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Linux with FH 5.0 (SOLVED)

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 10:45
by redx593
Hi again,

Just wondering if FamilyHistorian versions 5 or 6 can be run in a Linux OS. I use Linux Mint 19.1 on my other computer and love it. I'd really like to have my FamilyHistorian program running on my Linux Mint machine, because FamilyHistorian is the only thing keeping me tied to Windows. If I can have FamilyHistorian on Linux I'll be able to ditch Windows completely, and regain my freedom.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 10:51
by ColeValleyGirl
Have you seen how_to:family_historian_v6_on_crossover_wine|> Family Historian V6 & Ancestral Sources V5 on Crossover, PlayOnLinux/Mac & Wine

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:07
by redx593
ColeValleyGirl wrote: 10 Sep 2019 10:51 Have you seen how_to:family_historian_v6_on_crossover_wine|> Family Historian V6 & Ancestral Sources V5 on Crossover, PlayOnLinux/Mac & Wine
Thanks for that link. I'll have to find a quiet time to read those instructions to get my old head around the process.

Thanks again.

P.S. Another question just occurred to me. If I'm successful at installing FH into Linux via Wine will I need to purchase another licence key to use it? Or is my current licence ok for more than on computer?

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:25
by tatewise
No, you do not need another FH licence.
See how_to:about#licence_agreement|> Licence Agreement, which was worded the same in FH V5.

See how_to:family_historian_migration_guide|> Family Historian V5 & V6 Migration Guide for ideas on what needs transferring from Windows to Linux.

However, I am very doubtful about whether FH V5 will run successfully in Crossover, Wine, etc.
See Problem installing FH5 on a Mac under Crossover (12103) in 2015.
There are new settings in FH V6 that supports/fixes some features that were broken in V5 with Crossover.
So I would strongly advise you upgrade to FH V6 before trying to migrate to Linux.

Do you also use AS in conjunction with FH?
If so, then I believe that Crossover is the most successful solution.
PlayOnMac also works well, so maybe PlayOnLinux will too?

Some Plugins only work well in Crossover.

The advice provided is from the relatively small number of FH & AS users running on non-Windows platforms.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:42
by redx593
Thanks for your help ColeValleyGirl, I did read the licence terms for version 6 so, as you say, hopefully it'll be ok for v5 too.

Cheers.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 11:59
by tatewise
BUT did you see what I said about FH V5 not working well (if at all) with Crossover, etc?
For the small cost it will be well worth upgrading to FH V6.
Then any problems you experience will be similar to other Crossover, etc, users.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 10 Sep 2019 14:22
by davidf
redx593 wrote: 10 Sep 2019 10:45 Just wondering if FamilyHistorian versions 5 or 6 can be run in a Linux OS. I use Linux Mint 19.1 on my other computer and love it. I'd really like to have my FamilyHistorian program running on my Linux Mint machine, because FamilyHistorian is the only thing keeping me tied to Windows. If I can have FamilyHistorian on Linux I'll be able to ditch Windows completely, and regain my freedom.
I have been running FH6 under wine on Lubuntu 18.04 LTS for almost 2 years with few problems.
  1. If you make a formatting hash of inputting a date and you get the window asking you to clarify what date you mean - and then you move away from that dialogue without correcting the date, you hang. It will eventually ask if you want to "close the process" (i.e. shut FH) or you can kill the program through the Linux task manager. Neither option is very useful, so when entering dates, get them right or correct them before moving on.
  2. Windows/dialogues behave differently. When you get used to this it is actually a benefit. You can switch between windows/dialogues in *Ubuntu linux (and probably others) rather than between applications. This means that you can bring the FH individual properties window up on top of a browser displaying FMP or Ancestry etc - which is useful - you can even move you mouse over the browser and (without clicking) use the mouse wheel to scroll the browser window under the FH dialogue window.
  3. The pdf Print driver does not seem to work. I used to use this to produce banner family trees (with a large customised page size). There is another discussion about a means around this. However this does not work for me - seems to hang the program.
  4. The file handling dialogues can be a bit iffy (recently much improved), so finding a media file to add to your FH project can be slow/problematic. The easier way is to have your linux file manager open in the right place, bring your add media FH dialogue up on top of it (see 2 above) and drag and drop the file.
  5. AS does not seem to want to work - but I have had a love/hate relationship with this, so I live without.
.

Overall the advantages of being on Linux seem to outweigh the changes in FH functionality.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 11 Sep 2019 08:02
by redx593
tatewise wrote: 10 Sep 2019 11:59 BUT did you see what I said about FH V5 not working well (if at all) with Crossover, etc?.......
Thanks tatewise,

I have Wine installed in my Linux machine so didn't think I'd need Crossover.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 11 Sep 2019 08:33
by redx593
davidf wrote: 10 Sep 2019 14:22
[*]AS does not seem to want to work - but I have had a love/hate relationship with this, so I live without.
[/list].......
Hi davidf,

Please forgive my ignorance but what does AS stand for? Probably a real dumb question, but I'll ask anyway.

Using Wine I have managed to install FH on my Linux Mint 19.1 machine and it seems to work ok so far. Here are the steps I took in case anyone else is interested-

1. I downloaded to usb drive, in Windows, the trial installation .exe file for version 5 which I found on a FH Archive webpage.

2. I plugged the usb drive into my Linux pc and opened the .exe file with Wine by right clicking on it.

3. It went through the installation process and finished ok, but at this point an error window popped up which contained details of an error which I could not understand. I simply closed that window and continued on).

4. FH then asked me for the Licence key, which I typed in and it was accepted without any issues.

5. I then transferred my family history gedcom file from Windows and saved it to the desktop of my Linux pc .

6 I was then able to import my family history gedcom file from the desktop into FH5 and all my family tree information was there as I hoped it would be.

I don't have any images, and very few documents, in my Linux machine as yet so the import could not include any of the multimedia files that I had saved in my Windows FH5. Apart from that all other data seems to have been imported ok.

It's early days yet and no doubt I will find a lot of glitches when using my Linux FH but I will mark this thread as solved and will certainly bear in mind your advice about your experiences with version 6. Thanks .

Many thanks to all who have helped me in this thread.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0

Posted: 11 Sep 2019 09:27
by davidf
redx593 wrote: 11 Sep 2019 08:33 Please forgive my ignorance but what does AS stand for?
AS- Ancestral Sources - a clever helper program for swift entry of information like census data into FH.

Like FH it is a windows program (where it works well). Getting it to work under Linux/Wine it is not worth the effort to get it running (at least to me under my set up).

Re: Linux with FH 5.0 (SOLVED)

Posted: 11 Sep 2019 10:44
by redx593
Ok, thanks for the answer.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0 (SOLVED)

Posted: 11 Sep 2019 10:56
by tatewise
I strongly advise that you experiment with ALL the features of FH V5 you often use before declaring the problem solved.
e.g. Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Plugins, Backup/Restore, Save as PDF, etc, etc...

There are several known problems as reported in the KB articles mentioned.
But some are resolved by upgrading to FH V6, which I strongly advise.
Then you can exchange tips & tricks with other Linux/Mac users who I believe are all using FH V6.

Regarding AS, see ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources.

Regarding the points raised by davidf earlier, please see FH6 under Wine on Lubuntu (17077).

Re: Linux with FH 5.0 (SOLVED)

Posted: 12 Sep 2019 08:59
by redx593
tatewise wrote: 11 Sep 2019 10:56 I strongly advise that you experiment with ALL the features of FH V5 you often use before declaring the problem solved.............
I consider solved my question if FH can be run in Linux. Whether it runs properly or not is another story and I never expected that it would. I haven't had time to play with it much as yet but already have found one glitch, but it only affects the appearance, so it's not a big deal. In preferences I'm able to change the Focus Window font style, colour, and size, but can't change the colours of the window, from the default setting of blue and white. I can get into the colours selection box but nothing happens when you click on a different colour and then press "Select" The colour palette box just closes with no change. It's a minor problem but I expect there'll be a few performance errors as well.

If I find I have to many issues with it I'll uninstall it and just use Ancestris which I know does run well on Linux.

Thanks for the weblinks,

Cheers.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0 (SOLVED)

Posted: 12 Sep 2019 14:02
by Jane
Red - please can you check the email you have on your account. I keep getting bounce messages when phpbb sends out notifications. If you don't want the notifications please unsubscribe.

Re: Linux with FH 5.0 (SOLVED)

Posted: 16 Sep 2019 14:45
by redx593
Jane wrote: 12 Sep 2019 14:02 Red - please can you check the email you have on your account. I keep getting bounce messages when phpbb sends out notifications. If you don't want the notifications please unsubscribe.
Hi Jane,

I've updated my email address. Sorry for not doing it earlier.

redx593.