ArtRage 3 and Linux

[foxytocin]

Hi! I've been wrestling and wrestling with this and have hit a point of desperation. I sure could use some help if anyone has some advice to offer....
The facts:
1. ArtRage Pro loads beautifully for me......looks great, cursor moves around....but I can't select anything with either the mouse or my tablet pen.
2. From reading here, I was able to find my .msi file and stick it in the ArtRage Pro folder....that just about taxed my ability to navigate in the land of Linux....I'm new to this style of computing and haven't learned enough to be comfortable yet.
3. Artrage 2.5 works great on my linux with my current setup.
4. I'm not running the beta version of Wine....tried to grab it, followed instructions, ended up with an error message......tried to follow instructions for the error message but the command didn't work in the command line as I had typed it.....like I said, I'm a newbie....but I have to wonder if my problem isn't a wine issue because the program loads so well....
Here are some pictures to illustrate my situation:

[azathothgr]

Try moving the artrage window a bit. Sometimes, it gets kind of stuck after launch, and moving it forces it to redraw and behave normally again. You can use Alt+Left click for moving the window (or whatever key you have set up for moving windows, default is alt). That way you can click anywhere, not just the title bar.
Also, sometimes an artrage popup window or toolbar won't show until the mouse is over a button or something. If that's the case try moving the mouse around, or hitting enter. There might be an invisible dialog in front of the main window, waiting for a click.
I think both these problems are related to compiz, though I haven't tested it. Trivial as they are, you could try disabling desktop effects if they annoy you, and see if there's any change. You can do so from System/Appearance if you're using ubuntu.

As for wine, I think the problem is a bug with new wine packages. They install fine but show an error message at the end.. It is unrelated to this forum, though, try asking (or searching) at ubuntuforums (or the appropriate forums of the distribution you're using) with a detailed description of what you're doing.

[foxytocin]

Thank you so much for you help! I tried your recommendations and sure enough, there is a hidden window/message that popped up when I hit enter. The message reads: Artrage was unable to construct a valid serial number from your input. Please re-enter your serial number.
And then I'm supposed to hit "OK." Which, when I do, takes me straight back to the unuseable section. I tried to run several repairs with the msi installer, but it was a no-go...the installer recognizes the exe file but then goes nowhere with it. Tried re-installing as well but am where I left off. Tricky. I'm not sure where you're supposed to enter the serial number to fix the problem.....obviously can't input it into the program because the program is not responding correctly. Wonder if I should ask the Rage brothers? I hate to bother them with Linux questions, though. I do, of course, have a vaild serial number.

[azathothgr]

Seems like the window where you're supposed to enter your serial is hidden, and when you press enter, it pops up that warning.
Try moving your mouse until it goes over a hidden ok or cancel button. When this happens, the little button animation that happens on mouse over will force the window to show.
The serial window is about as big as a quarter of the screen, maybe a bit less, and centered. That should help in visualizing where the button should be.

[kenmo]

Neat... I'm running Mandriva 2009 on one of my computers and was thinking of upgrading to Mandriva 2010...but may have to opt for Ubuntu 9.10... Love the Gnome desktop so I avoid distros that use KDE 4....

[foxytocin]

Hurrah! I've got my tools! All dialogue boxes are indeed invisible, but I was able to find the needed one and paste my activation code into it. And now I can paint. The invisible boxes....this is a Wine issue, is it not?
Azathothgr, thank you so much for the help today......

[azathothgr]

I'm not sure.. It could be a wine issue, especially since that kind of windows are so incomplete in wine. Or it could be related to compositing... I can't even conclusively figure out what triggers it.

The easiest workaround other than hunting with the mouse cursor is to just toggle the affected toolbar on and off with its keyboard shortcut, and generally avoid minimizing or hiding all the toolbars.

[foxytocin]

Finally got the new beta wine to load and voila! I've got the dialogues now.....black forders and all! I'm happy as can be, so thanks again!

[Mouse]

Could someone post complete instructions to get Artrage3 to run under Ubuntu 9.10 in one post? I'd sure like to try it.

[kenmo]

I suppose if you have a legal Windows XP license you could install VirtualBox onto your Linux computer and run a virtual session of ArtRage/Win XP....