You can use Wine to install Windows apps on Linux, but it does not work for all the applications. Moreover, it requires you to configure things manually. So, what are the easy options?
While CrossOver has been trying its best to make the process easier, Bottles is another solution.
With Bottles’ latest release, it aims to make things seamless to help run your preferred Windows app with minimal tweaking.
Bottles 2022.2.14: What’s New?
The release brings a few new features, improvements, and plenty of bug fixes. Let me highlight the key changes below.
Installers
Here’s what the devs have to say about the new feature –
These are sets of instructions interpreted by Bottles to replicate the installation of a program. This process is written in manifest files by the maintainers, who were able to install the program following the same steps.
Basically, these one-click installers automatically install software without you needing to tweak anything manually. This is similar to how Lutris helps gamers install a game that requires heavy tweaking.
There are only a few installers, particularly third-party game launchers, available. Users who want to install a program like Origin, can simply go to the Installers section in their preferred bottle and hit the download button.
The devs also promise that you can expect more installers soon.
A Dedicated App Store
To feature the available installers, they have launched an AppStore on their official website. It contains a list of all available installers and necessary information like dependencies, configuration, and supported architecture. Users can expect more useful features like reviews to arrive soon.
An important point to note is that not all installers will work flawlessly. Thus, the devs have introduced something called “grades” that refers to how smooth the installed program will function. The grading scale ranges from Bronze to Platinum and is very similar to how Wine’s compatibility is rated.
Users can be assured that every installer will at least run the program and perform the main functionality the program is required to do. Users should expect bugs, graphical glitches, and crashes unless the installer is graded Platinum. Moreover, the installers will work with restore points as well.
New Search Bar
Users with multiple bottles now have the ability to find a particular bottle using the all-new search functionality. Do note that it is hidden by default and will be automatically enabled if you have at least 10 bottles installed.
I feel a basic feature as a search bar should have been implemented already. But, better late than never!
Custom Path for Bottles
Previously, users could not set a custom path for a bottle. With this release, users can do just that by navigating to the preferences section. This is very helpful if a user is low on storage and plans to use a separate drive.
Do note that Flatpak users will have to enable permissions for Bottles to access any location outside the Flatpak environment. You can try Flatseal to manage Flatpak permissions as well.
Improvements and Bug Fixes
In addition to the major feature upgrades, there are several useful improvements across the board, some worth highlighting include:
- Runtime available for non-Flapak package that can be installed through the core section in Preferences.
- Users now have the ability to terminate ongoing processes using the built-in task manager.
- Users can also launch programs from the terminal that’s located in the context menu.
- Support for Gamescope and dxvk-async as a component has arrived.
A variety of essential bug fixes also arrives with this release. Some of them include fixes for gamemode in the Flatpak version and the DXVK version change that removed the initial backup.
You can refer to their official release notes to know more about the technical details.
Closing Thoughts
Bottles aims to be a must-have app for every Linux user who deals with Windows software. And, with all these improvements, it looks promising!
The addition of installers should immensely help a lot of users. What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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