I hate windows. But I have to use it for work. The worse it gets, the more I want to break free completely, minimise my exposure to this OS. The only part I truly cannot do without I think is Microsoft Excel.

Replacing with Excel 2016 or only using webversion or so is insufficient for sure, for work it needs the SharePoint/auto save etc etc stuff. Also power query getting data from SharePoint online.

Replacing with Libreoffice or so seems completely impossible, there’s too many ‘special’ files in organisation, with .xlsm macro mess, I don’t control all that, I can’t fully steer away from such mess but need full functional access.

Other than Excel, I think I could do all my work from a Linux desktop.

Is it possible by now, reliably working in an up to date excel from a base system Linux? What is the way? Have people done this? How? Do I need to run a virtual machine with win11? How do I do that? Does anyone here have experience with it? I have high degree of control over work devices and boss couldn’t care less, as long as I can get my work done.

Thanks and sorry if this is the wrong community for this question (where would it belong better?)

  • Broken@lemmy.ml
    10·
    3 days ago

    There is no Excel alternative. It sucks, bit its the reality. I run a VM specifically for a couple windows apps and 90% of that is excel.

    I use version 2019 and manipulated the installer to only install excel and none of the other office suite apps.

    You can also do the same in a docker container instead of VM (winboat) if that’s more your jam.

    If you want more info on any of that I’d be glad to give you more details.

      • Broken@lemmy.ml
        3·
        2 days ago

        That’s my point. There are lots of spreadsheet options, but if they don’t meet all the needs then they really aren’t alternatives. Maybe it’s semantics, but I find that definition to not be misleading and keep expectations in line.

        • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
          3·
          2 days ago

          I’m saying that case by case, person by person there are alternatives (software and/or processes). E.g.

          • If you want features A,B,C then use alternative X

          • If you want features C,D,E then use alternative Y

          • If you want features A,D,F then use alternative Z

          But if your team needs A,B,C,D,E & F then we come to your point that there is no alternative.

          I just didn’t want people reading this thread to automatically jump to the “must use excel” conclusion.

          • Broken@lemmy.ml
            2·
            2 days ago

            Gotcha. That’s a fair point. I kind of jumped to the end because the typical response is to “just use libre office” and OP is clearly a power spreadsheet person where that’s not gong to work.

  • JC1@lemmy.ca
    27·
    3 days ago

    To use Excel with macros, I don’t even think the web version will cut it. Your only option is to use something like winboat to use excel inside a windows docker container as far as I know.

    • CarrotsHaveEars@lemmy.ml
      7·
      3 days ago

      But the slowness… I have a stroke every time I press tab after any git command in Git Bash. The piece of shit takes three seconds to respond. In Linux it happens instantaneously.

      • mvirts@lemmy.world
        4·
        3 days ago

        I get paid by the hour! 😅 But for real though it’s a struggle. Mostly I try to use msys2 for everything but. I still have native git. There are some long standing bugs that make the vim excruciatingly slow to open or close, really I should go try to fix it but it doesn’t feel like a fun problem.

    • mrgoosmoos@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      the problem is my patience and frustration

      I want to get my shit done and move on with my day, not sit here waiting on stuff and getting RSI from navigating directories so slowly

  • nyan@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    2 days ago

    Had to look into this recently for similar reasons. My conclusion was that once you have macros involved, you can’t use anything but an actual copy of Excel. I’ll be spinning up a qemu VM with Windows to support Excel and the full version of Visual Studio when I get that far.

  • Luke@lemmy.mlEnglish
    15·
    3 days ago

    You could use something like WinBoat to make installing and using a virtual machine for Windows a lot easier. It also makes Windows apps feel almost like they are native to your Linux desktop, which is nice.

    Alternatively, you could try running Excel in wine using Bottles, but I’m not sure how well that’ll go since Excel is kind of a monster of an application.

  • Squizzy@lemmy.world
    7·
    3 days ago

    Infuriaring isnt it!

    We just moved to m365 and it sucks, excel is less user friendly than sheets and I hate both.

    I get it is needed for its power usage but i detest it. I cannot fathom how a suite of software as bad as m365 is just out there being used.

    Calendar sucks. Outlook sucks. Excel sucks. Word sucks. Powerpoint is fine. Sharepoint is woeful. How many other half apps are connected? Loops, etc.

    Aaaaaaaaaaaaah

      • Squizzy@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        I only use the webapps and they will not accept it, every meeting link opens a “do you wan to download the program” window which requires two aditional clicks to get to my meeting. Their calendar sucks, changing meetings and permissions sucks.

      • world_cavve@lemmy.world
        1·
        3 days ago

        Oh god. So annoying teams is. The user you’re chatting with might use Skype for bla bla. No he ain’t, he’s next to me. With teams app.

        Onedrive force usage… I prefer Dropbox, better ui, better office support than Onedrive. Best of all with Dropbox, shared files are actually reachable by everyone in the team. Sharing through Onedrive, colleague can’t access file even though we set it up as reachable by anyone.

        • Squizzy@lemmy.world
          1·
          2 days ago

          Holy fuck onedrive is ass, drive does a good job of separating yours and shared drives without necessitating a huge bloated framework like sharepoint.

  • obnomus@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    3 days ago

    I tried libreoffice too but you have to change a few settings so it’ll be compatible with ms office but it still isn’t perfect, btw Onlyofficr worked great for me, I hope it works for you too.

  • Ardens@lemmy.ml
    31·
    2 days ago

    So, you are caught by MS… Either accept it, or do what is right.

  • ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world
    31·
    3 days ago

    I think using a VM is a good choice. You get all the compatibility benefits while isolating it from your hardware.

    There is one special program for some special hardware that I need for work, and I just run said program in a Windows VM. Even better, I can run the program without internet. So it’s completely safe!

    • cardfire@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      This is my solution, as well. Let the windows application do its thing, sandboxed effectively. I’m no purist.

  • anticapitalistpenguin@lemmy.world
    1·
    3 days ago

    Option 1) Dual Booting Option 2) Just run Excel with WINE/Proton Option 3) Proton Sheets Option 4) Google Sheets (Also web and libre office as you mention)

  • spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    3 days ago

    I’ve tried various methods to run a couple Windows programs I use occasionally and most reliable method I’ve found (without buying a commercial package like Crossover) is a VM. With a decent multi-core processor and enough memory the only downside I’ve found is it makes my laptop run warm.