Hello Gang:

Hey all, as you can tell I am a newbie to Linux. Well this is not entirely accurate. I am not proficient but I am not inept either. I have a certain grasp of computer terms and knowledge so when answering my question you need not be too gentle. Now on to the good stuff.

I am a lawyer, or soon will be, and using MS Office is VITAL to my survival in the legal jungle. I have tried to use Open Office 1.1, but it just does not cut it. I know there is a way to use WINE or WINE like programs/emulators to utilize MS Office, however I have no clue how to use them and then how to install and use MS Office. Has anyone done this? I know that is a stupid question so let me rephrase, does anyone who has installed and successfully used MS Office on their linux system want to tell me what they did in a way a NEWBIE can understand? Remember, I am not completely helpless (Windows is a breeze for me and I don't mean point and click) but when it comes to Linux I might as well be.

A Little info for you that might help:
SuSE 9.0
KDE 3.1.4 (how to upgrade to 3.2 is a whole different story)
PIII 1.5
384 megs of ram
30 gig hd
Radeon 8500 128megs (who knows how to utilize that properly, any thoughts on that would be great)
Audigy 2 (again see Radeon 8500 problem, only being recognized as an Audigy therefore only being played at a 2.1 format)

Well I hope you can help me out, I love the whole idea of Linux and the community behind it. I hope to gain enough knowledge to eventually help future newbies.

Cheers

Have you tried looking into Crossover Office? you can get it at http://www.codeweavers.com/site/products/

Its not free, but it will let you run M$ Office and does have a trial version.

I have Office 97 installed under Red Hat 9 Linux. Before installing it I purchased and installed CrossoverOffice. Claudius753 provided the link. CrossoverOffice has no relation to Open Office by the way, even though their names sound similar. Not all versions of Office will work. They only support the use of Office 97, Office 2000, and Office XP. Office 2003 is not yet supported. With MS Access only Access 2000 will work.

I have both KDE and Gnome installed and use Gnome most of the time. You use KDE although I doubt that differnce would matter. I am only moderately experienced with Linux but did manage to get it to work so perhaps I am not the ideal person to explain how to install this. I am describing this from memory so I hope I have all the details correct. The first step is to choose which version of the program to download and install. The "CrossOver Office 2.1.0 Loki Installer" choice is probably the best choice. Here is a quote directly from their web page which explains my that choice is probably best:

"This installer will work on any version of Linux, and should install and operate under any conditions. This version is the only version that can be installed completely in a user account, which is, in our opinion, the best way to install CrossOver."

My guess is that running it from a user account would provide better security. That version is not an RPM file and most Linux users know how to install or remove programs that are in the RPM format. It is also not a compressed tarball which many other Linux users know how to install. Well what is it? I'm not really sure. I have rarely encounted sh files. Perhaps it is a shell script or something.

I would try doing this first while you are logged in as a normal user. I was probably logged in as a normal user at the time but can not remember for sure. Well anyway, go to the folder where you downloaded the file and type this:

sh install-crossover.sh

I can not remember if it asks you any other questions or not. That should result in CrossoverOffice being installed. Afterwards Linux should should have CrossOver on the menu. I then click on the icon that opens the start menu or whatever Linux calls it. Then I click on "CrossOver" and the "Office Setup". Next, I click on the Install button which is on the ADD/REMOVE tab. I then click on the version of MS Office that I want to install and then click Next. By then I would probably go ahead and insert the MS Office disk. The MS Office Installation program will the start, so go ahead and install Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Do not install MS Access unless you have Access 2000. It is the only version of Access that currently works. At some point will need the key code that is the big number on the CD case or somewhere.

About a minute or so after the installation progam finishes the CrossOver Office program that is running in the background will recognize that the installation program is finished. Then when you press the icon for the Linux menu, you will find a folder labled "Windows Applications". Inside of it you can click on Microsoft Word. If you are using Office 2000 or Office XP you will eventually need to call Microsoft to have your copy of Office activated. The first time or two you install Office it can be activated over the Internet, in later installations they make people explain why they are installing Office again. They will most likely ask if you have more than one computer and sternly remind you that it can only be used on one computer. Office 97 does not require activation.

At some point you would also want to download the Windows font when running CrossoverOffice setup. The CrossOver setup program will remind you to read the Microsoft Eula to be sure that you are eligible to download the Windows fonts. Then you are done. Perhaps a more experienced Linux user could clarify a few of the things I said. I hope I got the details correct.

Matthew, get Wine Rack from Suse to use with your version 9.0. Seems to be just what you're after

http://www.suse.com/us/private/produ...ack/index.html

I should also explain that there are about 10 Trutype fonts that can be downloaded. In my previous post I made it sould like there was just one font to download. Installing each of them is done from the CrossOver Office setup program. The steps to do that are nearly identical to intalling a program except in this case no CD is needed. The fonts are downloaded off of the Internet.

One thing I have wondered is if it would be legal to install one copy of MS Office under Windows and another in Linux. Just to be safe I did not do it that way, I installed my old full version of Office 97 under Red Hat 9 Linux and Office 2003 under Windows 2000. Being a part-time student with a student ID card I was able to by the less expensive student version. I suppose most home users would not worry about those details. Office 2003 does not work under the current version so if someone does not already have a copy they might have trouble finding a suitable version of Office. I have occasionally seen older unopened versions of Office 97 and Office XP still available on the Internet. Some are OEM versions and some are retail versions. A person would also need to know if they are buying a full version or an upgrade version.

I have heard of Wine Rack that Chris mentioned but do not know exactly what it is.

Oh, I guess his link explains what it is. Apparently CrossOver Office is included with it.

Hey you guys rock, like I said the Linux community rocks. I think I will, when money permits, invest in CrossoverOffice. My question, after doing researching on their website, is whether any of you have been able to get Outlook XP to work on your Linux machines. It is not quite as important as Word is to me but it would be nice. It just seems odd that the rest of MS Office XP (with the exception of Access) would be supported, but not Outlook, perhaps the most popular aspect of the whole suite. Oh well, I don't blame CrossoverOffice, *looks in the direction of Bill Gates* LOL

Also thanks for the heads up on the Wine-Rack. It has much more than I want, but then again it is cheaper than CrossoverOffice and it has it included, can't argue with that.

Cheers

Yes, it does support Outlook. I have never used it. Here is the info:

http://www.codeweavers.com/site/prod...ted_apps/?id=5

I use Ximian Evolution instead. It is free with most Linux distros. It is a combination email program, calander, scheduling program and contact manager. Ximian Evolution has filters that I use to automatically sort some of my email into different virtual folders. Using filters keeps my mail organized. That way it is much easier to find important information in old email messages. Is that similar to what Outlook does?

From what I have heard, Internet Explorer and Outlook are the favorite targets for viruses and worms. It is very difficult for a LInux computer get a Virus. I am not sure about worms. I have wondered if that would still be true if Explorer and Outlook are run under WINE. I have never heard anyone say. I like Mozilla Firefox 0.8 better than Explorer anyway and am also happy with Ximian Evolution. I have no desire to install either Internet Explorer or Outlook.

Codeweavers also makes a product that allows the use of Windows Plug-ins with Linux borowsers. I am able to use the Windows Media Player 6.4 plug-in.

Ooops, you asked about Outlook XP. I did not see the XP version on the list of supported applications. He is the list of supported applications:

http://www.codeweavers.com/site/prod...upported_apps/

So, does anyone know if there is an issue with Crossover Office, as far as viruses or worms? Thanks.