How to install a program not in Software Manager

[rob281291]

Hi all
I have been using Linux for a few months but not often and I am still pretty green. When I first started using Linux I wanted to use a program called ExtractNow https://extractnow.com/#/home which is quite unique in what it does. Originally, I tried to install it myself, made lots mistakes and it didn't work. I asked for help here and after many attempts from many helpful people here I managed to get it working. Then Linux crashed on my computer and had to be reinstalled so I have had to start again.

I can't follow previous instructions as they related to uninstalling and fixing a non-working version. I am hoping that someone can give me step-by-step instructions on how to install ExtractNow properly. I have tried reading the instructions on this forum for installing new software but got lost half way through as it went to jargon I didn't understand and I don't want to make the same mistake as last time.

I have Wine installed already so I am part way there. I have used Terminal before but am not to good at it yet.
Thank you in advance if you can help.
Rob

[kc1di]

It's a windows program and as such would have to be run under wine or Virtual machine.
I recommend installing playonlinux and using it to install the program.
You can install play on linux with this command in the terminal

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sudo apt install playonlinux

or via Synaptic.
Once installed you will find it in the Accessories folder in menu. Open it When you get there go to install and the click on install non listed program and
It will ask you if you want to install in new virtual folder select yes. Then continue with the install by following the prompts on the screen. It runs well as far as I can see.

good luck.

[AndyMH]

Then Linux crashed on my computer and had to be reinstalled so I have had to start again.

Which is why it is important to use utilities like timeshift and/or take image backups of your system. So if you screw up it is easy to get back to a working system.

[rob281291]

Hi kc1di
Thank you for your suggestion. I followed the instructions you gave and ExtractNow is on my desktop. Unfortunately, it doesn't work properly for me. When I click on the icon ExtractNow opens but can't be used. To use it you need to be able click the Settings button and it should come up with a list of options but mine does not. Does the version you installed allow you to adjust settings?

[rob281291]

Thanks for the suggestion Andy DH. I will look at learning how to make a back-up
Rob

[mikeflan]

How about we forget about ExtractNow and we find a Linux way to do this? Is that OK with you?

Tell us what you want to do. For instance, you have 10 zip files and you want to extract each one to its own directory. Or you want to extract all 10 of them to the same directory and you know there are no duplicate file names within them. Or something else??

Put all your zip files in one directory and then do ls -la in a terminal and show us the output.

Then do this on a few of the zip files to show us the contents:
zipinfo -1 <zipfilename>.zip


If you definitely want to use ExtractNow, then read on:

To use it you need to be able click the Settings button and it should come up with a list of options but mine does not.

What happens when you click the Settings button?

[Flemur]

Hi kc1di
Thank you for your suggestion. I followed the instructions you gave and ExtractNow is on my desktop. Unfortunately, it doesn't work properly for me. When I click on the icon ExtractNow opens but can't be used. To use it you need to be able click the Settings button and it should come up with a list of options but mine does not. Does the version you installed allow you to adjust settings?

I installed it into wine-6.22 staging with

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wine extractnow.exe  # installer, size = 2113075 bytes

and ran it with

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wine extractnow.exe # the program, size = 260608 bytes.

Here's the settings dialog:

[rob281291]

Thank you MikeFlan for your suggestion. I will put that on hold for now and see if I can get ExtractNow working.

Flemur, Yes that is it and it appears to be working because when I clicked on the version I installed, it opened OK but nothing happens when I click "Settings". How do I uninstall the version I have installed and reinstall it as you did please?
Rob

[Flemur]

How do I uninstall the version I have installed and reinstall it as you did please?

I don't know how you installed it; if installed thru playonlinux, then try uninstalling it thru playonlinux (which I've never needed or used, so don't know anything about).

To me it seemed like a completely compatible windows program that installed and ran without any problems; if your version of wine is different, that might be an issue. You can reinstall it like I did by doing what I described in the previous post. Also, try running it from the terminal, again as described in the previous post, because then you can see error messages.

Edit: I just installed in on a Mint 20.2 Xfce OS which has wine v5.whatever ("wine-installer") and there clicking "Settings" didn't do anything, the same situation you describe. You might try installing wine 6.whatever, but be aware that many people have problems installing it, especially new people, and especially after installing a previous wine; if you follow the winehq instructions for installing 6.whatever, first COMPLETELY REMOVE any existing wine packages you already have installed. Also heed mikeflan's advice; the website alternativeto.net might help.

[kc1di]

I might add that when I ran it under play on linux I was using wine version 6.18 and it ran fine.

[rob281291]

Hi Flemur
I installed it thru PlayonLinux using the install procedure there. I have now uninstalled it thru Playonlinux.

I have on my version of Linux Wine 5.0.3 which is what it came with. I'm sorry to be so useless but how did you use the following?

I installed it into wine-6.22 staging with
wine extractnow.exe # installer, size = 2113075 bytes
and ran it with
Code: Select all
wine extractnow.exe # the program, size = 260608 bytes
Here's the settings dialog:

Should I have used these codes in Terminal instead of in Playonlinux? Did you need to configure it at all or did it just run properly when you installed it? I tried installing and running with the above code in Terminal but it just said Extractnow wasn't found.

I think attempting to install Wine 6 would be dangerous for me to attempt.

When I eventually got it working previously I would have used to Wine 5 to install it so it must be able to be run on this version.

[kc1di]

I think attempting to install Wine 6 would be dangerous for me to attempt.

When I eventually got it working previously I would have used to Wine 5 to install it so it must be able to be run on this version.

In Playonlinux you can go to Tools> manage wine version and install any version up to wine 16.18 at the moment. or older versions as well this help at times with some programs. Good luck.
If you are attempting to install it via straight wine then you should be able to in a terminal by cding to the directory where your downloaded file is found and issuing the command

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wine <package name>

[rob281291]

Hi Kc1di

In Playonlinux you can go to Tools> manage wine version and install any version up to wine 16.18 at the moment. or older versions as well this help at times with some programs. Good luck.

--Which version do you suggest I go to then?

If you are attempting to install it via straight wine then you should be able to in a terminal by cding to the directory where your downloaded file is found and issuing the command

OK, that worked last time I think. Can you give me the steps and codes to do so please? I am not sure what "cding" is. Coding? if so what codes?

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wine <package name>[/quote]

[mikeflan]

cd is a command to navigate to different folders in the terminal. Open a terminal and type each of these, one at a time:

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cd /home/$USER/Documents
ls -1
cd ..
ls -1
cd Music
ls -1

That is just an example. You can replace $USER with your user name if you want to.

[rob281291]

So frustrating. I couldn't even get past the first command. This is what I tried and as you can see, I kept getting "No such file or directory"

[kevin987]

Open your terminal and just type cd Downloads and it should place you in the Downloads folder.

You are already in your home/user folder when you open the terminal.

[rob281291]

OK, I have done all that. Is this how it should turn out?

[kc1di]

OK, I have done all that. Is this how it should turn out?Screenshot from 2021-11-30 21-31-42.jpg

Ok you need to replace the term package name with the actual name of the file your trying to install.

In your case it would be

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extractnow.exe

The command would look like this

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wine extractnow.exe

[rob281291]

So this is the result. It appears to be looking for Extractnow in the System32 folder. If I was to move it to the System32 folder, that might work?

[spamegg]

Hello Rob,

I think kc1di was just giving an example of what the command could look like, without going into details. For the wine extractnow.exe command to work, the extractnow.exe file has to be in the same directory where you are running the command. So you would have to navigate to that directory first.

Wine is looking into system32 because that's where the Windows command line looks for executable files, if the executable file in your command is not in the directory where you are running the command. It's similar to how the Linux Terminal will look for your command's executable inside /bin or /usr/bin etc.

Anyway, with that explanation aside, here's what I did.

1) I downloaded the extractnow.exe installer file from the link in your OP.

2) Right-clicked, and selected "Open with Wine"

This did nothing, so I right-clicked in the folder and selected "Open in Terminal".

3) I ran wine extractnow.exe, which told me "It looks like you need to install wine32 first".
4) I ran apt install wine32.
5) Then I double-clicked on extractnow.exe and the installer works:

Hope this helps.