Paratext 9 on Linux

Question

I’m running Kubuntu 18.04 (LTS) on a Mac under VMware. I installed PT9 using Synaptic (my usual method of doing updates).
I launched it, but it put up a window basically saying all my projects had corrupted repositories, then it opened a blank window with no menus or anything, which was unresponsive to clicks. But it did correctly identify me as the user.

I’m not going to proceed with this right now, since I see Kubuntu 20.04 LTS is now available. So I’m planning to install that in a new virtual machine, then try again after the weekend. But is there anything I should be doing differently?

Cheers, anon898633.

Answer 1

I guess from the lack of responses that nobody else has tried to use PT9 under Linux. (Sorry folks - I WILLL NOT use Windows!! A Mac version would be even nicer…

Anyway, I’ve confirmed that under Kubuntu 18.04, PT9 will not run. This is version 0.61.
The installation appears normal. Then on launch, it correctly recognizes me as the user. But a window comes up saying many of my projects have corrupt repositories (which they don’t). Then a single window comes up with no menus. There’s a “show menu” button, but clicking it just dims the menu bar and no menus appear. That’s all. It’s apparently not debugged yet???

Comments

I didn’t reply because I don’t have experience with Kubuntu; perhaps other PT users have also hung back in case someone with direct Kubuntu experience replies. But I have been directly supporting at least 10 users of Paratext 9 on Wasta-Linux (which is Ubuntu with a few extra programs and tweaks for language work pre-installed) for 1-1/2 years now, and we have found just a very few problems that are unique to the Linux version. Any serious issues have been dealt with in good time.

I highly recommend that you try Wasta 18.04 before going to Kubuntu 20.04. [I believe that Wasta 20.04 will be released when standard Ubuntu gets to full release stage.] The Wasta website FAQ page explains the differences between it and standard Ubuntu.
https://www.wastalinux.org/

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anon898633:

I guess from the lack of responses that nobody else has tried to use PT9 under Linux… It’s apparently not debugged yet???

Unfortunately (or, fortunately?), your “guess” is off, anon898633… I’ve been using PT9 in the Wasta Linux environment for over six months. I didn’t reply because I’m unable to answer your question. I wouldn’t say PT9 is issue free in the Linux environment (not even the Windows version is that!), but I’ve never seen the issues you’re facing, so I’m guessing it’s a Kubuntu thing.

Answer 2

Thanks kblewtt. I’ve also found that Ctrl-O does open project windows. So the lack of menus seems to be the main issue, and this may be a Kubuntu thing. I’ll give Wasta a go when we get back from a trip in a couple of weeks. (Yes, here in the Northern Territory of Australia we’ve had NO COVID19 cases for a couple of months, so everything’s opening up!)
Cheers, anon898633.

Answer 3

In case it helps, it was suggested I do a command-line launch with
paratext9 --debug

So I did that, and when I hit “show menu” these messages appear in the console:

(Paratext:11593): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 10:08:13.234: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(Paratext:11593): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 10:08:13.234: g_signal_handler_disconnect: assertion ‘G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)’ failed

(Paratext:11593): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 10:08:13.234: gdk_frame_clock_end_updating: assertion ‘GDK_IS_FRAME_CLOCK (frame_clock)’ failed

(Paratext:11593): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 10:08:13.234: …/…/…/…/gobject/gsignal.c:2641: instance ‘0x7faa48c1b930’ has no handler with id ‘1912’

Answer 4

Hi Paul,
Yes you’re probably right. I’m going to set up a Wasta virtual machine when we get back from our current trip in 10 days. Others have also told me that PT9 runs fine on Wasta.