wine users - Jan 2012 - Question about Wine 1.2.2 and running uninstalled Windows programs

Using Wine 1.2.2 on a Ubuntu 10.04 box.

I have a Windows app I need to run.  There is no install program for the
app -- it's a simple copy of the executable and the dll's to a
directory.

I notice that, if I copy the full directory into the Wine Program Files
directory, I can navigate there, click on the executable (after
indicating it is as such in the Permissions tab), and the app starts
just fine.

I'm having trouble creating a desktop icon for this app.  I've
right-clicked, made a link, and then sent it to the desktop, where it
appears just fine.  But double-clicking on the link does nothing.

Is there some work-around for this?

Also, is there a way to use old DOS programs in Wine?

Thanks.

On Fri, 2012-01-27 at 18:29 -0800, Jeffrey Needle wrote:
> I notice that, if I copy the full directory into the Wine Program Files
> directory, I can navigate there, click on the executable (after
> indicating it is as such in the Permissions tab), and the app starts
> just fine.
>
> I'm having trouble creating a desktop icon for this app.  I've
> right-clicked, made a link, and then sent it to the desktop, where it
> appears just fine.  But double-clicking on the link does nothing.
> 
The problem is that Windows programs expect the directory they're in to
be the current directory when they're started, but using a link doesn't
change the current directory.

Your launcher has to do exactly what you did manually:

	cd to/directory/containing/the/program;   wine program.exe

I usually write a small (3 or 4 line) shell script that does exactly
this and then make the script the target of the launcher. Thgis lets me
test the script from the command line and, only when I know its working,
connect it with the icon. The benefit is that you'll see any error
messages: something that doesn't happen if you click an icon. Details
are here:
http://www.libelle-systems.com/free/wine/launcher_script.html
> Also, is there a way to use old DOS programs in Wine?
> 
Suck it and see. If its a 16 bit program it probably won't work, so try
using dosbox instead of Wine. Dosbox is a standard package for many
distros. It is part of the Fedora distro.

Martin