PouchesInc (Customer) asked a question.
A little background before the tutorial. Skip down 4 paragraphs if you only want the How-To.
So with the direction Windows has been going for years we finally got too fed up with it here at work when I had to set up a Windows 11 laptop we just got. So a week ago I decided that I was going to try and convince management to OK a trial of Linux in the production area since all we need the laptops to do out there is open excel files and keep track of data. With the discontinuation of Windows 10 coming in 8 months, and a big project to move the whole company over to Windows 11 coming soon, and knowing every employee is going to be mad when that happens and go through "growing pains", we have been eager to look at the options for what we can do anyway. I did some research on the various linux distributions (distros) and settled on ZorinOS. The reason being is that by default it looked VERY Windows 7 like, and if we bought the pro version of ZorinOS (for $45) it has themes that can make it look exactly like Windows 11 or MacOS too. I figured with a user interface nearly identical to what people are used to the chances of success would be very high with this project.
So I replaced the SSD in the new laptop we just got so if it went wrong I could put the old one in and everything is back the way it was. Downloaded ZorinOS and made a USB installer for it with Rufus. Installed it on the laptop, and then set to poking around the OS. For the most part it works extremely well, with just some very minor changes needing to be done to make it work exactly like the other Windows laptops do. I found ctrl+shift+; didn't work by default in Excel (sorry, LibreOffice) to put the current date in because this hotkey is taken by the emoji keyboard by default. So, I found I could open "start", type" cmd" and it would bring up the terminal (basically command prompt). I then type "ibus-setup" and it brings up keyboard mappings, where I go to the emoji keyboard. I deleted the shortcuts there and now ctrl+shift+; works in Excel properly. For the life of me I couldn't get ctrl+shift+: to workto enter the current time though, so In LibreOffice/Excel I just remapped the hotkey shortcut to ctrl+shift+' instead. So this keyboard shortcut change is really the only difference now between the linux laptop and windows laptops as far as the end users are concerned.
I then went to the "Zorin Appearance" program in the start menu, and was able to put the Home folder, recycle bin, and network shares as icons on the desktop. Mapping the SMB network shared folder that contains the files they need out there was very easy. I just go to the Home folder, select "other locations" and type SMB://TheNetworkAddress/ToTheFolder. Some other minor changes I made was in LibreOffice I changed the default file save format to .xlsx (Excel default) instead of .odf, and removed the checkbox for warning about not saving in .odf. I also changed the formula calculation method from LibreOffice calcA1 to Excel calcA1. I don't know what the specific differences are in how they calculate formulas, but wanted to make sure both Windows and Linux laptops were calculating out Excel formulas in the exact same manner. So now everything was working and fully functional, it went out to be used in production and didn't get a single complaint all week about anything not working or that it was too hard. A success! Management said that since the OS is free, and we no longer have to pay for Microsoft Office on it, as long as there are no complaints this quarter that all laptops will transition over to Linux now, and the project begins to evaluate whether the office can transition as well since most computers there just use Web, email, and Excel as well.
After the success of its primary use case, I decided to test on my own whether I could get PLC programming software working on Linux. I knew that ZorinOS comes built-in with the ability to run Windows programs through an emulation layer, and you can launch .exe files directly after downloading them. Sounded cool, but time to test it... Upon initially opening Productivity Suite, I was asked to first install the Windows compatibility program. So I hit ok and let it do its thing. This took around 10 minutes to complete. I tried it again, and this time it said I need .NET framework, and to click ok to install that. I did, but this seemed not to work. No installer ever started. So, I tried a more methodical approach:
Now on to the tutorial:
1) First, click the start menu and select Windows Apps. Install that if you haven't yet.
2) Select "Bottles"
3) Select the + icon to make a new bottle. I named mine Productivity-4.2.1.8. I selected the default "application" mode type. The 4.2.1.8 is the version I am running, this should work with any version though.
4) Double click the new application bottle to open it.
5) Click on the "Install programs" button, and select the Productivity Suite .exe file you downloaded.
6) install Productivity Suite like normal
7) now in the main Bottles window, click on "Dependencies"
8) install:
arialb2 (arial black font)
d3dx11 (directX 11, might be needed for something so figured Id install it)
dotnet481 (.net runtime 4.8.1)
tahoma32 (the font Producitivty uses by default)
vcredist2019
vcredist2022
vcredist6sp6 (IDK which of these visualC++ versions Productivity uses if any, so just installed the latest 3)
arial32
times32
courie32
9) In the Programs section of the window, click the "play" looking button, and Productivity should now launch.
Upon first launch, a ton of windows will open. close them all out down to the basic window you are used to. From now on, it should launch with the normal view and not all the extra windows open.
The one issue I have found is that the simulator will not run. It must have other dependencies. But I have been able to successfully open, edit, upload project. As well as upload firmware to PLCs. Here are some screenshots of what it looks like:
My next project to test will be seeing if I can run Do-More Designer and CMore software the same way successfully. I dont know if we will change the programming laptop over to Linux as well, I really just wanted to see if I could get the PLC software working and how well the Windows compatibility layer worked without any long troubleshooting steps. I was pleasantly surprised this worked basically on the first try.
ZorinOS 17 is effectively a modification/skin on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. So this tutorial should work on Ubuntu as well, but you might have to go download Bottles and Wine first.
Edit 01/09/2026:
Just went and tested the latest version of Do-more Designer as well, it works fine. No special install things needed, I literally just double clicked the .exe file and let ZorinOS do its thing and installed just like on WIndows and the Do-more Designer runs fine.
I’m looking at doing the same and was wondering if you have also tried putting the C-more HMI software on ZorinOS 17 to see if it works?
CMore Micro installs with the exceptions of USB drivers, but crashes on startup
CMore CM5 installs with the exceptions of USB drivers, but crashes on startup
Click installs and runs fine, with the exceptions of USB drivers. I believe it can connect over Ethernet but not USB, but I have no Click PLC to test with. Software looks like it functions though. See video of how to install it here:
https://vimeo.com/1153007294?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
Do-More installs and runs fine, with the exceptions of USB drivers. It can connect over ethernet but not USB. See video of how to install it here:
https://vimeo.com/1153010664?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
SureServo2 installs with the exception of USB drivers. Software runs, but since you can only connect to a servo over USB the software has no purpose since it cant connect to the servo.
Productivity Suite on the new version is sadly broken. I am unsure if it is the new version of Productivity itself, or an update that Bottles received. But either way, when trying to install a newer version than what I did above the software refuses to install by saying that the .NET Runtime is not installed and so the installer will exit. Even if I have installed the exact version of .NET either manually with a Microsoft installer file or through the dependencies area. The productivity suite software installer simply wont detect that its needed dependency is installed and so quits out.
So it is nice that much of the software is usable, and Do-More has full functionality which is just awesome. When I made this thread I did use Productivity Suite exclusively on that linux laptop for about 2 weeks, but the laptop was not the main programming laptop and had another purpose so it eventually went into service elsewhere and I moved back to the Windows programming laptop. This linux experiment isn't something I would say is reliable enough that it should be used in a business environment for PLC programming needs. It was a fun experiment to see what works and what doesn't though.
The USB driver issues with Click, SureServo, and likely that is what is causing both CMore software to crash too could be solved with a little bit of development work to detect if it is on a linux operating system environment and look for the USB drivers in a different location. The Productivity issue of not detecting .NET being installed could also likely be solved with a very tiny amnount of development work for the new location to look for it being installed when detecting a linux OS version.
I would love it if Automation Direct would do this compatibility work, but obviously it isnt something that can be expected of them. While linux popularity is exploding the last year and going forward, it is not exploding in the business industrial programming space, which tends to lag behind by a decade. Still, Id love it if the issue could at least stay on the company radar for something to be looking at in the future.
I will have to reread your post without thoughts of Christopher Walken invading my mind every time I read the word 'Zorin'
-> https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Max_Zorin
On a serious note, I have been considering switching my home PCs to linux. Not sure of the distro.
I, too, have grown tired of the windows OOBE -- so, thank you for chronicling your efforts and results.
I honestly love linux now. After successfully converting the entire production side laptops over to ZorinOS and having no issues for 3 months, we made the decision to move all office PCs to it as well rather than Windows 11.
There have been no problems at all since that transition, except an "annoyance issue" from accounting. When you print something, the computer does a couple very short freezes for like a second and the mouse stops moving. Not a huge deal, and no one else has complained about it, but accounting prints quite a lot of checks for both paydays and paying bills and things like that, so since they print a lot more than anyone else they notice the issue.
I am not sure if this is something to do with the linux printing system or simply the way our Canon printers interact with the OS. There are 2 ways you can connect a printer, old style 1 way communication where there are no printer status updates or confirmations on the PC, data simply gets sent off and assumed it all worked well. The other way is using modern drivers and having 2 way communication with status updates and ink notifications and all that. Both ways I tried had the same couple little freezes on a print. So annoying if you print a lot, not a big deal if you don't. In the end accounting simply has to live with it because the rest of the office has no complaints and we don't want 1 office PC on a different system or to pay for Windows licensing and software or all the subscription popups and "please finish setting up your PC" fullscreen things every 2-4 weeks that Windows 11 has.
We do maintain 1 single Windows machine, the programming laptop. It was decided that since its one and only job is PLC and HMI software, and all that is Windows only except when it happens to work on an emulation layer (some does not, like DirectSoft) that we should keep the programming laptop in Windows so we don't chance any issues when we need to do some programming or troubleshooting.
But since I made this post, I have liked Linux so much that my own home PC is on linux now, and I chose Nobara with the gnome desktop environment for myself, and I moved my GFs laptop to Linux as her 2014 Macbook was getting too old and needed replacing. We both enjoy linux, and she set her desktop running Zorin OS to look like a MacOS layout and it has been fine. My one complaint with linux for home PC use is that you dont have native applications for streaming providers like Netflix, etc and so you must watch in a browser, and the best you can get is 1080p when using Chrome to watch something. No 4k, no HDR. Not the biggest deal, since we mainly watch on the TV, but it is a bit of an "oh ya" when we take a laptop on a trip or something.
So I definitely recommend trying it out for yourself. It seems Zorin is massively popular this year. I like to think I got in before it was all the rage. haha. but since the Windows 10 shutdown, Zorin has now clocked 2 million downloads by Windows users.
The nice thing is you can try it yourself by putting it on a flash drive and just booting into the OS, no need to install. Yes it runs laggy as its running on a flash drive, but it gives you a feel for the OS.
Here is a good recent video on Zorin install and just some general info of linux:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA_2jfboMqI
I tested a version of Ubuntu from a USB stick a couple months ago.
Starting was a bit slow (USB...) but after that I did not notice any insufferable lag.
I installed Steam and Valheim.. played a couple sessions.
The only complaint that I have about the experience is ... somehow I lost my game world files. :)
It was a test, so I expected some issues.
I need to buy some more NVMe drives.
I do not think that I can completely wean myself from the redmond monster, but I can do most things outside of the MS orbit
[Edit because someone thought that CTRL-ENTER == POST was a good idea]
Again, thank you for posting your experience.