Installing 4.1 on OpenSuse

users
#1

Hi all,

I make my first steps in using Linux and have got a OpenSuse 12.3 on my old Notebook. Now I try to install LO4.1. I have download the archive, unpacked it and followed the instructions in its readme. I can get the single modules from the application launcher, but there remain two problems.
(1)
The instruction mention a directory "desktop-integration" to be in the folder RPMS, but there is no such directory.
(2)
I want to get an icon on the desktop, which launches the start center, not a specific module. How do I get that?

Kind regards
Regina

#2

Hi :smiley:
Wow!! :)  You are kidding right?  We get a chance to help you for once rather than the other way around??

1.  The instructions are out-of-date but only by 1 version number.  Desktop integration got pulled into the main thing so you have already done that part. :slight_smile:

2.  For this one we kinda need to know which Desktop Environment you chose for your openSuSE.  On their downloads page they give 2 within 1 click, Gnome and KDE; 
http://software.opensuse.org/123/en
but many others are within easy reach (allegedly)
Blackbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, LXDE, Openbox, WMaker, Xfce
some of which might be better on a lower spec or older machine so it's possible you went for one of those.  If you copy&paste the name of the download then we might be able to tell from that.  If you didn't get advice about which might be best then this list might have led you to get the Gnome one, which is excellent.  KDE used to have a reputation for being heavy and slow but i think it's reversed that in recent years.

Whichever one you have it is quite likely that all you need do is find LibreOffice in the menus, right-click and choose "Add to panel" or "Add to desktop".  Adding to panel means getting a link somewhere on your taskbar so it's much the same as the "Quick Launcher" in Xp, Win2k, ME, Win98 or like the "pinned to taskbar" in Win7.  So it's not quite the same but does put it in easy reach all the time.

Btw you can find the official openSuSE forums and stuff at
http://forums.opensuse.org/forum.php

i got that link from DistroWatch
http://distrowatch.com/suse
which lists the help forums, download sites and shed-loads more about each different distro.  There's very few it doesn't cover.  openSuSE is now 6th in their listings.

Also a more general forum (that covers many different distros so sometimes the answers need a bit of minor interpreting (which we could do if you gave us their answers))
http://www.linuxquestions.org

Welcome in btw!!  Congrats on getting this far! 
Many regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#3

Hi all,

I make my first steps in using Linux and have got a OpenSuse 12.3 on my
old Notebook. Now I try to install LO4.1. I have download the archive,
unpacked it and followed the instructions in its readme.

Hello Regina,
I appreciate your efforts to shift to Free Software. However in the
Linux world unlike in Windows most users use Repositories to install,
manage and update applications. There are many advantages of using repos:
1- The repo itself tracks latest version of applications and so you can
always be updated without the need to download and update your
applications one by one.
2- All packages in a repo are consistent with each other. As you may
know many packages depend on others (i.e. libraries); When you manually
install a software which is not in repo, it may need some libraries
which are not present and so the software may not work properly or it
leads to upgrade of those libraries which may break some other
applications (in case the library upgrade is not backward compatible
e.g. gnome 3.8).
3- You can download and install a .rpm (for fedora and suse) or .deb
(for ubuntu and debian) file of a software. In this case all
dependencies will be checked and only if no incompatibility exists it
allows installation. This method is safer but it lacks automatic upgrade
feature.
4- Mostly professional users and usually for specific purposes manually
download archive (.tar.gz) of a software from its website and then
follow the inner instructions to install it. There is a convention to
install manually installed software to /opt (abbreviation for optional)
to differentiate them from software installed from repos. Not only you
can not automatically update software installed with this method, but
also the software may not work properly due to inconsistencies.
5- Windows applications usually solve the inconsistency problem by
installing most of their needed libraries again. This solution usually
ends to applications which occupy huge size on the disk, which is mostly
redundant.

Therefore I recommend you to install your desired application (e.g.
libreoffice) from OpenSuse repository directly. It seems that the latest
version of LO in OpenSuse 12.3 official repo is 3.6.3. So if you want to
install the latest version of LO, you can use 3rd party repos specific
to OpenSuse. I could find two 3rd party repos for LO for OpenSuse 12.3:
1. Repo named LO Stable with version 4.0.3 with URL
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/LibreOffice:/Stable/openSUSE_12.3/
2. Repo named LO Unstable with version 4.1.0 with URL
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/LibreOffice:/Unstable/openSUSE_12.3/

These repos must update automatically when newer version of LO come out
and so you can update your installed LO in the future only with some
clicks, no more efforts.

For instructions on how to add a repository see:
http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Add_package_repositories

For the list of all official, semi-official and 3rd party repos see:
http://en.opensuse.org/Package_repositories
http://en.opensuse.org/Additional_package_repositories#LibreOffice_STABLE

I can get the single modules from the application launcher, but there

remain two

#4

Hi all,

I make my first steps in using Linux and have got a OpenSuse 12.3 on my
old Notebook. Now I try to install LO4.1. I have download the archive,
unpacked it and followed the instructions in its readme.

Hello Regina,
I appreciate your efforts to shift to Free Software. However in the
Linux world unlike in Windows most users use Repositories to install,
manage and update applications. There are many advantages of using repos:
1- The repo itself tracks latest version of applications and so you can
always be updated without the need to download and update your
applications one by one.
2- All packages in a repo are consistent with each other. As you may
know many packages depend on others (i.e. libraries); When you manually
install a software which is not in repo, it may need some libraries
which are not present and so the software may not work properly or it
leads to upgrade of those libraries which may break some other
applications (in case the library upgrade is not backward compatible
e.g. gnome 3.8).
3- You can download and install a .rpm (for fedora and suse) or .deb
(for ubuntu and debian) file of a software. In this case all
dependencies will be checked and only if no incompatibility exists it
allows installation. This method is safer but it lacks automatic upgrade
feature.
4- Mostly professional users and usually for specific purposes manually
download archive (.tar.gz) of a software from its website and then
follow the inner instructions to install it. There is a convention to
install manually installed software to /opt (abbreviation for optional)
to differentiate them from software installed from repos. Not only you
can not automatically update software installed with this method, but
also the software may not work properly due to inconsistencies.
5- Windows applications usually solve the inconsistency problem by
installing most of their needed libraries again. This solution usually
ends to applications which occupy huge size on the disk, which is mostly
redundant.

Therefore I recommend you to install your desired application (e.g.
libreoffice) from OpenSuse repository directly. It seems that the latest
version of LO in OpenSuse 12.3 official repo is 3.6.3. So if you want to
install the latest version of LO, you can use 3rd party repos specific
to OpenSuse. I could find two 3rd party repos for LO for OpenSuse 12.3:
1. Repo named LO Stable with version 4.0.3 with URL
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/LibreOffice:/Stable/openSUSE_12.3/
2. Repo named LO Unstable with version 4.1.0 with URL
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/LibreOffice:/Unstable/openSUSE_12.3/

These repos must update automatically when newer version of LO come out
and so you can update your installed LO in the future only with some
clicks, no more efforts.

For instructions on how to add a repository see:
http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Add_package_repositories

For the list of all official, semi-official and 3rd party repos see:
http://en.opensuse.org/Package_repositories
http://en.opensuse.org/Additional_package_repositories#LibreOffice_STABLE

I can get the single modules from the application launcher, but there

remain two

#5

Hi :) 
This is all true but LibreOffice and Evolution are exceptions because most repos have such older versions that most people want to upgrade.

LO has some tweaks for different DEs (that's what the desktop integration is about (i think)) and so mostly it's preferable to have the more advanced features rather than just a slightly nicer looking one.  LO looks quite nice enough from the site as it is.  Also i don't think there is a problem with dependency issues.  Mostly the package managers take care of all that although some distros make that quite tough (not looking at anyone in particular Girvin (Slackware right?)).  I think you state that in point 3 so i am just agreeing there.  There is not much danger of the problems in 4 although it's theoretically possible.

So i think you raise over-complicated points that are not really relevant.  Since most of the rest of us also do that quite often you are in the right place :)  Welcome in too! :smiley:
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#6

Hi all,

I make my first steps in using Linux and have got a OpenSuse 12.3 on my
old Notebook. Now I try to install LO4.1. I have download the archive,
unpacked it and followed the instructions in its readme. I can get the
single modules from the application launcher, but there remain two problems.
(1)
The instruction mention a directory "desktop-integration" to be in the
folder RPMS, but there is no such directory.

Hi Regina,
When you are in the RPM directory, after installing the main LO programs, do
this:

"cd ./desktop-integration" and then 'rpm -Uvh *suse*.rpm". That should take
care of #1.

(2)
I want to get an icon on the desktop, which launches the start center,
not a specific module. How do I get that?

Kind regards
Regina

Not sure about what you mean by the "start center". In the lower left corner
of the screen (if you're using KDE) is a startup icon. You can start any
installed program from there. LO will be under "Office > Word Processors". OR
you can do like many of use and either put the icon on the desktop or in the
bottom panel.

Tom

#7

Hello Davies,

In the case of LO you're right and manual install will not cause any issue.
But as a typical user of Linux I prefer installing applications from the
default or 3rd party repo. Because this way is easier and mainly because
of AUTOMATIC UPDATE capability.
But many members of this list (like you and Regina) are more than just
typical users of Linux and are somehow professional LO users. Therefor
in this case you're right and manual install can be a good option too.
Anyway it's up to you.

Best,
   Sina

#8

Hi :slight_smile:
+1
to normally installing from repos and the rest of your advice was & is all good too. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#9

Hi Regina,

welcome to the wonderful world of linux. Feel free to ask questions as there is a learning curve :slight_smile:

I am not familiar with Suse but most linux flavours have a few consistencies. Not strictly answering your question but my thoughts:

1. With linux you are likely to have a number of workspaces and you can
    navigate left to right by using CTRL-ALT-Right Arrow or Left Arrow
2. I normally dedicate a workspace to LO (in my case workspace 4)
3. When I go to the desktop menu I can select the "Office" TAB and
    select (eg.) LibreOffice Writer which opens a blank document
4. F4 to close this document
5. the LO start center should appear on your desktop
6. I just leave the start center in that workspace whenever I need to
    use it

Now a couple of qualifiers:

I guess you are using KDE and I am not familiar with how you access the menu in step 3 (according to the doco there should be an "office" icon at the top of the screen - I am guessing you are not seeing that)
Normally the "office" tab will have a libreoffice option which removes the need to open up a blank doc. A well intentioned update to 4.1 is causing a bit of strife in this regard.

Hope this helps

Tim

#10

Hi :slight_smile:
i knew someone would have a good answer for 2.  1 only changed in the latest release, i think, and i only heard about that on this list otherwise i'm not sure any of us would have known.  Well, a couple of people obviously.  Good to see another person with an excellent name had the answer for 2
Regards from
Tom too :slight_smile:

#11

Hi :) 
Ahhh, Ubuntu keeps finding new ways of hiding the workspaces.  The
Ctrl Alt arrows
is good to know!  Thanks :)  I tend to use each one for a different purpose so i use
1.  for web-browsing and emailing
2.  for image editing, tracking where logos are in logos or posters folders, trying to get them to the right places
3.  for web-design, html editing
4.  for sys admin stuff, ssh'ing, long downloads/uploads
On a fairly confusing day i might have stuff going on in 3 and on a really "bad hair day" all 4, but i try to avoid that.  It's more useful when i can see the workspace switcher.  That way i can see tiny miniatures of windows open in which of the spaces.  So, when i completely forget what i am doing it's kinda easy to check what type of day it's been so far.

Even though the taskbar/launcher/panel only shows what is going on in the current workspace if i am in workspace 3 and click on the firefox icon then it whizzes me around so i'm in 1.  Hmm, bad example because if i've got firefox open in 2 or more workspaces then clicking on it goes nowhere.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#12

Hi Regina

You've received some very good advice here, I'll just add my little bit. If you are using KDE with openSuSE, then you can also use a feature of KDE built in, called "Desktop Folders", similiar to Stardock's "Fences", and dare I say it here, Windows 8's new Metro/Modern desktop (Hmmm! a little humorous dig at MS, wonder where they got their Win8 layout from!!!!!). Basically it is where one can group similiar apps / workspace icons and so forth, so for instance you can group all of the LO icons in one fence, utilities in another fence and so on and so forth. But unlike a traditional folder on a desktop, these display their contents, sort of in an expanded folder, making the icons visible, but keeping order. And this is available with KDE on any distro, whether native to that distro or as an add-on such as Debian based distro's.

A quick history lesson on the two most common front end / GUI shells offered in Linux distro's, KDE (K Desktop Environment) and GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment as it was initially known as). KDE very popular due to similarity in layout and function to MS Windows, and GNOME popular with Apple O/S type users for function and layout. There are of course many other desktops as well.

Very useful, hope you find it's of use to you. As Tom iterated in another post, nice to offer you back something for all your help with LO to us.

Regards

Andrew Brown

#13

Hi all,

thank you all for your assistance. I've learned a lot about work-flow under Linux and find it rather different from what I'm used to do under Windows.

I need Linux mainly for testing ODF interoperability problems. Such is possible now. If I get further problems, I know you will help me :slight_smile:

Kind regards
Regina

Andrew Brown schrieb:

#14

Hi :slight_smile:
Just don't play Wesnoth or Glest (or Neverball) as you will find time vanishes if you do.

Welcome in! :slight_smile:
Regards from 
Tom :slight_smile:

#15

This is generally not true for openSUSE.

There are repositories for the very latest GNOME [3.8.x], that includes
the latest and greatest Evolution and other related GNOME apps. And the
newer ones are *notably* better. Quality has improved amazingly in
recent versions.

GNOME 3.8
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/GNOME:/STABLE:/3.8/openSUSE_12.3

To add a repo is just "zypper ar {URL} {NAME}". Then you can "zypper
dup --from {NAME}" to move to the packages offered by that repo.

For LibreOffice there is an unstable repo

zypper ar
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/LibreOffice:/Unstable/openSUSE_12.3/ LibreOffice-Unstable
zypper dup --from LibreOffice-Unstable

This provides LibreOffice 4.1