Chapter 5. Using CrossOver Linux Professional

Table of Contents

Running Windows applications
Running from the menu
Running Windows applications from the command line
Running a Windows command
Stopping misbehaving programs

Running Windows applications

Running from the menu

On most operating systems and desktops, Windows application installers will create links in your application menu. On KDE you will be able to run CrossOver applications from the "K" menu, on GNOME by clicking on the "foot", and on RedHat by clicking on the hat.

Windows applications (Word, Excel, etc.) will appear in your Windows Applications menu. Additionally, you will have entries for three CrossOver-specific applications in your CrossOver menu: the Bottle Manager, Reset CrossOver Office and Simulate Windows Reboot.

If no menu entries are created, you will still have the option of running applications from the command line. You may be able to associate these command lines with the menu yourself, using whatever menu-editing tools are provided by your particular system.

Running Windows applications from the command line

Using command line shortcuts

If CrossOver Linux Professional is installed for a single user, each Windows app you install will create simple command-line shortcuts in your ~/cxoffice/bin directory. This will allow you to run most applications from the command line by typing, for example:

$ ~/cxoffice/bin/winword
[Tip]

If you install the same application in to more than one bottle, the resulting script will point to the most recent installation. For example, if you have a bottle such as the default win98 bottle and another unsupported bottle, you then install Microsoft Office in the win98 bottle, then install again in a unsupported bottle, the resulting command-line shortcuts will point to your Office installation in the unsupported bottle.

These shortcuts correspond to the menu entries in the menu control panel. Whether or not they are available for a particular app will depend on the behavior of that application's installer.

[Tip]

This option is not available if you installed CrossOver Linux Professional in Private multi-user mode. In that case, you will need to run applications using the --cx-app method.

For a complete list of the shortcuts available, type the command

$ grep -l desktopdata/cxmenu ~/cxoffice/bin/*

Using "wine --cx-app"

If CrossOver Linux Professional is installed as root, or you wish to run an app that did not create an icon or command line shortcut, you can still run applications by using the wine script directly.

The CrossOver Linux Professional wine script is located in the cxoffice/bin directory. The simplest way to start an app is to use the "--cx-app" argument. This will ask the wine script to locate and execute the specified application. For example, to run Word on a system with a root install:

$ /opt/cxoffice/bin/wine --cx-app winword.exe

Or, if cxbundle is installed for a single user:

$ ~/cxoffice/bin/wine --cx-app winword.exe

For a complete list of apps that will work with the --cx-app argument, try this:

$ find ~/.cxoffice -iname "*.exe"
[Tip]

There will be many .exe files on your system that are either system tools or subcomponents of other applications. Running some of these programs could cause unpredictable or destructive things to happen. It's never a good idea to run a Windows applications unless you have a good understanding of where it came from and what it does.

[Important]

Wine will search and run in the default bottle unless told otherwise. To run a wine command in a different bottle, specify the bottle like this:

$ ~/cxoffice/bin/wine --bottle somebottlename --cx-app winword.exe

Running a Windows command

The Run a Windows Command menu provides a simple way to run a Windows command-line in CrossOver. This can be a useful way to run standard Wine tools such as regedit or notepad, and can also be used to run applications which fail to create icons or shortcuts.

This tool is available in your system menu, or you can run it from the command line:

$ ~/cxoffice/bin/cxrun

or, for multi-user installs:

$ /opt/cxoffice/bin/cxrun
[Important]

This feature is especially important when there are multiple bottles present. When run from the command-line Wine generally operates on the default bottle. Cxrun provides a simple way to specify an alternative bottle.