Guide to Running SwordSearcher on Linux Operating Systems (Updated June 2024)

Thanks! I may try Apple Silicon first since it's more difficult. Give me a good challenge. :)
 
My Macs can't run MacPorts at the moment since they're on the Sequoia beta, but they are running Homebrew. Am I going to need to wait and try this after MacPorts is available for Sequoia?
 
Brandon Staggs said:
Honestly, most people do not think about their technology at all, as long as it works. We're all carrying around tracking devices with cameras and microphones because it's convenient and 99% of us do not give any thought to it. If there is going to be any significant move away from Windows as the dominant desktop computing platform it is going to be driven by pricing and convenience, not because people are rationally scrutinizing features packed into the operating system.

A Linux version of SwordSearcher would be nice but I know from my own customer feedback that Linux is barely on anyone's radar, for a desktop OS.
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I think it means something when the two biggest threads on the forum are both about linux versions, that's hard to dismiss.

I am a linux user that doesn't "tinker under the hood" at all. This is because distros like Mint work just fine! Even if people aren't actively considering it, issues of security and privacy enter our public discourse more and more.

I use SS on my windows laptop that runs nothing other than SS. For the Word, it is worth it, and SS is excellent software.

Rather than simply complain, I would like to say that I would happily pay extra and/or fund a linux version if you so decide to take on the project.
 
I have installed SwordSearcher 9.0 on Linux Mint and it works great. My question is this: I want to upgrade to 9.1 but I want to know if there have been any issues with upgrading? Thank you. This software has been a time saver for me.
 
ShawnH said:
I have installed SwordSearcher 9.0 on Linux Mint and it works great. My question is this: I want to upgrade to 9.1 but I want to know if there have been any issues with upgrading? Thank you. This software has been a time saver for me.
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Not that I know of. Worst-case, you just create a new WINE instance for 9.1.
 
Thank you again for all of your help. I did encounter an issue. I needed to delete ALL in prefixes inside of winetricks because it would only recognize SwordSearcher 9.0 and wouldn't open 9.1 but so after I did that and reran through your steps: it works great!
 
I am trying to the newest version of SwordSearcher on my laptop which has the newest version of Linux Mint (Cinnamon 22, Wilma). I went through the same steps as before when I installed SS on my desktop but now I am receiving an error message every time I am trying to launch it. The only thing I did different is my laptop has the newest version of Linux Mint and my desktop has the previous version of Linux Mint 21. Do the instructions only work on the previous version Mint which is the previous version of Ubuntu? I have tried a handful of times and would love to be able to take SS on the road with me, is there anyone who knows maybe I did wrong?

Screenshot from 2025-01-11 16-31-48.png
 
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ShawnH said:
Do the instructions only work on the previous version Mint which is the previous version of Ubuntu?
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I have no idea, I have only tested this on Ubuntu.

The error seems to indicate a problem with the shortcut itself, like perhaps it is not properly configured.
 
Hey. I can try SS on Boxes (Q-emu Virtual Machine-based) need only the list of Linux distros to test. Popular options are (RPM packages) Fedora, Red Hat, (DEB packages) - Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, and Zorion OS. Instruction to set wine already done ;) The test can start on 2026-01-01 after buying the new version of SS.
 
chiddekel said:
Hey. I can try SS on Boxes (Q-emu Virtual Machine-based) need only the list of Linux distros to test. Popular options are (RPM packages) Fedora, Red Hat, (DEB packages) - Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, and Zorion OS. Instruction to set wine already done ;) The test can start on 2026-01-01 after buying the new version of SS.
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Better be new wine, buddy! ;):)
 
FYI...I didn't get a chance to test on Mac. The Mac I was going to test on was decommissioned during some recent job changes (I was laid off my full-time job, and my part-time job also ended, so I'm officially on the job hunt). However, I am running SwordSearcher on a Windows on ARM VM under VMware Fusion on my M2 MacBook Air. It's running perfectly.
 
parkernathan said:
FYI...I didn't get a chance to test on Mac. The Mac I was going to test on was decommissioned during some recent job changes (I was laid off my full-time job, and my part-time job also ended, so I'm officially on the job hunt). However, I am running SwordSearcher on a Windows on ARM VM under VMware Fusion on my M2 MacBook Air. It's running perfectly.
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Ouch, concerning your job situation... praying you get a job soon 🙏
 
I was waiting and hesitant to get SS running on Linux for few years now but with with the mess with Windows 11, thought I'd finally make a try. One of the prime reasons keeping me on Windows was actually SS. Today, I bit the bullet. Everything went flawless on my Thinkpad T14 with LinuxMint 22.4 upto the step of editing the Shortcut came up. It was giving an error and was a huge roadblock (for me) till I changed the path with the addition of another "/" mark. I think that needs to be ammended in the original post which otherwise extremely simple and precise. The line should be :

Code:
Exec=env WINEPREFIX="/home/[username]/.local/share/wineprefixes/swordsearcher" wine "C:\\Program Files\\SwordSearcher\\SwordSearcher9.exe"

Once I put that then it was an easy stroll. Got the Deluxe version working as well.

Brandon, Big thanks for the meticulous and detailed instructions for Installing SS on Linux.

God Bless you all.
 
I have version 9 working well on Linux Mint on an old machine. Has anyone installed versions 10 on Linux? Would the new natural language search (NLS) features work?

I am thinking I should leave well enough alone. :confused: But how would it be installed?
 
wsbones said:
I have version 9 working well on Linux Mint on an old machine. Has anyone installed versions 10 on Linux? Would the new natural language search (NLS) features work?

I am thinking I should leave well enough alone. :confused: But how would it be installed?
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I have not had time to try this, but there is a good chance it would work*. You'd just follow the same instructions. I think you could probably just create a new bottle/profile/whatever in WINE and try it.

But as I said, I have not had time to try it myself.

*It's also possible it wouldn't. SwordSearcher 10 requires at least Windows 10 to work, and it's possible that WINE does not implement enough of the API. Someone has to try and see.
 
Brandon Staggs said:
Unfortunately that is likely due to the old version IE8 that can be used to grab the mshtml and supporting DLLs.



Font fallback issue, which doesn't work well in IE8. You'll have to pick a font that has the Unicode block in it that those arrows come from.
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Brandon, your tutorial for installing Swordsearcher on Linux has been a blessing. I was successful once to get Swordsearcher 9 installed in Linux Mint 21.3 with the fonts all showing and audio working well. I cloned the harddisk to a file with Gparted and can restore it if I have a harddrive crash etc. When I try to fresh install (on another computer), I have the problem that IE8 will not install properly, so this instalation will not work.
I have another machine with Linux Mint 22.1 with a Windows 11 guest using KVM and installed Swordsearcher 9, which works well of course with its native Windows.
I imagine there is no other substitute for IE8? I read also about Winboat, do you know anything about that emulator?
I am so blessed to have Swordsearcher running on Linux, and would not have been successful without your tutorial. I just upgraded to Swordsearcher 10 and hope to have time tomorrow to try out the new search additions. I use Swordsearcher every day and don't use commentaries. The search in Swordsearcher is the biggest revolution in my study of the Word in a very long time. I also prefer Linux over Windows but the Linux repositories have terrible Bible programs - on the same level as the 1980's On Line Bible in DOS - I am not kidding. It must have taken you a while to produce that tutorial, and it is much appreciated. One other in the ministry here has upgrated, and I'm sure others will as well. God bless you and your work in helping us get the Word out to those who the LORD sends our way.
 
Roderick said:
I imagine there is no other substitute for IE8? I read also about Winboat, do you know anything about that emulator?
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There is no alternative, no. I don't know anything about Winboat.
 
WinBoat is just an installation of Windows in a virtual environment that uses rdp to connect to the install I believe. WinApps does that. I've used WinApps and it works well enough. SwordSearcher will run just fine because it is installed and running in Windows not linux. The trick with WinBoat is the more or less seamless connection to your linux system it has. It should appear to be running as a native linux app when in reality it is running under windows. It doesn't work well with games or a few other apps as there is a latency issue due to running through the different layers but with a Bible software application it should not be an issue. If you have no success installing SwordSearcher under wine, give WinBoat a shot if you have the disk space to spare. I'd leave room on the install for other Windows applications you might want to run under linux in the future or perhaps you already have some candidates now.
 
Another step I did was to copy all the Fonts in my Windows Fonts folder to the Fonts folder in the Linux system. Now all the display is correct. I have got the SwordSearcher Deluxe 10. How do I install it? Over the 9 or make another installation? Thanks for the help in advance.
 
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