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Review of CrossOver Linux

Adapted by:  • Edited by: Michele McDonough
Updated Feb 17, 2011 • Related Guides: Windows | Linux
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Although Linux as a desktop operating system has come a long way, some users may still need to run Microsoft Windows applications. Find out how CrossOver, the Windows emulator, matches up.

Overview

Linux has a wide range of office productivity and desktop applications, including the powerful LibreOffice suite. Unfortunately, Microsoft and other proprietary manufacturers make it difficult for free and open source software implementations to fully support all of the features of robust Windows applications. Using CrossOver from CodeWeavers, you can emulate necessary Windows applications so you can still run GNU/Linux and operate in an open source environment. Additionally, CodeWeavers provides a second product, CrossOver Games, that is capable of running a number of Windows games in a high performance environment.

Crossing Over

CrossOver Linux is a commercial application that's based on Wine. Wine is an Open Source tool that provides a layer between a Windows application and Linux which tricks the application into believing that it's running on its native operating system.

Unlike Wine, CrossOver Linux has:

  • An easy to use graphical interface
  • Better support for Windows applications
  • A price tag -- $39.95 for the standard version, and $69.95 for the professional version

In true Open Source spirit, CodeWeavers turns its code over to the Wine Project.

Ease of Installation
Rating Excellent

You can download a 30-day trial of CrossOver Linux. There are installers for various flavors of Linux. I usually get the Loki installer, which essentially wraps the installation program in a shell script.

Once you've downloaded the software, just run the installer. A graphical wizard guides you through the installation. It's quick and it's easy. The installer also adds a new item to your applications menu -- for example, Applications > CrossOver in GNOME.

Adding Windows Applications
Rating Excellent

Again, this is very simple. A wizard guides you through the process. Just select Applications > CrossOver > Install Windows Software. You can select from a list of Windows software that's know to work seamlessly with CrossOver (more on this in a moment). Or, you can install what CrossOver deems unsupported software from a CD, a USB drive, or your hard drive.

cx install
click to enlarge
The one part of the installation that might cause you problems is the bottles. Bottles are self-contained Windows environments into which you install software. Bottles are individual entities, and don't interact with each other. You can choose the following bottles:

  • win2000 (Windows 2000)
  • winxp (Windows XP)
  • winvista (Windows Vista)
  • win7 (Windows 7)

Most Microsoft Windows applications will run best using the Windows XP option, though more current software may require the Windows Vista or Windows 7 mode to function properly since the Windows operating system went through a major overhaul between Windows XP and Windows 7.

CrossOver runs the installation program for the Windows application. If the installation is successful, it's added under a new menu called Windows Applications.

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