CrossOver Office from CodeWeavers is a compatibility tool designed to let Linux users run the most popular Windows desktop applications. Version 3.0 has been split into a Professional version for corporate users and a Standard version, which is in effect a consumer edition.

Available since last month, CrossOver Office 3.0 will suit Linux users needing to open or create Word documents and view web content that only displays correctly in Internet Explorer. One of the most useful features in the Professional version is the ability to build a configuration with specific Windows applications installed, and then replicate it and deploy it to other systems using Red Hat Package Manager tools.

The suite now supports more applications, including Lotus Notes 6.5.1, Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft Outlook XP. It also comes with CodeWeavers' browser plug-in tool, CrossOver Plugin. This lets Linux-based browsers use Windows plug-ins, such as those used to view QuickTime content.

We reviewed CrossOver Office 3.0 Professional running under the two most popular distributions of Linux - Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 3 (RHEL 3.0) and Suse Linux Professional 9.0 (Suse 9.0).

CrossOver Office loads quickly and we were able to start installing Windows applications in less than five minutes with Suse 9.0. However, RHEL 3.0 has Red Hat's exec shield feature to prevent malicious buffer overruns, and CrossOver Office 3.0 cannot run properly until this is disabled. The product runs a sub-program to do this on RHEL 3.0, which took about 25 minutes in our tests.

Using CrossOver Office 3.0, we installed Microsoft Office XP and Adobe Photoshop 7.0. Although no desktop icons were created, we could drag Windows icons onto the desktop and create a launcher icon on the system tray with RHEL 3.0.

One drawback is that CrossOver Office does not support the very latest versions of Windows software. For example, it supports Office XP, but not Office 2003. However, we had no difficulties with the applications it does support.

None of the unlisted applications we tried would install correctly, but they were the latest versions. CodeWeavers provides a list of all the compatible applications on its web site - click the second link below.

We experienced some minor bugs when running Office XP under Suse 9.0, and we had a few formatting problems when opening some Word.doc files.

The higher price of the Professional version is due to the higher level of support offered. With the Standard version, users get six months of free "level 3" support and updates. Level 3 support covers installation issues and other minor functionality problems. Professional users get 12 months of level 2 support, with faster response, while customers with more than 100 users on volume licensing get level 1 support, which offers more technical advice.

CrossOver Office is available for download from CodeWeavers' web site.

Price: Professional edition $75 (£40); Standard edition $40 (£22)

Contact: CodeWeavers 001 651 523 9302