SCOREBRIDGE 8.11.01 & 9.11.52 ON LINUX USING THE WINE WINDOWS API EMULATOR.
Both ScoreBridge R8 and R9 will run on Linux as WINE applications. The product can be copied from an existing windows sytem(XP) installation or installed directly into WINE.
The ScoreBridge upgrade to version 8.11.01 was required to support EBU P2P and online submission of master points. Originally installed under XP both releases are now running under Wine on Fedora Linux. The R8 version appears not to enforce registration or require license keys but that may be because this code was available only to affiliated clubs or legitimate users. A non affiliated club using this version for free is probably being naughty even if that non affiliate is using Bridgewebs. Installing 8.11.01 or 9.11.52 under the wine emulator is straightforward however 9.11.52 does seem to require an R9 permanent key(albeit out of date) to be fully functional.
STEP1 INSTALL WINE
yum install wine (add/remove programs GUI)
Try out notepad to test
Selinux distros may pop a security alert for wine (it can be ignored - research with Google later)
STEP2 DLLS
In theory the install/setup of a windows application should carry all required MS run-time DLLs, but some installs don't because developers expect core visual studio application run-time support to be available on the OS(XP). It is recommended that visual-C run-time DLLs are installed in Wine regardless of whether they are directly required for an application because the product's installation shield(or wrapper) may require the vc runtime DLLs. ScoreBridge does however specifically require visual-basic 5 run-time DLLs.
Use the “winetricks” utility to install the MS visual-basic DLLs and the visual-C DLLs. Locate and retrieve the winetricks script via Google or your preferred browser app. You may have to save the script via the link's right-mouse-button-click context menu option 'save link as' or equivalent. Save to the Desktop. Mark the script as executable but don't run yet.
STEP2A CABEXTRACT
cabextract is required for the winetricks vc runtime install.
yum install cabextract (add/remove programs GUI)
STEP2B RUN WINETRICKS
“Gecko” -- not required if you have another internet browser installed (CHROME OPERA FIREFOX etc)
Select wineprefix (this is the dotbox for DLL installs)
Select install windows DLLs
Select vbrun5 and vcrun6
Click OK
This additionally installs vcrun6sp6(service pack6) and cabextracted core mfc DLLs
Answer yes yes etc
STEP2C START AGAIN
To reset things if it all goes strange, winetricks provides a 'delete all' dotbox. Its as though you have a new install of wine. So if you have other stuff already under wine it might disappear.
STEP3 SCOREBIDGE 8.11.01
Copy the ScoreBridge 8.11.01 (XP) install folder to your Linux home folder or Desktop.
At this stage, if not the previous one, launch Wine from a terminal-app to get any bad messages.
Issue command 'wine winefile' - a wine pseudo windows desktop with directory(s) should appear.
Step through directory structures to locate 'sb8install.exe' (shell\Desktop or shell\media\mounted-filesystem or wherever). Find it double-click it. Answer yes yes yes etc.
After the installer has done its stuff there should be a ScoreBridge icon on your Linux desktop, however continue within winefile and go C:\Program Files\ScoreBridge. Double-Click Bridge7.exe (this is the ScoreBridge program).
The initial launch of the product goes through a setup and registration process. Prudent cancels and X-closes of pop-ups can avoid the registration.
Close the wine-terminal-app and relaunch using the desktop icon.
ScoreBridge setup is completed and a session can be scored. The All Done button should produce a result page and the send to Bridgewebs and the make P2P file menu bits should appear. But any upload to Bridgewebs or the EBU P2P from an unknown club will presumably will be ignored, the HTML version of the scored session is nevertheless saved and accessible.
STEP3A ALTERNATIVE BROADBRUSH COPY INSTALL
After the installer has done its stuff, do not run ScoreBridge yet!!!. Close wine.
On Linux the wine C-disk is a hidden folder .wine in the user's home directory. Files may be edited directly from Linux although its probably sensible not to have wine-scorebridge running at the same time. Go '.wine\drive-c\Program Files' using nautilus or whatever (turn on show hidden files) and rename the Scorebridge folder to wasScorebridge. Replace the ScoreBridge folder with a copy of a mature ScoreBridge folder from XP Program Files. This contains Bridge.ini that points to the BridgeData folder (where it was on XP). Copy over the BridgeData folder from XP (typically C:\Documents and Settings\All users\My Documents\BridgeData). Place BridgeData on the .wine drive-c disk or your Linux home directory (Z:\home\-username-\BridgeData). If folders are copied under root then owner-permissions must be changed back to 'username`. Start wine winefile to make sure that BridgeData is visible to wine. Close winefile. Update the regkey [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings] as described in customization. Click on the desktop Scorebridge icon. ScoreBridge will complain the BridgeData folder is missing. So as long as you haven't forgotten where you put it all should be well and things should look the same: Club name(s), Scorer-name, Uploads to Bridgewebs, P2Pmake, player updates etc, event catalog, etc.
STEP4 CUSTOMISATION
If initial setup is used rather than broadbrush copy it is still possible to load in previously scored events.
The ScoreBridge BridgeData sub-directory/folder contains a Movement folder and a Club folder. The Club folder has a players.txt , ClubSettings.txt and scored event DAT files. The folders can be moved/removed (not renamed otherwise you will spawn extra clubs) and replaced with folders copied from a fellow scorer's (or your own) windows installation. The scored event DAT files need to tie up with movement names and player names so both folders should be copied together. Corrections to scorer name can be done through Club details menu option in scorebridge.
There are several registry keys that relate to ScoreBridge 8.11.01. The data in the key that relates to product support , registration and scorer identity may be absent or incorrect. This data is in [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings]. ScoreBridge on wine is unsupported so it does not seem essential to modify the registry. However if you are going to mod as I did, the best thing is use the regedit program (run regedit) on XP with a mature ScoreBridge to select and export(regedit file menu) just the aforementioned regkey. The key +subkeys and +data values are saved as a regfile. Similarly use wine regedit (should be a sub option of wine in the application launch menu) to export/save the same regkey from the wine registry. Delete the key and then restore it by importing the XP regfile (modified as required) back in to the wine registry. Do not use winefile to locate and dbl-click this regfile. Despite a SUCCESS message box the registry update might not be applied. Use wine regedit and import or dbl-click on C:\windows\regedit.exe and import. If you don't know about registry and regedit forget reading this paragraph.
RELEASE9
Download the R9 install from scorebridge.
Assuming you have already a wine with the vc and vb run-time DLLs then in addition you must install netframework V2 DLLs.
STEP1 BEST to make a wine clone.
Copy the $home/.wine folder to the Desktop, rename it to .wineR9 and place back in the $home folder(before doing the link). In the .wineR9 folder make a symlink for drive_c, move it into subfolder /dosdevices. This contains now 3 symlinks. Remove old link c: and rename the new link to drive_c as c: . In .wineR9/drive_c create an empty folder called wineR9PH (placeholder). This is so you will know where you are.
Open a terminal-app and issue commands
export WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wineR9
wine winefile
The wine pseudo windows folder explorer should appear and in the C: disk you should see the placeholder. Close winefile.
In the terminal, change directories to where winetricks is located.
cd /location_of_winetricks_script
./winetricks #run it
The default wineprefix is still $HOME/.wineR9 unless you have undone it (by using an original wine launch icon or notepad from a right mouse button context menu, which sets the prefix to .wine) in which case re-issue the export again. (NB - To directly reset WINEPREFIX either export WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wine or unset WINEPREFIX .)
In winetricks select DLLs and dotnet20, ok apply. Quite a few fix-me message are generated but netframework should still install. Its because of NFW that a clone is preferred and also the R9 install will break an old R8 (see scorebridge docs) already installed in the clone. Your good R8 is of course still intact in the wineprefix $HOME/.wine , the standard prefix. The R9 install would offer to get netframework if not already installed but use winetricks so this element is completed independently.
STEP2 INSTALL R9.11.52
In the terminal issue command
wine winefile
Using winefile locate the R9 install probably somewhere on your Z: disk as $HOME/Downloads, dbl-click it. Again there may be a deck of scary messages as it installs. Run(dbl-click) the ScoreBridgeR9.exe installed in the C: \Programs\ScoreBridge9 folder and should scorebridge display as a mess, close winefile, issue command wine winecfg and then add gdiplus as a native or native:builtin DLL call under the libraries tab.
On the initial load R9 may prompt for folders if it can't find them as it was with R8. Depending on the any club data found during install, you may end up going through a full configuration. It will want a scorer name and the matching key. The keys are date sensitive. So you may have to cancel configuration and exit scorebridge, change your system date - don't reboot, loop through winefile again to run ScoreBridgeR9.exe. The wineprefix should still be set. You can always check with echo $WINEPREFIX. Go through configuration, close and reset to today's date. Otherwise you have to ask Help@ScoreBridge..etc... for a next day key assuming you are legitimate. YOUR OLD R8 KEY WON'T WORK BY THE WAY!. Your Desktop program launch shortcuts should have a set WINEPREFIX in their command strings. So check that the R9 launch spade-icon in your Desktop has the R9 wineprefix and the R8 launch spade-icon has no prefix or the .wine value.
NB A screen font 0 warning pops up on load, it can be ignored[tick box], functionality is not affected.
The winecfg desktop integration is used to select nicer fonts but don’t make them larger 10pt.
You can replace players.txt and the Movements folder as with R8, but there are some new fields in Bridge.ini, so you can't reuse the R8 file.
STEP2A BROADBRUSH COPY
To clone an XP install follow R8 broadbrush style instructions: Install R9, box the old ScoreBridgeR9 and BridgeData folders, do the winecfg gdiplus, replace the folders, fix-up the registry. If the donating Windows\Program Files\ScoreBridgeR9 folder was from a registered key good R9 installation and the VB registry keys have been imported then registration should not be necessary. The wine registries by design can also be edited as standard text directly from Linux rather than using wine regedit. The user.reg contains the keys of interest.
STEP3 reset the wine clone if required
Making sure the WINEPREFIX is set to .wineR9 the clone can be emptied by running winetricks from a terminal-app and selecting the delete all option. All required DLLs will have to re-installed before a second attempt at R9.
ERROR448
Doing a broadbrush copy but applying the registry fix up by editing rather than export/import through regedit, there was a strangeness. The SB window title displayed the club name as ERROR 448. It was resolved by re-specifying the club name through system preferences.