Running Accordance on Linux (via VM / Freerdp)

[jcornuz]

As a (new) Accordance user, an OT Master's wannabe and a Linux fan boy, I had to have a go at running Accordance on our favourite penguin system (KDE Plasma on Fedora 38 in my case). Here is the best result I could get:
 

 

What works :)

• Copy / Paste work both ways
• Decently integration as a standard (KDE Plasma) windows
• Accordance works well (it is stable, I can read, search, use the program without problem)
• CPU and RAM usage are under control

What doesn't work :/

• resizing the Accordance window is slow and ugly while resizing (everything is fine afterwards)
• some fonts are smallish (dialogues and most UI elements except the menu)
• CPU and RAM consumption are higher than on a native system (still, Accordance is not a super heavy program. Windows update, however...)
• integration is not perfect: when inside Accordance, KDE Plasma keyboard shortcuts won't work - things like alt-tab, side-tiling, etc

How it works (principles)

• a virtual Windows 11 machine is used as backend
• a FreeRDP connects to the virtual machine (to get native Plasma decoration / integration)
• Accordance is started in full screen, without window decoration inside the WM, so you effectively only see Accordance (the Win11 desktop here in the background)

How to make it work (for the fellow-geeks)

Most of this comes from winapps ( )

 

On the Linux machine

1. install a WM following this tutorial: https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps/blob/main/docs/KVM.md (it is very important to install the Windows Guest programs + modify the XML file to reduce CPU usage)
2. install Freerdp https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP (version 2 works fine)
3. use the following script to start xfreerdp (heavily inspired by winapps). If necessary, it starts the virtual machine, so it can take a minute until you actually have access to the program. Adapt the PARTS_IN_CAPS to match our own data.

#!/bin/bash

 

# add the real name of your virtual machine

VM=NAME_OF_VIRTUAL_MACHINE

 

# check if Windows Virtual Machine is running

tmp=$(virsh --connect qemu:///system list --all | grep $VM | awk '{ print $3}')

 

if ([ "x$tmp" == "x" ] || [ "x$tmp" != "xrunning" ])

then

   echo "VM $VM is down, starting up (please wait a bit)"

   virsh --connect qemu:///system start $VM

   sleep 40 #wait a bit to give Windows time to boot

else

   echo "VM $VM is running, let's move on to connection"

fi

 

echo "Connecting FreeRDP session"

# change to your Windows Username, Password and IP

xfreerdp /u:"WINDOWS_USER_NAME" /p:"WINDOWS_PASSWORD" /v:WINDOWS_IP +auto-reconnect \

+dynamic-resolution -themes /t:"Accordance Bible Software" +home-drive

 

Inside Windows

use AutoHotkey ( https://www.autohotkey.com ) with a trivial script to start Accordance, maximize the program and remove the titlebar. The script can be compiled to an .exe file, so you just double-click on it to start Accordance.

Run, "C:\Program Files (x86)\OakTree\Accordance\Accordance.exe"

WinWait,ahk_exe Accordance.exe,,20

IfWinExist

{

  WinMaximize

  WinSet, Style, -0xC00000

  return

}

else

  MsgBox, Accordance not found

  return

Further tweaks:

• under accessibility, grow text size to 130%;
• autohide the taskbar;
• put the accordance_start.exe file (compiled from AutoHotKey) to autostart, so when the virtual machine starts, you end up with a working full screen Accordance :)

 

What could be better (but is not ready yet)

RDP can to show only one application window instead of the whole desktop. It sort of works for Accordance but not quite: drawing problems, window not integrated to the taskbar, etc. It may be a side-effect of the wayland transition, so it may be that things could get better in the future.

 

OK this is a long enough first post... and it is a good summary of the Linux on desktop story: it works if you know how to tweak it! If anyone is interested to know more (or has ideas how to make it better), feel free to chime in.

By the way, I am discovering Accordance - a bit of a learning curve (lots of options everywhere) but I feel this is going to be an invaluable tool in my (Hebrew) studies.

Thank you team for such a useful tool!

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Thanks for the feedback! While we don't officially support Accordance on Linux, posts such as this are valuable for our users who wish to try running Accordance on Linux for a fun project. We appreciate your efforts!

[Pastor Jonathan]

Welcome, fellow Tux user! 

 

I run a VM (Oracle Virtual Macine) on both laptop and desktop. 

 

In it I run Windows 10 and do not register it. But I can do all I need. 

 

My Linux is Mint. I have used several others but I keep going back to Mint. 

 

Not because I think it is the end all be all, but it just works. Beauty from simplicity. 

[jcornuz]

@Nathan Parker thanks for the heads up: no worries, my goal is not to request for Linux support
I had done my testing with the free Accordance trial and I am happy with how things work via a VM.
 

@Pastor Jonathan I tend to be wary of anything Oracle, so I went the KVM route. Let's start the APC (Accordance Penguin Club) that promotes unity accross distributions!

[Pastor Jonathan]

@jcornuz

 

Oracle is not my first choice but before this, when I was running Zorin OS, I was using it on Gnome Boxes. It worked, but it took a lot of finagling to get it to do what I wanted. Oracle just worked. But yes, not my first choice at all. 

[jcornuz]

Yep, VirtualBox is the most simple way to get something up and running quickly on a desktop.

 

The RedHat way (virt-manager) is a bit more convoluted, but quite powerful: I just realized I can auto pause my VM when not in use (so no CPU usage) and instantly restart it when I need to acces Accordance. How cool is that? (hum...)

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

You're making me jealous that I gave up Linux. :-) 

[Schulschlus]

I guess I am a month late, but I run mine through Oracle Virtual Box on Manjaro! Never regretted to fully switch over to linux (beside using the vm here and there)

 

Thanks for the article @jcornuz

[Brian K. Mitchell]

On 10/1/2023 at 4:26 AM, jcornuz said:

As a (new) Accordance user, an OT Master's wannabe and a Linux fan boy

@jcornuz Welcome to the Accordance forums and to Accordance software! I am also a fan of the Hebrew Bible/OT and there are a number of others on the forums that are too! So, you are in good company here!

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and experiments running Accordance on Linux! 

 

 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

@Schulschlus How has your experience been?

[jcornuz]

19 hours ago, Schulschlus said:

I guess I am a month late, but I run mine through Oracle Virtual Box on Manjaro! Never regretted to fully switch over to linux (beside using the vm here and there)

 

Thanks for the article @jcornuz

 

Virtual Box is easier to setup and works well.

 

I find KVM a bit better integrated with my system and I prefer not using something from Oracle if I can avoid it