Ãœcretsiz Blog

Wine is the name of a computer program available for your Ubuntu PC, one which lets you run Windows programs on it even though you are not using Microsoft Windows. And just like Ubuntu itself, it's free to use and completely legal!

How does it work? Well, Windows programs communicate with Windows through a “layer” known as the Windows API, or “Application Programming Interface.” It's basically the language they use to talk to Windows. Wine understands the Windows API, so when you run the Windows program, it talks to Wine. Then Wine translates what it says into things your Ubuntu PC can understand, and vice-versa! So it's like a translator program.

Wine doesn't understand everything in the Windows API, so sometimes it translates things incorrectly. This means that sometimes, your Windows programs won't run exactly like they would in actual Microsoft Windows, and they may even crash. You can find out if your favorite Windows programs are likely to run in Wine by going to http://appdb.winehq.org, and searching for them by name. Programs are given “Platinum,” “Gold,” “Silver” and “Bronze” ratings there, by people who try them out and test to see if they'll run. Their PCs may be different from yours, though. So while it makes a good guideline, your mileage may vary.

The best way to find out if a given Windows program will run is to try it for yourself. Here's how!

Installing Wine

The Wine homepage, http://www.winehq.org/, lists a number of ways that you can download and install Wine. This is Ubuntu you're using, though, so you get to do it the easy way! Just click on the menu that says Applications, in the upper-left hand corner of your screen. Then click on Add/Remove. This will bring up the menu that allows you to install additional programs.

Where it says “Show,” click on the tab and then select “All available applications,” if you haven't already. Then in the search box next to it, type “Wine” and hit enter. At the top of the list that it brings up should be a program called “Wine Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer.” Tag the checkbox next to it, select “Apply Changes,” then enter your password when it asks and just click okay on whatever it says. When it says you're done, Wine is installed! Now you can double-click on Microsoft Windows programs to run them just like you would in Windows.

If you can't, it may be because your Ubuntu PC thinks that Microsoft Windows programs should be run using something other than Wine. You can teach it which program to use by right-clicking on the Windows program in your File Browser, and then selecting Properties. Go to the tab that says “Open With,” and select “Wine.” If it's not there, click “Add” and go through the list until you find it; and if it's not there either, select “Use a custom command” and type “wine”. There! Now your Ubuntu PC will load all files of that type using Wine.

An important note

That last step shouldn't be necessary, but it was on my PC running Ubuntu 8.10, so I'm letting you know just in case it is helpful. Just remember that Wine is for running Windows applications, not files that you used in Windows like Microsoft Office documents!

Wine isn't for loading your documents and pictures on your Ubuntu PC. Those files should already run on it. You can open your Microsoft Office documents using a program like OpenOffice.org, which should be installed on your Ubuntu PC by default — just double-click on the Microsoft Office document to load it. The same goes for pictures, and pretty much anything else.

What Wine is for is running Windows programs, like your games and utilities. You wouldn't use it to open Microsoft Office documents, you'd use it to install and run Microsoft Office itself! And apparently even the latest version of Microsoft Word runs fairly well on Ubuntu PCs using Wine.

A last resort

Windows programs running in Wine usually aren't as stable as they are running in Windows, especially big and complicated ones. And there are sometimes extra steps that you need to take in order to get them to work. So it's sort of a weapon of last resort, for when you just have to have that old Windows game or utility working.

Fortunately, it's not usually needed. Just by going to Applications -> Add/Remove, like you did to install Wine, you can find a whole slew of programs which you can install in Ubuntu automatically. And while you can't install “brand name” software like Microsoft Office this way, you can often find free replacements that are almost as good, if not better. There's no Photoshop, for example, but a lot of people like using The Gimp!

If you just have to have that old Windows program, though, Wine is there to help you out. Whether it's World of Warcraft, Microsoft Office, or yes, even Photoshop, someone has probably figured out how to get it to run, and has posted step-by-step instructions.

The Upshot

So that's what Wine does, and how you can put it on your Ubuntu PC. And often, running something in Wine is as simple as double-clicking on the installer, then running it from the menu or from a desktop shortcut.

What do you do when it's not that simple? I'll write about that in another article about using Wine on Ubuntu PCs! Until then, good luck!