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pconstantatos 01-29-2017 03:14 PM

Microsoft Office 2013 on Linux Mint
 
Good evening to all. I am trying to install Office 2013 in Mint 18.1 but to no avail. I tried with wine 2 which I do not seem to manage to configure correctly and with Play on Linux. Any suggestions?

TB0ne 01-29-2017 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pconstantatos (Post 5661942)
Good evening to all. I am trying to install Office 2013 in Mint 18.1 but to no avail. I tried with wine 2 which I do not seem to manage to configure correctly and with Play on Linux. Any suggestions?

Yes; don't use Microsoft/Windows products on Linux. Check the Wine database for support (it's rated "garbage" for a reason)
https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManag...View+Developer

Microsoft Office is for Windows...if you're using Mint, then you need to use Libreoffice. If you're not prepared to do so, then your next best option is to load Windows in a virtual machine/dual-boot/run Windows ONLY, and use whatever Microsoft products you'd care to use.

pholland 01-29-2017 03:26 PM

Second LibreOffice. For what it's worth, I'm using LibreOffice on Mint 17.3 and am in the process of converting a 78-page booklet into an e-book. Multiple fonts, pagination, images, lines and arrows, tables, etc. Works for me.

Habitual 01-29-2017 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pconstantatos (Post 5661942)
Any suggestions?

A couple, but I'll be nice(r).

Virtualbox > Full install of Windows > Office 2013

or dual boot.
Virtualbox route is the "I want it now" favored by some folks.
Dual boot would be the hard route.
Trying to install Office on LinuxMint...that "boomerang"?
Throw it all you want, it isn't coming back.</opinion>

cwizardone 01-29-2017 06:26 PM

When Wine-2.0 was announced earlier this week, one feature mentioned was the ability to run ms-office 2013. Perhaps installations instructions are available over at WineHQ?

TB0ne 01-30-2017 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwizardone (Post 5662014)
When Wine-2.0 was announced earlier this week, one feature mentioned was the ability to run ms-office 2013. Perhaps installations instructions are available over at WineHQ?

Nope...the INSTALLER works fine...the SOFTWARE doesn't. Yes, really...they're listed separately at the Wine AppDB..

cwizardone 01-30-2017 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TB0ne (Post 5662288)
Nope...the INSTALLER works fine...the SOFTWARE doesn't. Yes, really...they're listed separately at the Wine AppDB..

Years ago I was able to run an earlier version of ms-word and ms-office on the Linux desktop using Wine, but it took several additional steps, that is, additional .dll libraries had to be installed.

cynwulf 01-30-2017 09:52 AM

If you need MS office, then you need windows. In my opinion, unless you need the whole outlook + ms exchange sever (which a home user is not likely to need), then you probably don't need MS office. The only decent application in the office suite is Excel anyway - and if you need that for work/study, then, once again, you need windows (powerpoint is another piece of widely used corporate crap and same arguments...).

In most other cases libreoffice should do.

suicidaleggroll 01-30-2017 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cynwulf (Post 5662324)
In most other cases libreoffice should do.

Unless he needs MS Office compatibility for work, school, or anywhere else that he needs to send or receive documents from people who use MS Office. LibreOffice compatibility with MS Office is horrible, not even worth attempting. If he needs to be able to read/write documents in MS Office format, then he needs MS Office, which means he needs MS Windows. I prefer the Virtualbox route because it's easier, faster, smaller, and more efficient than dual boot, but some people like to dual boot anyway.

JeremyBoden 01-30-2017 10:58 AM

LibreOffice is perfectly fine for 99.9% of documents.

cynwulf 01-30-2017 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suicidaleggroll (Post 5662341)
Unless he needs MS Office compatibility for work, school[etc]

Which is kind of what I said in the first paragraph...

DavidMcCann 01-30-2017 11:10 AM

On the compatibility question, it may be worth looking at OpenOffice. That probably has more users of the Windows version than of the Linux one, which may affect its ability to exchange files with MS Office. Of course, spreadsheets are a problem: I seem to remember Gnumeric is better for compatibility there.

suicidaleggroll 01-30-2017 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann (Post 5662384)
On the compatibility question, it may be worth looking at OpenOffice. That probably has more users of the Windows version than of the Linux one, which may affect its ability to exchange files with MS Office.

OO is just as bad as LO, basically unusable for reading/writing Word files.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyBoden (Post 5662371)
LibreOffice is perfectly fine for 99.9% of documents.

Only if you will never have to share that file with someone who uses MS Office. I don't believe I've ever opened a Word document with images, tables, or any kind of formatting in OO/LO and had it render properly. Sometimes it's good enough to read (sometimes it's not even close enough for that), but you can forget making any changes and saving it back out. You'll destroy the formatting in the entire file and force the author to spend hours fixing it.

cynwulf 01-30-2017 11:19 AM

The MS office formats are xml rather than binary, which makes it simpler to support. docx, xlsx, etc are really just zip archive containers. opendocument format is also widely supported nowadays.

dugan 01-30-2017 11:29 AM

Office 365 if you actually need MS Office.

LibreOffice or Google Docs if just need something similar.

Timothy Miller 01-30-2017 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suicidaleggroll (Post 5662393)
OO is just as bad as LO, basically unusable for reading/writing Word files.


Only if you will never have to share that file with someone who uses MS Office. I don't believe I've ever opened a Word document with images, tables, or any kind of formatting in OO/LO and had it render properly. Sometimes it's good enough to read (sometimes it's not even close enough for that), but you can forget making any changes and saving it back out. You'll destroy the formatting in the entire file and force the author to spend hours fixing it.

I ahven't seen this ANYWHERE near as bad with the newer versions of LO. STill not perfect, but definitely usable even with shared documents. This issue is actually the reason I have a 6-seat license for Softmaker Office Linux, since I needed interoperability with M$ Office formats for work with my old job.

cwizardone 01-30-2017 11:41 AM

Many years ago the legal profession, in the U.S., adopted ms-word. Two attorneys I know, who are both "power users" of ms-word, have said there are compatibility problems between different versions of ms-word and they have both said, in their opinions, mickeysoft does this on purpose in an effort to "encourage" people to buy the latest version of ms-word/office.
You can save a document as a .pdf file and send it along. At that point it doesn't matter what software was used to create the document.

cynwulf 01-31-2017 02:38 AM

MS have historically changed their file formats between versions to hamper compatibility with other similar programmes, but I don't think this goes on much these days. The old word doc and xls formats were binary, whereas (as I have already pointed out) the newer formats are mostly plain text xml.

ShuDan54 02-10-2019 09:57 PM

Follow-up Inquiry: Installing MS Office 2003 in Linux Mint (17.3)
 
I understand and agree with all your collective statements in this thread about why this is a stupid idea, I should use MS Windows if I want to use MS Office, LibreOffice is just fine, etc. I LIKE LibreOffice. But I'm between a rock and a hard place.

I'm disabled & retired (w/no financial resources, living only on Social Security, etc.), no longer have a Windows PC and only have a Linux box because someone gave it to me. I can no longer work in my lucrative, 30-year career so to earn some extra income, I want to try being a general transcriptionist. Trouble is the only audio/visual player that has the features I need is incompatible with LibreOffice Writer.

The AV software I need to use is Express Scribe, which runs fine using Wine. It allows you to redefine keyboard function keys for AV control - so you can keep your hands on the keyboard. Those f-key definitions will override -MS WORD's- while the AV file is playing so, again, you can keep your hands on the keyboard. Typing speed is paramount. But LibreOffice Writer isn't compatible with Express Scribe. (I've seen web pages for supposed Linux substitute software for Express Scribe but they don't work.)

I can't afford another computer so IF I'm to earn money as a transcriptionist - and it seems like the only viable option right now - I NEED to have MS Office (I still have the 2003 CDs) running in my Linux Mint environment - as offensive as that is to some of you. I've found all sorts of web pages for how to install it there but no joy. I would REALLY appreciate some help here.

ehartman 02-10-2019 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShuDan54 (Post 5960396)
I can't afford another computer so IF I'm to earn money as a transcriptionist - and it seems like the only viable option right now - I NEED to have MS Office (I still have the 2003 CDs) running in my Linux Mint environment - as offensive as that is to some of you. I've found all sorts of web pages for how to install it there but no joy. I would REALLY appreciate some help here.

Use a Virtual Machine, like VirtualBox (www.virtualbox.org), install Windows 7 in that and MS-Office 20xx again in that Windows VM.

JeremyBoden 02-11-2019 06:32 AM

But you should pay for that Windows licence & possibly another licence for that ms-word and possibly another licence for that AV software etc...

ehartman 02-11-2019 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyBoden (Post 5960514)
But you should pay for that Windows licence & possibly another licence for that ms-word and possibly another licence for that AV software etc...

As he said he had the CD-rom's the OP likely already got a license.


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