Build Window app from Linux - testing xojo

Hi all,

Linux KDE Neon new Xojo tester here :
2 quick questions :slight_smile:

  • Will I be able to generate a desktop window app from a Linux Xojo install ?
  • Can I run any desktop App before buying any Xojo version ?
    (when trying to Run a sample App…it just closes)

Thanks for your replies,
:wink:

To generate an app for the WindowS OS? Maybe, it is suposed to.

You should be able to run and debug any App from the IDE, but the Linux version is not the most stable. Could be a missing lib or not compatible desktop: System requirements — Xojo documentation

What about the provided examples ?

I have Linux versions of all my apps and they look and run as they are supposed to in the popular Linux environments.
Trouble is the same apps compiled for Windows don’t look the same especially control sizes.
Finding a happy medium that suits Linux means your windows and Mac forms and screens may look a bit strange with odd sized buttons and fonts even though they are functional.
Mac and Windows are close but Xojo has never got the transition to Linux right.

Thanks I will check that again - had made some quick lib update ahead of the Xojo install but didnt check they were all there as Doc states…
Maybe that’s why…else I ll test on some other deb distro I also have installed beside. :wink:

same result, I tested some like the Db sample…as I though maybe my own basic project wasnt “good enough” …will check about the libs before updating this topic anew…

oohh, that’s a bummer that this Linux fine App cannot convert into an as nice Window App. :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

…So currious now about what was your work arround that ?
1- did you have to reopen the original project under Xojo on Windows and resize all needed compoment to produce a fine app - copy - for the Window’s target ? [more work but quicker that starting it all again from Scratch]
or
2 - do you focus on Linux only and whatever comes out for Windows/Mac doesnt really matters.
Or else, only Win and Mac fine layout matters …and whatever Linux looks like is not that worrying ?

I have also tested the very very few " Linux versions" available from this page : https://showcase.xojo.com/.
The DOSbox, opens fine…- its a very basic “window/terminal” though and I cant say about its use since I had no DOS app to test it with. But it seems very stable so far…
As for the other, I could not download or launch any other Linux showcase on my Linux desktop. *wish there were more Linux versions available among the other Apps in this panel

I design and code on my Mac and then compile and test on Windows and Linux (virtual) machines.
If there are lots of controls on a form they display poorly and I have to resize to fit text or move them to prevent them overlapping. Then I open the Xojo project on Linux and do the adjustments.
Toolbar buttons are very wide on Linux so there are limits to how many are visible although there is a drop down list at the end for the rest.
The Xojo date picker requires a large form as it displays very large. Combo boxes are also too big.
And when all is done I go back to Mac and Windows to see how much carnage I’ve caused to my original design :frowning_with_open_mouth:
It’s not a case of one project suits all platforms, it’s a big compromise if you want it to be and include Linux.
You can get around some problems dynamically by putting resizing code in your app using #if

#if TargetLinux then
  window1.width = 200
else
window1.width = 150
#endif

You can change the Controls (Buttons, …) size only for Linux using #If TargetLinux …/… #EndIf (verify the command).

You set the “new” height inside the #If #EndIf block.

Thanks Craig, got it…yeah…mmm, I would have looked for the same dynamic work arround, so thanks for sharing that piece of code still !

[I’m wondering why does the Xojo Team leaves it “that way” or is it just technically impossible for Xojo to reach an much more improved UI convertion process from one OS to an other…] :melting_face:

anyway, thanks a lot for your experience share

Thanks Emile, I will test that :+1:
…motslty in a Linux>to>Windows convertion configuration…
(I Have no Mac at hand)

There’s a switch in Linux Build Settings “Normalize Control Sizes” which is supposed to make the control sizes cross platform compatible. The method Craig recommends is supposed to be no longer necessary. Have you played with this switch?

Hi, No, havent played with it so far…

It’s worth a shot. None of the projects I currently work on deploy to Linux Desktop, so I don’t have any recent experience with how this switch behaves. That’s why I phrase it “supposed to be” because I haven’t tested Linux Desktop lately.

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:+1: