Has any one gotten GCA5 to run properly on linux?

[Armin]

Originally Posted by Diogenes

I checked permissions, and I find that I have full permissions at reading and writing.

I don't know anything about Linux or WINE. I don't know where the points of failure might be. There really needs to be someone who knows them to help you and tell you what might be going wrong.

Maybe change the permissions to allow Everyone to read and write those folders.

Originally Posted by Diogenes

When I list the plugins with Tools|Plugins..., I get only "unified box" and nothing else.

So, GCA installs the included plugins into the Program Data folder under the \plugins\ subfolder. So that should be the folder GCA calls System Data Folder, in a \plugins\ subfolder. You should have folders for SimpleTextExport, GMControlSheet, NPCRecordCard, OfficialCharacterSheet, and SimpleTextExport.

GCA should find those at startup (again, it'll print to the Log pane what it finds and does with them), compile them, and store the compiled versions in the \plugins\ folder of the App Data folder.

If you don't have those, then the installer wasn't able to install them. That's the first problem.

If the files are there, then the problem may be that WINE doesn't support compiling them. In that case, you're done, because you can't get past that. You don't technically need them to use GCA, but you won't be able to export at all (I think we already established in this thread that the print/preview stuff isn't going to work anyway).

Second problem is the Updater not being able to update. If this is not a permissions issue, it may be a firewall issue. You need to ensure that PackageUpdater.exe (found in the GCA install folder) has permission to access the Internet, as that's the program actually doing the update stuff. (And maybe PackageUpdater2.exe, as that's created sometimes for updates of the Updater.)

Again, the Updater isn't critical, as you could theoretically update things manually if necessary.

If GCA itself is running; if you can create libraries and edit characters, then the core program is working.

[Diogenes]

So, GCA installs the included plugins into the Program Data folder under the \plugins\ subfolder.

Check!
The directory lister lists twe folders named "autobackup" and "plugins" and some non-folders files. "plugins" contains (folders and files mixed):

GCAPrimeSheet           SimpleTextExport                  viewinfo_template_skills - ALT Blocks.rtf
GMControlSheet          viewinfo_template_adtypes.rtf     viewinfo_template_skills.rtf
GMControlSheetBeta.zip  viewinfo_template_attributes.rtf  viewinfo_template_skills - Standard Blocks.rtf
NPCRecordCard           viewinfo_template_equipment.rtf   viewinfo_template_spells.rtf
OfficialCharacterSheet  viewinfo_template_modifiers.rtf   viewinfo_template_templates.rtf

So that's here. But … there is a plugins folder in the App Data folder, but it's empty.

So we have the compiling problem, don't we?`What is compiling here? Maybe I just should install something.

Since WINE as such has acces to the 'Nets, everything in ther should have, too. I tried out the pre-installed Internet Explorer with www.sjgames.com, and it worked fine.

[Armin]

Originally Posted by Diogenes

Check!
GMControlSheetBeta.zip

Hah, I didn't realize that was getting included by the installer. I'll have to remove that, since it's old and shouldn't be shipped any more.

Originally Posted by Diogenes

Check!
So that's here. But … there is a plugins folder in the App Data folder, but it's empty.

So we have the compiling problem, don't we?`What is compiling here? Maybe I just should install something.

Yes, the compiling issue for sure. The files in the \plugins\ folder are source code, and GCA basically tells the .NET runtime system 'compile these files into DLLs and it does (or is supposed to) just as I would do myself for distributing end-user runtime software.

Note that GCA uses the full .NET Framework 4 and *not* the smaller .NET Framework 4 Client, and if the files for only the Client version were installed, then the compiler stuff may not have been included (I don't recall what's part of what in that whole mess).

The system is designed to do it this way, compiling on demand, so that the source can be modified and updated, and the end user doesn't have to worry about compiling it themselves (which many couldn't do) and the folks making the plugins don't have to constantly worry about shipping an updated plugin DLL every time GCA changes.

Originally Posted by Diogenes

Check!
Since WINE as such has acces to the 'Nets, everything in ther should have, too. I tried out the pre-installed Internet Explorer with www.sjgames.com, and it worked fine.

Firewalls can block based on program-specific permission (and various other things), not necessarily lower level permissions, so just because WINE has permission doesn't mean PackageUpdater.EXE has permission. But I don't know how Linux works on this front, especially with WINE running on top of it. (And the update files that GCA uses come from misersoft.com rather than sjgames.com.)

Armin

[MeddlingMonk]

Diogenes, you didn't specifically say if you installed .NET within your WINE container, or which version (in case you didn't know, you can use winetricks to add .NET to a WINE container if you're not using a GUI wrapper such as PlayOnLinux). My attempt to get GCA5 working 3 years ago required .NET version 4.61, specifically; newer versions I attempted DID NOT work.

It's also possible (although unlikely) that there was a regression bug in WINE; you could try downgrading to an older version (I used 6.18).

[Armin]

Thank you, MeddlingMonk!

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by MeddlingMonk

Diogenes, you didn't specifically say if you installed .NET within your WINE container, or which version (in case you didn't know, you can use winetricks to add .NET to a WINE container if you're not using a GUI wrapper such as PlayOnLinux). My attempt to get GCA5 working 3 years ago required .NET version 4.61, specifically; newer versions I attempted DID NOT work.

It's also possible (although unlikely) that there was a regression bug in WINE; you could try downgrading to an older version (I used 6.18).

When I try to install .NET 4.61 framework it teklls me that I cannot install it because later version is already installed.

It seems that I got all problems, or at least 80 %
onecan have. Shall I downgrade WINE from 9.14r?