AutoCAD

(As of 8/19/22)

You can install both Wine and WineTricks from the standard Mint repository. This installs Wine v5.03 and creates a start menu category for Wine but the WineTricks shortcut link ends up under Accessories. So you may want to move that over to the Wine category. To do this, right-click the start menu button, select Configure, then Menu, then press the "Open the Menu Editor" button.

You can get AutoCad R14 to work well with v5.03 though it may take some extra effort as documented in the HowTo above (not sure). But since v7.0 is the most current stable release as of this writing, these notes assume v7.0.

It turns out that AutoCad R14 installs very easily and runs well under Wine 7.0. BUT there are a few essential steps you must follow! See the AutoCad R14 installation notes below.

To Install Wine 7.0
-------------------

On Linux Mint 20.3, to install Wine v7.0 will require you to install via the command line because even though v7.0 may appear in the Mint Software Manager, Winetricks from the repository is dependent on v5.03 and so as soon as you install WineTricks, the current preferred version reverts back to 5.03. Installing 7.0 via the command line allows it to become the preferred version without disturbing WineTricks.

To install v7.0 via the command line:

1) Add the Winehq repository:

sudo wget -nc -P /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/focal/winehq-focal.sources

2) Update the package cache:

sudo apt update

3) Install the stable version:

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable

You can check the current version of wine with this command:

wine --version

It should now report version 7.0

When using WineTricks, whenever you see the warning about using a 64 bit Wine prefix, you can just click on Ok to close it.

Note however that AutoCad R14 itself is a 32 bit application, so there is no big advantage in trying to run in a 64 bit environment -- other than it is convenient to have all of your Windows apps installed in the default wine prefix, and you may want that to be 64 bit for some other apps. Fortunately AutoCad R14 will run just fine as a 32 bit app in a 64 bit Wine prefix.

To create a new Wine prefix with WineTricks:
To Install AutoCad 14
---------------------

Before you install from a CD installation disk image, make sure you have available the serial number, CD key and authorization code for your AutoCad installation CD image. You may find these saved in a text file at the top of your installation CD image.

You can install AutoCad R14 in the default prefix or use WineTricks to create a separate prefix just for AutoCad. You can also (as of Wine 7.0 anyway) install it in a 32 or 64 bit prefix (confirmed) and should be able to run it under any Windows version emulation, including Win 10. The default as of this writing is Win 7 and so all steps below assume that.

The key fix can be seen in online posts in AutoDesk and Wine forums from users trying to get R14 to run on Vista and then later versions of Windows. The problem comes from the Smart Heap library SH31W32.DLL (80kb file size, 1997 date). The one packaged with the AutoCad R14 installation disk does not support recursive allocations and apparently even when Wine emulates 32 bit systems some parts of the Windows emulation still need the newer version of SH31W32.DLL (112.7k file size, at least 21 Oct 2003 date or later).

To install AutoCad R14 from an installation CD image under Wine 7.0, follow these steps:

1) Run the Setup.exe install program found on the installation disk, entering your CD key and serial number info when prompted.

2) BEFORE you run AutoCad for the first time, navigate to the AutoCad R14 program directory and replace the original SH31W32.DLL with the newer version. In a default 64 bit Wine prefix this directory will be located in C:\Windows\Program Files (X86)\. In a 32 bit prefix it will be in C:\Windows\Program Files\

If you do run AutoCad before replacing SH31W32.DLL, it will often crash or give you BAD MEM POINTER errors. It also seems to corrupt the installation in subtle ways that can make things still behave badly even after you replace SH31W32.DLL.

3) After SH31W32.DLL is replaced, now you can safely run acad.exe. It should not crash and you should be able to print. On first run it will prompt you to enter the authorization key. Without this the program will lock up after 30 days. Once you have entered the correct authorization code you will not see the prompt again.

If you don't have the installation disk but you do have a working installed image on an existing machine, you should be able to get a working system under Wine anyway:

1) Copy over the entire AutoCad 14 program directory to the appropriate Program Files directory in a Wine prefix.

2) Two required files get placed in Windows\System32 during installation; these are HEIDI3.DLL and GDIFONT3.HDI. So make sure you also transfer them to the new installation's System32 directory.

That should be all you need to do to get AutoCad R14 running under Wine 7.0!