supported by SDL version.
Full Macintosh OS X Cocoa Interface, including Preferences, Menus, File Associations, Help and more.
libSDL included in application package.
Double/Triple/Quadruple Size mode, for efficient scaling in Windowed modes.
Full Screen mode.
To many others to mention here, see online help in emulator for full documentation..

Planned Enhancements:

Feature enhancements and new features per user suggestions. Please let me know what you'd like to see.

Download

Download Page

Known Bugs:

Known Bug Page