Installing a Windows Application

Now that Wine is up and running, you can install your Windows applications. The best way to learn how to do it is by giving you an example. It is really easy to do, and on occasion it works out of the box. If it doesn’t, you should consult the AppDB or other forums because other people very likely have had the same problems.

In this example we install the application Notepad++, a Notepad replacement used by many developers to write source code. It is an easy-to-install application that will serve our ends well. Those are basic instructions that will work well with most simple software. You will be able to accommodate them to the software you want to install. So here we go;

1. Open Firefox and go to the site http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v5.9.2.html. Click the Notepad++ v5.79.2 Installer. Save the file to disk.
2. Go to your Downloads folder (this is where Firefox stores the files it gets from the Internet) and right-click the installer you just downloaded. Open the Properties dialog box and in the Permissions tab check the “Allow executing file as program” box. Click Close.
3. Right-click the file and select the option Open with Wine Windows Program Loader.
4. The normal installation wizard, familiar to all Windows users, will show up. Follow it until the application is installed.
5. Voila! The application is now installed. It will open automatically. From now on you will find it from the Applications Launcher in the Unity Panel.

When you’re positive that you will no longer need the application, you can remove it from your system with the Uninstall Wine Software tool. Select the application from the list and press the Uninstall button. Follow the wizard to uninstall the application.

In this way, installing Windows applications seems quite straightforward. In some cases, though, it isn’t so easy. Fortunately there’s always the Ubuntu community to help!