# WinApps
The WinApps main project, [originally created by Fmstrat](https://github.com/Fmstrat/winapps)
Run Windows apps such as Microsoft Office/Adobe in Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora) and GNOME/KDE as if they were a part of the native OS,
including Nautilus integration for right-clicking on files of specific mime types to open them.
## How it works
WinApps was created as an easy, one-command way to include apps running inside a VM (or on any RDP server) directly into GNOME as if they were native applications. WinApps works by:
- Running a Windows RDP server in a background VM container
- Checking the RDP server for installed applications such as Microsoft Office
- If those programs are installed, it creates shortcuts leveraging FreeRDP for both the CLI and the GNOME tray
- Files in your home directory are accessible via the `\\tsclient\home` mount inside the VM
- You can right-click on any files in your home directory to open with an application, too
## Currently supported applications
### WinApps supports **_ANY_** installed application on your system.
It does this by:
1. Scanning your system for the officially configured applications (below)
2. Scanning your system for any other EXE files with install records in the Windows Registry
Any officially configured applications will have support for high-resolution icons and mime types for automatically detecting what files can be opened by each application. Any other detected executable files will leverage the icons pulled from the EXE.
Note: The officially configured application list below is fueled by the community, and therefore some apps may be untested by the WinApps team.
 | Adobe Acrobat Pro (X) |
 | Adobe Acrobat Reader (DC) |
 | Adobe After Effects (CC) |
 | Adobe Audition (CC) |
 | Adobe Bridge (CS6, CC) |
 | Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) |
 | Adobe Illustrator (CC) |
 | Adobe InDesign (CC) |
 | Adobe Lightroom (CC) |
 | Command Prompt (cmd.exe) |
 | Explorer (File Manager) |
 | Internet Explorer (11) |
 | Microsoft Access (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | Microsoft Excel (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | Microsoft Word (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | Microsoft OneNote (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | Microsoft Outlook (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | Microsoft PowerPoint (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | Microsoft Publisher (2016, 2019, o365) |
 | PowerShell |
 | Windows (Full RDP session) |
| |
## Installation
### Step 1: Set up a Windows virtual machine
The best solution for running a VM as a subsystem for WinApps would be Docker.
Docker allows automizing the installation process and still uses KVM/QEMU under the hood.
We still provide the outdated KVM install instructions.
To set up the VM for WinApps, follow this guide:
- [Creating a virtual machine with Docker](docs/docker.md)
- [Creating a virtual machine in KVM (outdated)](docs/KVM.md)
If you already have a virtual machine or server you wish to use with WinApps, you will need to merge `install/RDPApps.reg` into the VM's Windows Registry.
### Step 2: Download the repo and prerequisites
To get things going, use:
```bash
sudo apt install -y freerdp3-x11
git clone https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps.git
cd winapps
```
> [!note]
> Requires FreeRDP 3.0.0 or later.
> If not included in your distribution, you can download the Flatpak from here: https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/wiki/Prebuilds
### Step 3: Creating your WinApps configuration file
You will need to create a `~/.config/winapps/winapps.conf` configuration file with the following information in it:
```bash
RDP_USER="MyWindowsUser"
RDP_PASS="MyWindowsPassword"
#RDP_DOMAIN="MYDOMAIN"
#RDP_IP="192.168.123.111"
#RDP_SCALE=100
#RDP_FLAGS=""
#MULTIMON="true"
#DEBUG="true"
#FREERDP_COMMAND="xfreerdp"
```
The username and password should be a full user account and password, such as the one created when setting up Windows
or a domain user. It can't be a user/PIN combination as those aren't valid for RDP access.
Options:
- When using a pre-existing non-KVM RDP server, you must use the `RDP_IP` to specify its location
- If you're running a VM in KVM with NAT enabled, leave `RDP_IP` commented out and WinApps will auto-detect the right local IP
- For domain users, you can uncomment and change `RDP_DOMAIN`
- On high-resolution (UHD) displays, you can set `RDP_SCALE` to the scale you would like [100|140|160|180]
- To add flags to the FreeRDP call, such as `/audio-mode:1` to pass in a mic, use the `RDP_FLAGS` configuration option
- For multi-monitor setups, you can try enabling `MULTIMON`, however, if you get a black screen (FreeRDP bug) you will need to revert
- If you enable `DEBUG`, a log will be created on each application start in `~/.local/share/winapps/winapps.log`
- If you're on a system, where the command for freerdp is not xfreerdp, change `FREERDP_COMMAND` to it.
### Step 4: Run the WinApps installer
Lastly, check if FreeRDP can connect with:
```
bin/winapps check
```
You will see output from FreeRDP, as well as potentially have to accept the initial certificate. After that, a Windows Explorer window should pop up. You can close this window and press `Ctrl-C` to cancel out of FreeRDP.
If this step fails, try restarting the VM, or your problem could be related to:
- You need to accept the security cert the first time you connect (with 'check')
- Not enabling RDP in the Windows VM
- Not being able to connect to the IP of the VM
- Incorrect user credentials in `~/.config/winapps/winapps.conf`
- Not merging `install/RDPApps.reg` into the VM
Then the final step is to run the installer which will prompt you to a system or user install:
```bash
./installer.sh
```
This will take you through the following process: