PlayOnLinux is a free and open source graphical front-end for Wine which allows Linux users to install a large number of Windows-based computer games and applications such as Microsoft Office (2000 to 2010), Steam, Photoshop, and many other applications.
PlayOnLinux will also allows you to install your Windows-based software on different virtual drives, which means that there is no interaction between the different applications you install. So if something doesn't work right, you know it won't affect the rest of your stuff and they can easily uninstall it by removing the virtual drive.
Install games and apps via Wine It can be a bit difficult for newbies. For this, the use of PlayOnLinux is recommended as it solves this by providing a simpler interface, which with just a few clicks will allow you to easily install Windows applications and games on Linux.
That is to say, all the complexity of Wine is hidden by default in PlayOnLinux and easily automates the installation of compatible software and games.
PlayOnLinux is in its version 4.2.12 which has been around for a long time, because at the moment they are still building version 5.0 which means better compatibility with the new generation of graphics cards, games and others.
How to install PlayOnLinux on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS?
Since PlayOnLinux is a graphical front-end for Wine, it is extremely necessary to install Wine and enable the architecture for 32 bits, to obtain a better performance of this in the system, in a previous article talked about how to install the latest stable version of Wine.
PlayOnLinux can be found in the Ubuntu software repositories, so you can get it from Ubuntu Software Center or install it with the following command:
sudo apt update sudo apt install playonlinux
It is also recommended to install some dependencies that may be necessary:
sudo apt-get install winbind sudo apt-get install unrar-free p7zip-full
You can also install it by downloading the latest deb package, available from its page start here.
Developers recommend using this installer as it generally contains the latest packages available compared to what is available in the software repositories of many distributions.
How to use PlayOnLinux?
After having carried out a correct installation, we proceed to open the application, we look for it in our applications menu and execute it. Upon launch, you will be prompted to accept a license to install some fonts from Microsoft.
With this we will be inside the main window of the program, here basically there are two ways to install an application.
The first is to install an application compatible with PlayOnLinux, that is, we found this in the list offered by the application, by clicking on the «Install» button found just below your menu.
When you click there, a new window will open with the list that I was commenting on, atHere we only have to use the search engine to check if the application we want to install is found.
If so, we just click on it and we just have to follow the instructions until it asks us to insert the CD / DVD with the application or choose the path where it is saved on our hard drive.
The second option is to install an application "not compatible"
Although the term "not compatible" does not apply to everything, but rather not yet tested would be the correct term. Since there are an infinity of applications in the previous list, only the demanded and popular ones are shown.
Here basically the installation method is as follows:
- We click on the "Install" button
- The applications window will open, but now as we can see just below the list there is a text that says "Install a program not included"
- We click on it and here we will continue with the installation wizard
- It will ask us to assign a space to the installed program "Install a program in a new virtual disk" and then Next.
- Enter a name for your configuration.
- Find the installation file and then follow the instructions, which will depend on the application you are installing.