[uday]

Things I disabled

. lobby news
. text->speech

When Fred returns, no doubt he'll take another look at this. Meanwhile, you can report issues here and maybe I'll be able to fix them.

[uday]

Here is a short HOWTO from Pierre Couzy (pico on BBO)


HowTo : install bbo on linux

1/ Go to www.winehq.com and download wine if you don't have it on your system already.

2/ Grab a copy of Symbol.ttf. You'll need this font to properly display the suit symbols. Copy it in /usr/share/fonts/truetype/symbol (you'll have to manually create the symbol folder)

3/ Download bbo_setup.exe (http://www.bridgebas...bo450_setup.exe as the time of writing, but I guess the normal version will work pretty soon)

4/ Launch a terminal and type : wine bbo_setup.exe (bbo450_setup.exe if you're using the beta version). This will launch the installer. Proceed as if you were installing under Windows.

5/ Grab the patched executable (again, this step might be useless in the next version of bbo) at http://www.bridgebas...etBridgeVue.zip

Unpack it, you'll get an executable file, copy it to ~/.wine/drive_c/Bridge\ Base\ Online

6/ Launch the executable from a shell : wine NetBridgeVu.exe (or LinuxNetBridgeVue.exe for the next weeks). In case you don't find the executable, it's located in ~/.wine/drive_c/WhateverFolderYouUsedForTheInstall

7/ You're done.

Caveat : Monitor the free memory on your system when playing, you might have to quit and re-launch bbo from time to time, there are some memory leaks probably due to Wine. On my machine (PIII 700, 384 Mo, Ubuntu) I have to do this about every hour.
If you have a problem, you can contact me on BBO (pico)

[PaulH]

Thanks for all the great work people.

I am now enjoying watching Bermuda Bowl Vugraph.

PCLinuxOS, Athlon XP 1700, Wine 2050725

[didier17]

♥♥♥ good news

[PaulH]

The Wine Applications Database for BBO is now working properly it can be accessed at

http://appdb.winehq.....php?appId=1830

It would be really useful if those using BBO under wine can put any testing data and/or problems there.

Big thanks to Steve Hollingsworth for helping me in making the information there make sense.

I can't take the off my face since I've had BBO running under GNU/Linux

Anyone having problems getting started can leave me a message for PaulH or e-mail at paul_in_uk2@yahoo.co.uk

[cherdano]

Thanks a lot to Fred, Gerardo, Uday for making this possible!! ♥ Works fine here, with Wine 0.9 on SuSE Linux 9.1.

Since it took me a while to find out this triviality: SYMBOL.TTF can be found in any Windows-Installation. On my Windows XP it was in the folder
C:\\WINDOWS\Fonts. So on my dual boot Windows/Linux machine I could just copy it over.

What did not work for me was to google for Symbol.ttf and download a free version of that.

Arend

[penguinland]

Thanks very much for doing all of this. I'm running Gentoo, and have been waiting to be able to use BBO for a couple months. I can now play bridge on it, but the web-enabled features (notably the help files and the place where I enter my ACBL number) don't work. Any idea what's wrong? I'm really new to WINE, so it wouldn't surprise me if I messed up something simple. /usr/bin/winebrowser correctly interfaces with firefox, if that changes anything. Thanks very much!

[hrothgar]

penguinland, on Nov 7 2005, 04:43 AM, said:

Thanks very much for doing all of this. I'm running Gentoo, and have been waiting to be able to use BBO for a couple months. I can now play bridge on it, but the web-enabled features (notably the help files and the place where I enter my ACBL number) don't work. Any idea what's wrong? I'm really new to WINE, so it wouldn't surprise me if I messed up something simple. /usr/bin/winebrowser correctly interfaces with firefox, if that changes anything. Thanks very much!

As I recall, the BBO client uses Internet Explorer as the web browser.
You might need to install IE under WINE to use these functions.

[uday]

I think i might have disabled the browser completely; When FG returns he will probably be able to make things smoother by using a standalone browser instead

[cherdano]

uday, on Nov 7 2005, 03:52 AM, said:

I think i might have disabled the browser completely; When FG returns he will probably be able to make things smoother by using a standalone browser instead

Bridge Base online seems to use either IE (e.g. for Lobby News, or for the BBO $ stuff) or the default browser (e.g. when clicking on an URL given in chat). The latter works fine for me under Linux.

Arend

[uday]

Yes. Fred would no doubt find it easy to use an external default browser i linux wherever the embedded IE is used in windows, and i'm sure this will be how he will deal w/linux

[cherdano]

So far I have been happily running BBO under Wine for a couple of days, all seems very stable. Some minor problems:

- Bridge Master deals are unusable, because the layout of the buttons at the bottom gets completely screwed up.
- I can't seem to be able to sit down on a seat that is reserved for me. (I get the "Waiting for response" message, but nothing happens until I click on "Logoff".)

Sometimes it is a little sluggish, but that is a problem of Wine/X Window System.

Again thanks,
Arend

[Gerardo]

Found this out there:

Download the Mozilla ActiveX Control
Extract it to some directory which is accessible by Wine, e.g. ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/mozcontrol

Now open a shell (if you didn't do that before) cd to that directory, and run regsvr32 mozctlx.dll.

Tried it on Wine-0.9, it works (can see news, etc) (using the Windows executable, Wine executable has this disabled).

[TrialBid]

Follow the instructions for modifying bbover.ini, add the [system] section as detailed elsewhere, and BBO seems to work well under wine. So far, I cannot replicate Gerardo's success w/o specifying Linux--which disables news and use of ActiveX as I understand it.

Even after registering the mozilla activex control, via regsvr32 mozctlx.dll, apparently successfully, I found w/BBO v 4.5.0 & 4.5.2 I have trouble using chat and/or entering a table. The latter problem has been reported as a wine bug and is still open although of less importance now that there is a workaround (using the Linux selection).

Below is what the debug output says from 4.5.2 when I try to enter a table. Are there any native DLLs being used or other DLLs to register that would help? I'd still like to be able to run the full BBO under wine and be rid of the eternal "Waiting for response from server..." message that occurs under the standard version.

This is wine 0.9 running under Mandriva2005.

[steve@mediapc Bridge Base Online]$ ulimit -m 200000 && wine "C:\Bridge Base Online\NetBridgeVu.exe"
err:ole:CoGetClassObject class {96749377-3391-11d2-9ee3-00c04f797396} not registered
err:ole:create_server class {96749377-3391-11d2-9ee3-00c04f797396} not registered
fixme:ole:CoCreateInstance no classfactory created for CLSID {96749377-3391-11d2-9ee3-00c04f797396}, hres is 0x80040150
err:bitmap:DIB_GetBitmapInfo (1452650526): unknown/wrong size for header
fixme:msvcrt:MSVCRT__sopen : pmode 0x01b4 ignored
fixme:ole:OleCreate
{8856f961-340a-11d0-a96b-00c04fd705a2}
{00000112-0000-0000-c000-000000000046} semi-stub!
err:ole:CoGetClassObject class {4955dd33-b159-11d0-8fcf-00aa006bcc59} not registered
fixme:ole:CoCreateInstance no classfactory created for CLSID {4955dd33-b159-11d0-8fcf-00aa006bcc59}, hres is 0x80040154

[Gerardo]

4.5.0 doesn't work. 4.5.0L works, but doesn't use embedded browser.

4.5.2+ is unified exe, needs LINUX_WINE=Y to work under Wine, as explained earlier in 4.5.2 announcement thread. Else it will NOT work, failing as you described. (much like every other BBO version before 4.5.2).

in 4.5.3, also I found I needed to get the native ATL.DLL, use it in Wine, and add the line BROWSER_TYPE=A to get the embedded browser (maybe this is just a temporary workaround)

[TrialBid]

Since the date of the post mentioning installing the Mozilla ActiveX control was Nov 11 and the announcement of 4.5.3 was Nov 16 I am obviously not clued in to where the latest information is coming from if I was supposed to figure out that the comments didn't apply to either 4.5.0 or 4.5.2. Where is this information coming from?

Nevertheless, I've now tried running 4.5.3 with this command:
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="atl=n" BROWSER_TYPE=A wine "C:\Bridge Base Online\NetBridgeVu.exe"

Yes, news works. If I put the BROWSER_TYPE=A into bbover.ini where I first thought it was to go, that doesn't do it. Where is this information coming from?!

However, the hang-up going to a tournament or to a table is the same as ever. Is there still a newer, unannounced version that everyone knows about but me?!

[uday]

Some "history" that might clarify things

BBO has always had trouble running under WINE. Symptoms: you can login but after that, no messages are sent from client->server. As Trialbid pointed out, joining tables, etc, would fail (hang).

Some people managed to make it work using WineX.


While Fred G, our client guy, was away at Estoril, I (server guy) produced a cheesy version of BBO, 4.50L, that resolved the core issue (not sending messages).

When FG returned, he merged those changes into the master source, and the latest beta contains those changes. Now, the client will look at bbover.ini, and look for two new keywords in the SYSTEM section of the ini file


[SYSTEM]
LINUX_WINE=Y
BROWSER_TYPE=E


If you are running BBO under Wine, you *must*

a - install BBO as usual (in WINE)
b - edit c:\bridge base online\bbover.ini and add these lines
[SYSTEM]
LINUX_WINE=Y
BROWSER_TYPE=E

c - optionally do sometihng to get the SYMBOL font into Wine. If you don't do this, use "pictures" mode instead of Hand Diagram mode (the Spade Ace icon toggles between the two when at a table)


BBO happens to use an embedded IE browser control in lobby news, and in a couple of other places.

The possible values of BROWSER_TYPE are


BROWSER_TYPE=E
This uses an "external" browser. Lobby news will not work. when you click on URLs, etc, an external browser is launched. Not clear what happens when you use an embedded web page (lobby->shop bridge->examine bb$ activity, for instance)

BROWSER_TYPE=C
This uses an embedded browser, using COM. This is the normal windows client default. If you install this "mozilla activeX control", then using C might work. It seems to work for Gerardo.

BROWSER_TYPE=A
This uses ATL.DLL to instantiate the browser. Gerardo tells us, i think, that this doesnt quite do it.


Summary: Use
[SYSTEM]
LINUX_WINE=Y
BROWSER_TYPE=E

in c:\bridge base online\bbover.ini

and in theory you should be able to join tables, etc


We'll produce a standalone Wine installer when we return from Denver (about 10 days from today).

[Gerardo]

Small correction:
BROWSER_TYPE=A does work for me (getting a native ATL.DLL), default doesn't.

[TrialBid]

Thanks, Gerardo and Uday, for helping me get clear on what was what.

I can confirm

[SYSTEM]
LINUX_WINE=Y
BROWSER_TYPE=A

works great when native ATL.DLL is used and the Mozilla ActiveX control is installed as described by Gerardo on 11/11.

I can now add also that it seems to work even better (more briskly) under wine 0.9.1 which was released about a week ago and I installed tonight.

[PaulH]

I am very sorry, I have been a lazy person not keeping the WINE DB entry upto date.

BBO is to me three things:

1. A clever piece of software.

2. A semi-commercial adventure.

3. The best bridge community this planet has yet managed.

I have always had the attitude that 1 & 2 are other peoples business and 3 is wonderful. From when I, Rainy, Orla and a few others trooped over here from yahoo we all appreciated the effort, time and willpower being put into creating the perfect bridge club,

From day 1 I was upset that many of my friends could not enjoy the riches to be had (Any newcomer who has the patience try reading through the deal of the week archives if you understand half of them I want to be your partner!) as we needed windows to access it.

When a silly contractee decided to pay my broadband internet access for a year i was resigned to looking around for a silly pc to hook up for bbo access. The shock, amazement and joy I felt watching the Bermuda Bowl this year was doubly enhanced by not having to dual bot and/or get another machine.

For most computer users the availability or not of bbo under linux is a total irrelevance. For us poor fools for whom this is imnportant I would like to thank Fred, Uday, Gerrado and all the others that have helped.

I hope that when the browser issue is finally decided it can be with a version that doesn't need a proprietory dll. I only have 14 versions of windows to give away and I abhor software (or any other kind) of piracy. The free version of the font works fine!!!

Anyway I've gone on far longer than intendended. All I really wanted to say was please please put your testing data on the WINE website (then I can carry on being lazy) And please carry on using bbo in the way it was intended (oops being arrogant again) like the bridge club you always wanted to be a member of but didn't think existed.

All the best

Paul

Anyone unable to play at bbo under linux please e-mail me at: paul_in_uk2@yahoo.co.uk or leave me a message on here.

The WINE DB entry for this amazing place is as always at : http://appdb.winehq.....php?appId=1830