Installing the Deb

Tom_Davies · February 9, 2013, 8:14pm

Hi
I downloaded the .Deb for Ubuntu (and others) twice yday and tried
installing it as per instructions but when i tried running LibreOffice
from the command-line by typing in

libreoffice

I got an error message saying that LibreOffice couldn't run because i was missing a package called something like

libreoffice-common

when i looked through all the packages in the Deb and desktop integration
folders i found there was one! I'm sure it's been there in previous
releases?! However when i double-click on a docX or odt or anything
then LibreOffice 4 does successfully open it.

So, it's a bit weird but doesn't seem to be problem unless i try that odd
way of opening LO in a way that i would never normally have tried unless i wanted to try to collect error reports and stuff (ie never).

Regards from
Tom

planas · February 9, 2013, 9:21pm

Tom

I confirm the CLI libreoffice gives the error missing libreoffice-common run sudo apt-get libreoffice-common.

This was using LO 4.0 (direct download) and Mint 13 Maya. All the features have beens installed including help-pack and SDK

LO 4.0 does run when menu or file is clicked.

What is the CLI entry to run LO 4.0 in Linux I think is the question.

Tom_Davies · February 9, 2013, 10:11pm

Hi
Thanks :) I was wondering if it was just me weirding out on 1 machine. I feel a bit more comfortable rolling it out now then

I suspect there is some sort of list of dependencies somewhere that needs to be edited.
Regards from
Tom

Girvin_R_Herr · February 9, 2013, 10:17pm

Jay Lozier wrote:

<snip>

Tom

I confirm the CLI libreoffice gives the error missing libreoffice-common run sudo apt-get libreoffice-common.

This was using LO 4.0 (direct download) and Mint 13 Maya. All the features have beens installed including help-pack and SDK

LO 4.0 does run when menu or file is clicked.

What is the CLI entry to run LO 4.0 in Linux I think is the question.

Jay,
Have you tried "soffice" or unambiguously: "/opt/libreoffice<version>/program/soffice"?
soffice is a legacy name from the StarOffice days. Some day, it will be changed, but I am not sure 4.x is it yet. I have not installed 4.x yet, so I am not sure of that.
Note that "soffice" is a script which does a lot of setup. It eventually invokes "soffice.bin", which should not be invoked directly from the command line.
Hope this helps.
Girvin Herr

elderdanlewis · February 9, 2013, 10:28pm

Command line to run LO 4.0 (or earlier versions as well) in linux:
/opt/libreoffice4.0/program/soffice. (Note, you could use sbase, scalc, etc. instead of soffice.)
When Ubuntu installs it version of LO, it puts a script that starts LO in Path$. So, if you want to use the command line, add /opt/libreoffice4.0/program to Path$. Then use sbase, scalc, sdraw, simpress, or soffice in the command line. Ubuntu will know what to do with it.
What I do is to add a menu to the top panel. Within it, I have the icons (tools?) that will open the particular version of a program such as LO that I want. You have to edit the Applications menu first creating a new menu. Then add the new menu to the top panel. (There is a little more to do with this though.)
file:///home/dan/Screenshot%20from%202013-02-09%2017:23:50.png

--Dan

planas · February 9, 2013, 11:32pm

I did try soffice but not the full path. soffice did not work and when I tried "/opt/libreoffice4.0/program/soffice it worked.

Girvin_R_Herr · February 10, 2013, 12:14am

Jay Lozier wrote:

Jay Lozier wrote:

<snip>

Tom

I confirm the CLI libreoffice gives the error missing libreoffice-common run sudo apt-get libreoffice-common.

This was using LO 4.0 (direct download) and Mint 13 Maya. All the features have beens installed including help-pack and SDK

LO 4.0 does run when menu or file is clicked.

What is the CLI entry to run LO 4.0 in Linux I think is the question.

Jay,
Have you tried "soffice" or unambiguously: "/opt/libreoffice<version>/program/soffice"?
soffice is a legacy name from the StarOffice days. Some day, it will be changed, but I am not sure 4.x is it yet. I have not installed 4.x yet, so I am not sure of that.
Note that "soffice" is a script which does a lot of setup. It eventually invokes "soffice.bin", which should not be invoked directly from the command line.
Hope this helps.
Girvin Herr

I did try soffice but not the full path. soffice did not work and when I tried "/opt/libreoffice4.0/program/soffice it worked.

Jay,
That means you need to add the "/opt/libreoffice4.0/program" path to your $PATH environment variable. Dan has already mentioned that in this thread. You can try "export PATH=/opt/libreoffice4.0/program:$PATH" to add it until you log out. However, to permanently add it when you log in, you will need to add the statement to your ".bash_profile" script in your home directory. This is, of course, if you are using the bash shell. If you are using another shell, then it will be slightly different.
Another trick I do so I don't have to keep changing these each time I update, is to create a "/opt/bin" directory and then create a symlink in that directory which points to the soffice script. That way all I need to change is what the symlink points to when I install a new LO version, leaving "/opt/bin" unchanged in the $PATH variable. Another advantage to this is that you can have several different symlinks in /opt/bin pointing to different versions of LO or other programs, without changing $PATH.
Girvin

Tom_Davies · February 10, 2013, 1:24am

Hi
I got my taskbar icon / Launcher icon / whatever the word is now, sorted by opening a document and then right-clicking on the icon that appeared in the task-bar-type-thing and chose "Lock to taskbar". Now i just click on that to open a blank Writer document.
Regards from
Tom

krackedpress · February 10, 2013, 2:59pm

Tom
I ram the install on Linux Mint 14 and had no troubles with it.

M_Henri_Day · February 10, 2013, 6:03pm

I have the legacy Version 3.6.0.1 (Build ID: 360m1(Build:101)) om my main
box, running 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 with the Cinnamon environment and, not
surprisingly, entering »soffice« from the command line lauches that version
of LO. I installed version 4.0.0.3 a couple of days ago, and if I instead
perform »/opt/libreoffice4.0/program/soffice« it is that version which will
launch. What I should like to do is to entirely replace the former with the
latter (with which, so far, I am very happy), so that when I run »soffice«
in a terminal or click my LO icons in Cinnamon, it is LibreOffice 4.0.0.3
which launches instead of 3.6.0.1. Any suggestions - with all the gory
details - as to how to best go about this ?...

Henri

Tom_Davies · February 10, 2013, 6:13pm

Hi
my extremely inelegant way would be to uninstall both and then just reinstall the one you do want. There has to be a lot of better ways to do this though!
Regards from
Tom

Don_C_Myers · February 10, 2013, 6:15pm

Tom,

I used the following instructions to upgrade to LibreOffice 4.0.0.3 on three machines with Ubuntu 12.10. It has worked really well so far. No issues installing or using it. The bug that made some functions in Base run unacceptably slow have been fixed!!!!!!!

*Instructions for the 64 Bit Debian Version:*
Download LibreOffice_4.0.0.3 to the desktop.
Right click on it and extract it to the desktop. This will give you the folder LibreOffice_4.0.0.3_Linux_x86-64_deb
Run the following terminal commands to install it:
1. sudo apt-get remove libreoffice*.*
2. sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/LibreOffice_4.0.0.3_Linux_x86-64_deb/DEBS/*.deb
3. sudo dpkg -i ~/Desktop/LibreOffice_4.0.0.3_Linux_x86-64_deb/DEBS/desktop-integration/libreoffice4.0-debian-menus_4.0.0-103_all.deb
4. If using Unity, Open Dash, type Libre and you will see the different components (Writer, Calc, etc.). Simply drag the icons for them over to where you wish to have them in the launcher bar.

If you install it in this manner using the official Document Foundation version, and you type libreoffice in the command line, I get the following:

The program 'libreoffice' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-common

An install as shown above does not have any repository from which it originated. Therefore there aren't any updates, which I understand. If it showed up as an installed program, Ubuntu would try to update the LibreOffice with its own version which would lead to a royal mess!!!!!! I did not get a message saying there is a missing package like you did.

Don

sun_shine · February 10, 2013, 6:30pm

Henri/ Tom

This is probably the best way for future reference.

Run synaptic and select for complete removal all instances of the LibreOffice-3.6.0.1, including Uno, apply changes. You should then be able to run LibO 4 from either a menu, the terminal or from a customised launcher on the panel.

In terms of simplicity, FWIW, I have always used the option of adding an application launcher to my panel, and selecting the application I want installed.

HtH

Don_C_Myers · February 10, 2013, 6:56pm

Hi Tom,

This method should uninstall all LibreOffice versions at one time. I've seen one person recommend using a purge command also to make sure all LibreOffice elements are removed. This method really works very well. Just paste three commands in a terminal and you have a complete new version. The install process this way is fast. I think significantly faster than if you were installing an upgrade in Windows. The only downside to this method is if you wanted multiple versions installed at one time.

Don

M_Henri_Day · February 10, 2013, 7:41pm

<...>

After posting above, I remembered that I'd actually done this sort of thing
before, but with a twist, i e, creating icons for and links to the new
version while retaining the earlier one. In the Cinnamon menu I clicked on
Main Menu and then «Add new object» and filled in the necessary information
and commands, i e, /opt/libre4.0/program/swriter for Writer. The customary
LibreOffice icons were found under, e g,
/user/share/icons/gnome/48x48/apps. I now can access LibreOffice 4.0
functions with a simple click on my Cinnamon top panel, just the way I like
it. Thanks to all who replied with suggestions !...

Henri

Edwin_Powell1 · February 11, 2013, 12:02am

I installed it with no problems using the procedure outlined at: http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.com/2013/02/ubuntu-precise-install-libreoffice-400.html.

I'm really liking 4.0 so far...

Don_C_Myers · February 11, 2013, 2:18am

Hi Henri,

I'm glad you have everything working well, and in the manner which you like!!!!!

Don

krackedpress · February 11, 2013, 3:27am

I do not like all that typing.

What I do is use the default file manager and double click the archived file and unarchive it. Then I take the folder that is created and rename it to Lib or LibO. That way you do not need to type all of the characters of the folder's name. I also do not use the desktop as the "storage" place fore the unarchived folder[s].

I keep forgetting the "remove" command so I use the package manager to remove the LO packages from the previous version that was installed. Works well for me.

Also, I tend to use the "cd" command to go to the proper folder[s] where the "dpkg" command is needed. Long ago, in my mainframe days, I was taught to go to the folder[s] where my files are to run them. That is what I try to do. The only time I do not is when I have a launcher icon to work with on my desktop. I prefer to use the GUI more than the terminal anyways. Easier on my fingers and my typing skills after 3 strokes. So I do things as easy as I can, or easy as I can remember to do/use.

marcpare · February 11, 2013, 4:53pm

Wow, I can't imagine that it is that difficult to install LibreOffice on .deb or, for that matter, on any other package (.rpm) on Linux.

I am like Tim with his suggestions below. I am on Mageia Linux rpm. Except I just don't like typing anything for installs in anything, especially in console, except for passwords.

So, here is how I do my LibreOffice installs (in 4 steps), and, I am pretty sure this is possible on a .deb install and on the majority of Linux distros. Here is my KDE routine (I am pretty sure that the Gnome routine would be the same and on most Linux window managers):

Tom_Davies · February 11, 2013, 5:06pm

Hi
You don't need to do all that typing anyway. Just press the tab key a few times and the terminal cleverly works out what you are aiming for. It takes a bit of working out how it works at first but it's a real boon once you get used to it. Renaming is not a bad idea though as it clarifies exactly what is what.

I thnk it inspired those old mobile phones that had "predictive texting" waaaay before smart-phones arrived. Hmmm, thinking about it i wonder what OS they were running! ;) Unfortunately the phones version of predictive text was quite a bit different and a bit of a pita for a lot of people. Dunno how often my phone called my best buddy a cow!

This has beena great thread! Thanks all :) It's given me a lot to try out.
Regards from
Tom