I'm using Arch Linux and installed Microsoft Office 2013 with Wine because PlayOnLinux gave me errors. Office keeps showing an activation prompt, while other people seem not to encounter it. What is the proper way to activate it, and is there a reliable workaround if Office does not run well under Wine?
4 Answers
Office 2013 is generally unreliable under Wine, even after activation. If you absolutely need Microsoft Office, running it inside a Windows virtual machine may be more dependable, though it requires enough memory and CPU power.
The legitimate way to activate it is to purchase Office and enter the product key associated with your license. Avoid generic keys or registry tricks, since those do not provide a valid activation and may violate the license terms.
For everyday document work, LibreOffice or ONLYOFFICE can open and save DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files without activation. Compatibility is usually fine, but it’s worth checking the exact documents and formatting you need.
If the program is already opening to a blank or white window, that’s another sign the Wine setup is unstable. At that point, switching to a native office suite or a properly licensed Windows virtual machine will probably take less time than trying to repair the installation.
That makes sense. I’m already seeing a white window, so I’ll probably stop fighting with the Wine installation and try an alternative.