Start Windows App from Linus Mint-17 Menu

[wagb4]

Just installed Wine 1.6.2 and the one MS Windows application I need (Ancestral Quest). I am having trouble finding a command that launches the application in a menu item. Various commands work from the terminal, but those do not work when used in a menu item; same is true for a command used from a Panel icon. There is just something different when executing a command in a menu item. Failed commands give meaningless message "File not found". I have no clue what file being accessed is not found.

I am using mintMunu version 5.5.8 in a Linux Mint 17 32-bit system.

Working command in Panel icon:

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env WINEPREFIX="/home/jim/.wine" wine C:\\windows\\command\\start.exe /Unix /home/jim/.wine/dosdevices/c:/users/jim/Start\ Menu/Programs/Ancestral\ Quest\ 14/Ancestral\ Quest\ 14.lnk

navigating to the "lnk" file above and right-click and selecting Wine Windows Program Loader also works to launch the application correcly - not surprisingly.

Working command from terminal (direct access to the exe - skipping the link):

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wine /home/jim/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Incline\ Software/Ancestral\ Quest\ 14/ancquest.exe

Those two and other commands give the same error "file not found" if those commands are pasted into the Command field of a mintMenu item. I suspect this is a Mint issue - but I have no clue what file is not found - the Wine Start, the link, or the Windows App exe file.

Any ideas how to resolve this?

[dimesio]

You need to set the working directory to the directory where the executable is located. KDE's menu editor has a field for that; I don't know about other desktop environments.

[wagb4]

Thanks for the thouhgt.

I thouhgt of that - one of the other things I tried. The Mint menu does not have a field for a working directory. But I created a shell script that performs a CD command to the directory where the executable resides and then does the Wine command to start the executable. That shell script gives the same results as the other things I tried - it works from the terminal, but gives the file not found error if run from a Menu item.

I began searching for mintMenu Bugs and this seems to be a bug back in 2010. I'll do some more research and report back.

[wagb4]

I found this problem listed as a Bug on the Linux Mint Bug list and identified a workaround that works for me.

Bug is at: https://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/+bug/664751; Bug #664751. It seems a number of other people have the same problem which appears to be caused by mintMenu.

Change the Command in mintMenu item, after making the change you have to restart the computer. This worked for me. For this application the command is:

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env WINEPREFIX="/home/jim/.wine" wine "C:\Program FIles\Incline Software\Ancestral Quest 14\ancquest.exe"

Changing the quoted full path to other Windows application exe files (such a MS Office apps) should work for those too. For others having this problem in Linux Mint try this command string.

[HodariUbunifu]

@webmaster: sorry for posting in german last time. I simply missed that this forum is in english.

Invoke a windows program from within the Linux Mint Menu using wine.
Tested with Linux Mint Mate and wine 1.7.x

If a windows program was installed with wine in Linux Mint, a starter is created automatically in the Mint Menu. Wine installs a link to the actual program in the Windows startmenue directory. But the starter does not work with Windows links because of a bug in the mint menu. If the starter is copied to the desktop it works perfectly.
I found a solution the starter works from within the Linux Mint menu.

Assume:
"myName" = users home directory
"Test-Directory" = Directory created during the installation in the Windows Start Menu. (There the link to the actual program ist stored)
"Testprogramm.LNK" = the link to th actual program. (Stored in "Test-Directory")

Exchange

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Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/myName/.wine" wine C:\\windows\\command\\start.exe /Unix /home/myName/.wine/dosdevices/c:/users/andreas/Start\ Menu/Programs/Test-Directory/Testprogram.LNK

with

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Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/myName/.wine"; cd "/home/myName/.wine/drive_c/users/myName/Start Menu/Programs/Test-Directory"; wine start Testprogram.LNK

Don't fail to notice the ";"s and "wine start"

Logout the login again. Starter should work now