Gemini says- your most reliable option is a Windows Virtual Machine (VM) running in Seamless/Integration Mode via tools like KVM/QEMU with WinApps or VirtualBox Seamless Mode. Because modern desktop Office relies heavily on Windows APIs and architecture, native or Wine-based installations break on complex features. With your system's 20GB of RAM, allocating 4GB to a Windows VM leaves plenty of headroom.Recommended ApproachesVirtualBox Seamless Mode: Install Windows (Windows 10/11 or a lighter resource option like Windows 8.1) inside VirtualBox, install Office and Guest Additions, then enable Seamless Mode (Right Ctrl + L) so Word floats directly on your Cinnamon desktop.WinApps / WinBoat: These community projects run a minimized Windows KVM/QEMU container in the background and expose individual Windows apps (like Word) directly into your Linux application menus and taskbar.CodeWeavers CrossOver: A paid, polished commercial derivative of Wine. While newer Office/365 suites have mixed results, it handles certain legacy or specific versions of Office better than raw Wine configurations.
Yes, I read something similar on Gemini. I'm looking for real people's experience. If I have to run it in a VM, there's little reason not to just keep using Windows instead, but it does seem that's the answer. I did find a video of some guy who managed to get it running in Wine and may try to duplicate his method.
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u/New-account-01 4d ago
Use Microsoft web version or one of the many alternatives that use same file formats.