Using Kalendis with Linux or MacOS Xby Dr. Irv Bromberg, University of Toronto, Canada ![]()
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This page explains how users of non-Windows operating systems running on computers with an intel processor, specifically Linux or MacOS X, can run Kalendis.
All of the current models of Apple personal computers have intel processors. Using Apple's BootCamp facility, see <http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/>, it is possible to install Windows XP or higher as an alternative operating system, then install Kalendis to run as an application within the Windows XP or higher environment. The disadvantage of this approach is that the computer can run MacOS X or Windows XP or higher, but not both simultaneously, and Kalendis will only be available when Windows XP or higher is running.
Another alternative is to install Parallels Desktop for Mac, see <http://www.parallels.com/>, or vmware Fusion, see <http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html>, which allow any version of Windows (or, for that matter, intel Linux), to run as a process under MacOS X on intel-processor Macintosh computers, thus allowing Windows and MacOS X to both run at the same time. Likewise Parallels Workstation for Win&Lin allows any version of Windows to run as a process under Linux. Parallels or Fusion makes it possible for Kalendis to run within a Windows environment that is running under MacOS X or Linux. Provided that the system has sufficient random access memory (RAM), performance will be at near native speed for all except graphics and networking, which are partially emulated under Parallels or Fusion, but Kalendis doesn't intensively use graphics or networking anyhow, so the user experience ought to quite satisfactory.
If BootCamp or Parallels or Fusion is your preferred method for running Kalendis then go back to the Kalendis web page and download the Kalendis installer for Windows.
The third alternative doesn't require Windows at all, and can be used under Linux or MacOS X, by executing the Kalendis.exe program within either the WINE environment (a recursive acronym for "WINE Is Not an Emulator"), see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_(software)>, or the CrossOverLinux environment under Linux, or its equivalent under MacOS X, CrossOverMac, see <http://www.codeweavers.com/>. These environments allow Windows applications to run as Linux or MacOS X applications, without installing Windows. Calls by the Windows application to the Windows Application Programming Interface (API) are automatically translated to their Linux or MacOS X equivalents, achieving near-native performance without the overhead of emulation.
Windows applications have certain dependencies, usually Dynamic-Link Library (DLL) files and ActiveX Control (OCX) files. To put these dependencies in place, download the Kalendis installer for Windows from the Kalendis web page, and then from within your selected WINE or CrossOverMac or CrossOverLinux bottle find and then launch the self-extracting Kalendis installer.
If using Wine, launch the Configure Wine application. Click on the Applications tab, then click on the Add applicaiton... button. Navigate to where the Kalendis executable was installed (typically ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Kalendis/), select Kalendis.exe, then click the Open button. Back in the Application Settings dialog, select Kalendis.exe, choose Windows XP as the Windows version, then click the Apply button.
In Linux, to launch Kalendis using the Terminal, launch the Terminal then CD ~/.wine/drive_c/"Program Files"/Kalendis/, then execute the command wine Kalendis.
In Linux, to set up easy launching of Kalendis using the File Manager, maximize your File Manager window so that the menu bar will be available at the top of the screen, then from the View menu choose Show Hidden Files (alternatively Ctrl-H can toggle this option on or off). Open the .wine folder, then the drive_c folder, then the Program Files folder, and then the Kalendis folder. Right-click on the Kalendis.exe file and choose Open With --> Wine Windows Program Loader. For convenience, create a shortcut that points directly to the Kalendis.exe program, so that you can launch it without having to dig down to the directory where it was installed. In the File Manager under Linux, right-click on the Kalendis.exe file and choose Make Link. That will create a Link to Kalendis.exe file, which you can then move to where you want it, for example your desktop, and, if desired, rename to whatever you wish. Thereafter, launch Kalendis by right-clicking on that link, then choose Open With --> Wine Windows Program Loader. On some systems simply double-clicking the link shortcut will also work.
Kalendis requires the Microsoft Sans Serif truetype font, micross.ttf, for the "Month" view of the ISO calendar. Without this font present, Kalendis will crash with a run-time error 360 after the user selects the ISO calendar in the "Month" window. This font is not present in Linux and is not included in WINE bottles. To fix this problem, copy the micross.ttf file into the ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/Fonts/ folder.
In CrossOverLinux or CrossOverMac after running the Kalendis installer for Windows the Programs menu will show Kalendis with a small version of its icon, and you can launch Kalendis simply by choosing it from that menu.
Kalendis also requires a default web browser for .htm files and for URLs, otherwise it will crash at launch. The Wine installer includes a C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe, which is a limited functionality but adequate browser (it is not the real Microsoft Internet Explorer), but in any case when Kalendis passes control to a web browser under Wine the browser that should get launched ought to be your native operating system's default web browser. For CrossOverLinux or CrossOverMac it is necessary to install a browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (including service pack 1) into the same bottle. A higher performance possibility in CrossOverLinux or CrossOverMac is to go to its Advanced tab, select the bottle where Kalendis is installed, and then click on the command button Use Native Web Browser by Default. A similar option generally exists in the WINE configuration setup under Linux.
I actually run the full version of Microsoft's Visual Studio for Visual Basic 6 (updated to service pack 6) with Internet Explorer 6 as above on a MacBook Pro with intel Core 2 Duo processor under CrossOverMac version 10 or later, allowing me to program, debug, run, and package Kalendis under MacOS X. Since version 11 of CrossOverMac this has worked very well. Prior to version 11 there were occasional transient minor display glitches: when switching users or connecting or disconnecting an external display, extraneous graphic user interface elements would persist in view in the Finder. These would go away if you quit all running Windows applications and then re-launch them. Overall Kalendis under CrossOverMac seems to run at about 80% of the speed of a comparable system running Windows XP.
Updated 13 Kislev 5773 (Traditional) = 13 Kislev 5773 (Rectified) = Nov 30, 2012 (Symmetry454) = Nov 28, 2012 (Symmetry010) = Nov 27, 2012 (Gregorian)