Tips for my jobs on Linux transitioning from Windows

Published by nibbler yesterday.

This is a guide for me that shows you how you can transition your favorite apps, games, and archivism tools to Linux. More will be added as time goes on.

Dependencies

Java

• Commands in Terminal:

sudo apt install openjdk-8-jre
y
sudo apt install openjdk-17-jre
y
sudo apt install openjdk-21-jre
y

• These are the recommended versions to pick for general use cases.
• Minecraft uses these versions specifically.

1. Java 8 for anything up to 1.17
2. Java 17 for 1.18 to 1.19
3. Java 21 for 1.20 and onwards

• If you plan on making Minecraft mods (or Java apps), change jre to jdk for the version you need to develop on.

Python3

• Python3 comes prebuilt in with any Linux distro.
• Python refers to Python2, but is outdated, and shouldn't be used in this case.
• To use python tools, use or create a virutual environment, as using them in the system Python may cause unexpected results.
• Commands for ~ in Terminal:

python3 -m venv ./venvpath
/home/<username>/venvpath/bin/pip install <package-name>
/home/<username>/venvpath/bin/<package> --<command> <argument>

Archivism tools

jDownloader2

• Commands for the Downloads folder in Terminal:

cd ./Downloads
wget https://installer.jdownloader.org/JDownloader.jar
chmod +x ./JDownloader.jar
java -jar JDownloader.jar

• Let the installer install jDownloader.
• Tray icon is not supported

General tools

PowerToys

1. Advanced paste
2. Always on top - built-in to Linux; right-click on the titlebar on any window and enable Always on top.
3. Awake - Generally, Linux won't go to sleep if you have a desktop, it'll stay awake with the screen turned off.
4. Color picker - Open-source options are available, I chose GPick: sudo apt-get install gpick.
5. Command not found - if a package is missing, Terminal will tell you how to install it. Of course, there are some drawbacks; a big one is where a package is obsolete and cannot be installed via apt, as it's referred to by another package; they don't tell you which one, so research into what you need to install.
6. Command palette
7. Crop and lock
8. Environment variables - A neat GUI interface exists for Linux called deemkeen/envtool-gui
9. FancyZones - built-in to Linux.
10. File Explorer add-ons - File Explorer is Windows-exclusive, try Total Commander for Linux.
11. File locksmith - built-in to Linux, use fuser: fuser <folder/file>.
12. Hosts file editor - built-in to Linux, use the Firewall app to configure which addresses are blocked and allowed.
13. Image resizer - ImageMagick is your best friend.
14. Keyboard manager - built-in to Linux, allows you to rebind keys.
15. Light switch
16. Mouse utilities - (a) Find my mouse, although it already existed before PowerToys was created (in main.cpl), you can turn it on in Mouse and Touchpad.
17. Mouse without borders
18. New+
19. Peek - built-in to Linux, but also fun fact, it also exists for Directory Opus for Windows.
20. PowerRename - built-in to Linux, just open the default file manager, select multiple files, and press F2; no need for external tools.
21. PowerToys Run - I just use shortcuts.
22. Quick Accent - Gnome-characters works great! I recommend binding a keyboard shortcut to open the emoji panel. Can also be done on Windows without PowerToys by pressing Win+Period.
23. Registry preview - The registry doesn't exist in Linux, all kernal configs are stored in a system directory, and all app configs are in the app's respective directory.
24. Screen ruler - screenruler (in Software Manager) works!
25. Shortcut guide - just shows shortcuts to PowerToys' features
26. Text extractor - I just use Ctrl+Shift+PrintScreen and throw it into Google Lens to get the text.
27. Workspaces - built-in to Linux.
28. ZoomIt - built-in to Linux, just use Desktop Zoom in Accessibility!