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Accordance on Linux using CrossOver Captain's Logbook


Dr. Nathan Parker

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I've had a chance to "battle test" Accordance on CrossOver. Here are my current list of issues/limitations.

 

Known Issues/Limitations:

 

The following are current known issues/limitations with running Accordance 10.4.5 on Linux using CrossOver. These are the results of a test using a System76 Galago Pro notebook running Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS with CrossOver 21.1.0.

 

  1. Occasionally when downloading/installing modules using Easy Install, one needs to click the download and install buttons a second time for the installation of modules to take, especially when starting Accordance from a fresh startup. The same is true when updating modules.
  2. Accordance needs to be restarted after installing/updating modules, otherwise the library pane will display strangely.
  3. Users who own a license for both the older Accordance Timeline module and the newer Accordance Timeline Expanded Edition will need to call or email Accordance Support to be provided a manual installation copy of the Accordance Timeline (as Easy Install will only see the license for the newer Accordance Timeline Expanded Edition). This file will need to go into: C:\ProgramData\Accordance which can be accessed by launching CrossOver and going to the Accordance bottle and selecting the Bottle menu, then Open C : Drive.
  4. Accordance Timeline layers cannot be customized in Preferences or on the menu choices in the Timelines pane. The full Accordance Timeline with all layers will successfully load, however.
  5. The Customize Toolbar function does not work. Users will need to use the stock Accordance toolbar options.
  6. Resting the mouse cursor over menu bar options or filter library categories can occasionally "blur" the text for a moment.
  7. When launching the Daily Devotional window, at times the user may need to manually insert the current date into the Daily Devotional window to read the daily devotional.
  8. If a printer is not added to Linux, the diagramming and word chart panels will occasionally throw error messages or "flash" the user interface until a printer is added to Linux.

I've setup another thread here summarizing the various Linux options so there's a quicker place to glance at the various options without scrolling through discussions:

 

 

We'll continue to use this "logbook" thread as the place to discuss Accordance on WINE/CrossOver.

 

Quick question:

 

I'm having issues getting the following modules to download into Accordance 10 on CrossOver:

 

  • NIV 2011 with G/K Numbers
  • NA27 Sigla

Has anyone else been successful at either getting theirs to download, or migrate theirs from their other Accordance installation over to Accordance on CrossOver?

 

The remaining modules I've had issues with I know aren't compatible with 10, so I understand those.

 

I was able to get the Accordance Timeline file from Support loaded in, with a few minor issues.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Some overall disappointing news. Since upgrading to Pop!_OS 22.04, my overall system has had some stability issues. Over the weekend, it's already frozen up three times, rebooted itself once, and had some other glitches in between.

 

I've generated the log files to the issues and have sent them over to System76 Support to see if they can be resolved in a timely manner.

 

All in all, I'm disappointed that I'm experiencing these issues after an OS upgrade.

 

Overnight, I'm going to really pray hard that the Lord will guide me in what direction I need to go moving forward on this. So far, I've been using my System76 machine as my primary daily driver, then using my iMac Pro as a backup system for apps that aren't native on Linux or don't run well under CrossOver. I need to pray on whether I should continue in that direction, or move back to the iMac Pro as my daily driver. If I do, then I'll probably need to sell the System76 machine (it's not even three months old yet), then instead of investing in a second System76 machine next year, I'll probably invest in an Apple Silicon Mac instead and just keep running with the iMac Pro for another year (and still use it as a backup once I'd invest in an Apple Silicon Mac).

 

Overall I was happy with my System76 machine, and I'd like to continue using it Lord willing. I just need to really pray about this overnight and see what direction the Lord will have me go. I'm on the brink of my PhD Comprehensive Exam and beginning my dissertation, so I need to ensure I'll be on a solid platform to do so regardless of what direction I need to go.

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System76 is sending me some troubleshooting stuff to attempt to nail down the issue, but it looks like the issue is going to involve way too much effort to resolve. It's either going to involve reinstalling Pop!_OS and reinstalling all my apps, or rebuilding my user account, which is still going to be messy since I have enough user flatpaks, etc.

 

And a few things System76 had me try caused Accordance to basically crash anytime I use it, which is not going to be a viable solution for me since I depend on Accordance.

 

Thank you all for your prayers. The Lord has answered my prayer and shown me I need to go back to my Mac as my daily driver. Accordance is already singing on it, and there are a few quick adjustments I can make to it to make it my daily driver again. Once I get my files off of my System76 machine, I'll sell it, put the money aside, and purchase an Apple Silicon Mac once Apple releases a model that interests me (I'll probably buy one next year).

 

It was still a fun ride until Pop!_OS 22.04 came along, and at least I got to contribute something for Linux users in the process. Yet it's time to get back to the Mac.

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12 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

...I need to go back to my Mac as my daily driver...

 

I hear you. I love the idea of Linux. But there are too many programs I use that will never be native to it (Accordance, Mellel, DEVONThink, Affinity Designer & Photo, Bookends etc.) However, I install a Linux build in Parallels now and then to poke around and keep up.

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Yeah, it was a fun ride, and I gained some valuable Linux and even Terminal command line knowledge out of it I can apply to Macs. It’s just not feasible as a daily driver though. 

 

I’m going to temporarily run Linux in a VM on my Mac since there’s a couple of Linux apps I can’t toss until the end of the year. Otherwise, the bulk of my work will be on my Mac. I’ve also installed a Windows 11 VM on there in case I need Windows. Went ahead and went 11 so I don’t have to deal with Windows 10 EOL.

 

Keep me posted on how your experience with Apple Silicon goes, as I’ll likely migrate to an Apple Silicon Mac next year. Going to wait until gets a little further along in the transition, plus I hope Apple will release an iMac Pro replacement. The current Apple Silicon iMac is very decent, but if Apple could put one of their more “extreme” processors in an iMac, count me in!

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  • 4 weeks later...

My Microsoft Account locked up, and I had issues getting it unlocked, so at the moment, I tossed the Windows 11 VM. Performance wasn’t that great anyway (I was using VMware, Parallels would probably have been better). For the time being, I’ll probably just go Mac-only (plus iPhone and iPad for mobile and Apple TV for streaming box). There’s not a lot of apps I used that require Windows that I can’t find decent alternatives for on a Mac. 

 

I’m still using MS Teams and Exchange for work, but I’ll probably pivot off of MS Office as well. Right now my school is giving it to me for free, but with the issues I’ve had with my Microsoft Account, I don’t know if I really want to invest in Microsoft 365 or even purchase a perpetual license once I graduate. I still use Nota Bene for academic papers, plus Nisus Writer Pro works really well for me for general, everyday productivity. If I need to sync docs between my Mac and iPad, I could always use Mellel since I also have a license to it. Presentations I generally use Keynote instead of PowerPoint anyway. For spreadsheets, I could either try Numbers or I have NeoOffice (a fork of LibreOffice) in my App Store account that might work. 

 

I’m really excited about the direction of Apple Silicon after watching WWDC 2022. I still hope Apple will release an Apple Silicon iMac Pro. I’d be satisfied with a machine in the shell of an iMac but with the power of the Mac Studio (and possibly some of the features of the Apple Studio Display), since I’d prefer an all-in-one. If my iMac Pro shows its age before Apple releases an Apple Silicon iMac Pro, a Mac Studio with Studio Display still wouldn’t be a bad machine. I really want a Mac that blows away the power of my iMac Pro but that uses less power. 

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Hello Nathan,

 

I've been mainly a Linux user for the past 20 years or so. For many years I've run Gramcord under Wine. It has been orphaned for a long time now, and it doesn't run under present iterations of Windows. As Wine progresses there are also additional difficulties with such an old program, so I bought Accordance. To run it, I installed a KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) giving it a couple of the cores on my CPU, about half my RAM, and a 40-Gig part on my hard drive (These are only used, except for the dedicated part of the HD, when the virtual machine is in use.). Since Windows users are still complaining about difficulties with Windows 11, I installed Windows 10. Accordance, downloaded and installed on Windows 10 works as well as expected.

 

If you're interested in trying this, find a tutorial online about how to install the KVM. It's not a trivial exercise but not all that difficult either. I've used POP_OS and have found that it won't run all of the software that runs natively on Debian. I also had some problems with POP_OS stability. If you have found their people helpful and able to resolve any difficulties, you may want to stay with them. I reinstalled Linux Mint and am happy with how it performs.

 

David Moore

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Thanks. I used GNOME Boxes when I tried it (it’s based on KVM). Part of the problem was the hardware was a little weak, so performance wasn’t great. 

 

Additionally, the latest version of Pop!_OS caused major conflicts with some other work software I need, so I needed to drop Linux entirely and go back to a Mac. It was a fun ride and a good learning experience. It gave me some feedback to give to Apple, and it also allowed me to re-think some of my overall workflow strategy coming back to the Mac.

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6 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

Thanks. I used GNOME Boxes when I tried it (it’s based on KVM). Part of the problem was the hardware was a little weak, so performance wasn’t great. 

 

Additionally, the latest version of Pop!_OS caused major conflicts with some other work software I need, so I needed to drop Linux entirely and go back to a Mac. It was a fun ride and a good learning experience. It gave me some feedback to give to Apple, and it also allowed me to re-think some of my overall workflow strategy coming back to the Mac.

Very understandable.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I’ve spun up a separate Microsoft Account for Microsoft Office, and I went ahead and purchased a perpetual license for Office for Mac while it’s on the AppleInsider sale. That way I can still use Office when I graduate, and I won’t be locked into a subscription or have to pay full price for it.

 

I’ll have to stick with Office since NeoOffice really butchered my Excel spreadsheets. Excel is the only app that’ll handle them. Plus I do occasionally have to share Word files with users, and checking compatibility in Word is useful before sending on the docs.

 

I still plan to use Nota Bene for academic writing, Nisus Writer Pro for every day writing, and keep Mellel on the side in case I just need it.

 

I can still use Office on my iPhone and iPad without a subscription since I’m on an iPad mini. On the iPad I’ll probably use Mellel more.

 

I’m still dropping Windows and sticking Mac only at the moment. If I absolutely need to run a Windows app on my Mac (which I hope I don’t), I could probably do it with CrossOver. I learned enough how to use it on Linux where anything I’d need to run on a Mac would either be Mac-native or run on CrossOver.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ah, pity you abandoned your experiments.

 

Believe me I will *never* move away from Linux to Windows or Mac. They are slow, bloated, heaps of junk alongside Linux. (They will run Linux in the New Creation for sure.)

 

Does anyone have Accordance 10 running with Wine 7.0? This is my latest problem. Had to downgrade back to Wine 5.x.

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3 hours ago, David Purton said:

Ah, pity you abandoned your experiments.

 

Believe me I will *never* move away from Linux to Windows or Mac. They are slow, bloated, heaps of junk alongside Linux. (They will run Linux in the New Creation for sure.)

 

Does anyone have Accordance 10 running with Wine 7.0? This is my latest problem. Had to downgrade back to Wine 5.x.

 

 

Running Accordance on Linux using Wine seemed daunting to me. But I do have Accordance running on a KVM virtual machine under Linux. It's on an installation of Linux Mint. My system has a 4-core CPU and 16 gig of RAM. I gave the KVM 8 gig of RAM and 2 of the cores of the CPU. I installed Windows 10 on the KVM and then installed Accordance on that. It runs fine; I fire up the Windows 10 on the KVM then bring up Accordance. This way I can have it available on my Linux desktop while I work there and can call up Accordance to do a Bible search, etc. by just clicking on the KVM virtual machine.

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I had Accordance 10 running on CrossOver 21, and it ran successfully for the most part (except for the issues I listed earlier in the thread). I had to do a Windows VM to get Accordance 13 running, and the laptop I was running it on was just too weak to adequately run a VM.

 

I was really hoping to get Accordance and all of my daily driver apps running on Linux. I really wanted to make a go of attempting to use Linux as a daily driver. I love the concept of Linux. However, not only Accordance but other critical work apps started having issues on Linux, where I was forced to go to another platform. Since I can configure a Mac in my sleep, and since a Mac still has some UNIX geekiness built in (without needing the subsystem), I went back to a Mac as my daily driver.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I’m back to using CrossOver, but not on Linux, and not for Accordance. There’s a couple of Windows-only apps I need to run on my Mac. Attempting a VM or dual boot would be overkill since the apps are generally lighter apps, and it’d be better to not have to deal with the extra overhead of Windows. They’re running in CrossOver decently. A couple of quirks (one CrossOver Support can resolve, but otherwise still fully usable.

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