I think that the majority of users who are working on an operating system other than Windows for a few years are able to live without the Microsoft system in one way or another. There is no many windows apps that are exclusive to them, and if something is, there are alternatives. But not always, and sometimes we need to use WINE, something based on it or something else, and here we are going to explain what is the best thing we could do in each case.
Before continuing, because I don't like to lie to anyone, I would like to make something clear: run Windows applications on Linux "without problems" and in "all scenarios" I think it is not possible. Neither on Linux, nor macOS nor any other system, such as BSD. There are programs that simply will not open if they are in a virtual machine, and others will work, but with bugs. But let's go there.
Windows applications on Linux with WINE
Just like we explain some days ago, WINE It is a software that allows you to run Windows applications on other operating systems, and many others such as Bottles, PlayOnLinux or CrossOver are based on it. It would be virtually impossible to cover all the possibilities and explain how to install any program with WINE, but most should work with tweaking their installation configuration parameters. In this link you have an example: Photoshop from 2014 did not install by pulling forward with the normal WINE installer; It was done and can still be done with PlayOnLinux and with many changes.
Then there are others, like WhatsApp, that can be installed directly, but video calls do not work. Programs know where and how they are executed, and WhatsApp It detects something that doesn't fit and restricts functions. So that "without problems" would not apply in this case, since we have one: although the application works, the video calls do not.
About video games
Every two weeks, WineHQ lanza a development version of WINE and it mentions hundreds of small changes. If we take a look at the list, it is easy to find something that says that something has been improved in X game, but we repeat the words "without problems" and "in all scenarios": not all games will work; some will be playable and a few will run exactly the same as on Windows, if that's even possible, but most will have, at the very least, minor glitches.
The best way to play Windows titles on Linux is to pray, go to Steam and see if they are there and compatible with our operating system, with or without extra software like Proton. For example, it's been a little less than two years since you've been able to play God of War new on Linux Thanks to this method, so to speak, and I think it is the best way to play Windows titles on Linux simply because it has been prepared for us by specialist projects in the sector. Which also makes us think about Feral Interactive, who is in charge of bringing some Windows games to other platforms (macOS and Linux, above all).
But what we're doing in these cases is actually playing something that they've made native to Linux.
Virtual machines to run Windows applications
A small story or personal case. Like many of you, I used dual-boot or dual-boot for a long time. I used some-buntu and Windows 8.1-10, but I hardly ever touched Windows. I left it for emergencies, or to interact with some devices that only work with Windows applications. For example, to play music on the iPhone that my brother gave to my mother. The thing is that if you dig a little, all of this is possible, and yes, without problems, if you activate support for USB ports in a virtual machine.
I explain all this to make it clear that we do not always need native Windows to do something in Windows. If we have space on the hard drive, and we should if we had dual-boot, we can install a virtual machine with Windows and do a lot. Not everything, but a lot.
Among the options, I would highlight two: GNOME Boxes and VirtualBox, in that order which is the best for me.
GNOME Boxes
As explained in this short tutorial, GNOME Boxes works quite well and does not require installing anything extra to make the screen extend or shrink when we change the size of the window. host. GNOME Boxes is compatible with Windows, and does not ask for special treatment. After installing the operating system, with some other trick If it is Windows 11, it will start and we can activate from the options (the three points) that it accesses the USB, the camcorder and other hardware components.
If the computer has decent hardware we will hardly notice that we are in a virtual machine. If it is not so powerful, maybe VirtualBox is worth it.
VirtualBox
I haven't used VirtualBox in a long time because of "the fault" of GNOME Boxes, but there was a time when my virtual machines lived there. In general and supposedly, better supports the equipment's hardware, so many opt for Oracle's proposal. The bad thing and the reason I abandoned it was that I didn't like the fact that my virtual machines would stop working at the slightest moment. That and having to install extra software to access the USB and have the larger window. Since I often need to analyze something in Linux, GNOME Boxes + Live Session is a winning combo for me.
But, as we have just explained, not only does VirtualBox behave better with the computer's hardware, but it is also a very widespread tool for which we will find a lot of documentation. In addition, it is likely that we will have to work with it in a company or they will ask us to do something in VirtualBox if we are studying, for example, networks.
En this article My colleague Diego explained how to install Ubuntu in VirtualBox, but it is valid for any Linux.
Programs that won't work
Although virtual machines solve many problems When it comes to running Windows applications on Linux, not everything is perfect. There are programs that will detect that they are in a virtual environment and will not work. For example, those that use hardware acceleration. It is not certain, but it is probable. But what works will do it in the best way. Not "without problems", whoever wants 0 of those uses Windows directly. Although I see Windows as a problem.