FreeOffice_Textmaker2018 for Tahr32 (english only)

[greengeek]

I needed a good word processor and got frustrated with Abiword not performing well so here is a pet for Textmaker (english only) stripped from Softmaker Freeoffice 2018.
(EDIT : Although it is called Freeoffice 2018 they offer annual updates and the packages below are based on the latest F982.0109 version available from the Softmaker website at the time of posting in october 2021)

I use it in Tahr32 but it's probably good to go in other pups too.

EDIT : I initially believed there was no need for user registration with the latest version of Freeoffice but after seeing keniv's comments it appears that it may be necessary to obtain a free product key from Softmaker at some point. (The attached splash from the Freeoffice webpage led me to believe there were no restrictions anymore...)
(In my case I do not use a savefile so the Softmaker config directories are not saved so I have not seen any product key request pop up).

For further information check out the whole Freeoffice suite (which is all free) from the following website:
https://www.freeoffice.com/en/

I have made 3 versions of the Textmaker (english only) depending on your sizing needs and preferences:
Each version is available in either pet or sfs

1) A "fullfonts" normal sized Textmaker which includes all of the fonts that come with the Freeoffice suite.
2) A "basicfonts" version with a reduced font set to make the package smaller (This is the one I mostly use).
3) A "supermicro" version which only contains one font - which is necessary for the interface to be readable.

All of these versions are able to see other fonts that you already have in your system

I have also made a package of the fonts that I removed so that they can be easily added in if you find you want them later.

Download links:

1) Textmaker (fullfonts) with all fonts:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/yuuk0yzg ... gg-0.3.pet (24MB)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/8ul0r426 ... gg-0.3.sfs (20MB)

2) Textmaker (basicfonts) with basic fonts: (It has a range of serif & non-serif fonts and is a good starting point to try)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/c50m7fwf ... gg-0.3.pet (20MB)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/t1yllmn9 ... gg-0.3.sfs (17MB)

3) Textmaker (supermicro) with only one font (for maintaining UI readability but lowest overall footprint):

https://www.mediafire.com/file/jik07iel ... gg-0.3.pet (17MB)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/c5676nm8 ... gg-0.3.sfs (16MB)

.
- Fonts package (if desired but not necessary. Never needed for item 1 above):

https://www.mediafire.com/file/3vrhha7x ... gg-0.3.pet (7MB)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/b1q742ky ... gg-0.3.sfs (5MB)

NOTE: I have not included mime type handling script so please run the program and use "file, open" to view your file rather than just clicking the file (which would probably open in Abiword at the moment). I hope to include the mime scripts at a later date when i understand them better.

Splash.png (41.11 KiB) Viewed 6198 times

Changelog:

v0.3 Shrank "supermicro" version even more
v0.2 Corrected errors in .desktop file.
v0.1 First release (contained minor error in .desktop file)

[greengeek]

My apologies to those who downloaded v0.1 - I had included a couple of minor errors in the .desktop file.
(The program still worked but did not always display the menu icon and also brought up an error looking for %F tmdx at startup)

Now corrected in v0.2

I hope to add proper handling of the original Freeoffice installation mime later when I understand it better.

[mikewalsh]

@greengeek :-

Ian, take a look at the TextMaker SFS I put together a year or two back. I don't know if you found the same discussion thread on the (old?) forum, where Mikeb was talking about splitting FreeOffice into its component 'modules', but I had a go at TextMaker. Worked out rather well, TBH.

At the time there was a steady trickle of complaints about Abiword from many in the community. FreeOffice is my sole foray into the 'Office' side of things; it's the only one I've packaged over the last few years. I put the TextMaker 'standalone' together for the simple reason that most folks only tend to use the WP part of ANY suite...

I can't remember if I sorted out the 'mime' stuff or not.

TextMaker 'standalone'

Up to you.

Mike.

[rockedge]

@mikewalsh I use your TextMaker 'standalone' almost everyday. Awesome to be able to use such a powerful program without the entire FreeOffice or Softmaker packages. I also have used it in different WeeDog creations.

[mikewalsh]

@mikewalsh I use your TextMaker 'standalone' almost everyday. Awesome to be able to use such a powerful program without the entire FreeOffice or Softmaker packages. I also have used it in different WeeDog creations.

We aim to please, mate.... Long as folks find the stuff I produce useful, I know I'm not wasting my time.....and I don't put anything up for sharing that I don't use myself!

Mike.

[greengeek]

take a look at the TextMaker SFS I put together a year or two back. I don't know if you found the same discussion thread on the (old?) forum, where Mikeb was talking about splitting FreeOffice into its component 'modules', but I had a go at TextMaker. Worked out rather well, TBH.

Thanks for the link - no I had not seen your version - I made my minimal version straight from the Freeoffice website deb so it is the latest F982.0109 version.

I also needed it to be a stripped version to get the size down so I can remaster it directly into a pup.

I see you have a locales sfs too so that's a good idea.

I keep the Presentations and Planmaker modules as separate pets too so I can easily load either of them if needed but don't use them much.

[keniv]

Both versions of this seem to require a product key for which you have to provide an email address. An "explaination" of how this information is to be used is shown in the attached image. Can anybody and in particular those that already using either version of this let me know if there are any issues, particularly in terms of security, in doing this.

Regards,

Ken.

[6502coder]

I have gone through this registration process several times over the years, on both Windows and Linux, and it has never been an issue for me. I think one or two of those installations was via a PET, but most of the time I used the installers downloaded directly from Softmaker.

[greengeek]

Both versions of this seem to require a product key for which you have to provide an email address. An "explaination" of how this information is to be used is shown in the attached image. Can anybody and in particular those that already using either version of this let me know if there are any issues, particularly in terms of security, in doing this.

Regards,

Ken.

Hi Ken, when did this screen pop up? I have not seen it with Freeoffice - it is supposed to not require any registration at all.

I will suspend downloads till I understand why you are seeing this.

[keniv]

I have gone through this registration process several times over the years, on both Windows and Linux, and it has never been an issue for me.

Thanks, that's useful to know.
@greengeek

Hi Ken, when did this screen pop up? I have not seen it with Freeoffice - it is supposed to not require any registration at all.

I downloaded SM-Textmaker32_Free2818_engMinimal_gg-0.2.sfs and placed it on sda1 where I also have a copy of Dpup Stretch. I used Munu>setup>SFS Load on the fly to load it. At this point a pop-up box appears giving the option to "run" it which I did. At this point I get the box in the image I have attached. If I click on "Get your free product key now" I get the box the image of which I included in my previous post. I get exactly the same if I try and launch from Menu>Document>FreeOffice 2018 TextMaker. It also happens with @mikewalsh's version of TextMaker 'standalone' Hope this helps.

Regards,

Ken.

[mikewalsh]

@keniv :-

I'll agree with 6502coder here; it really is nothing to worry about. As mikeslr points out, about all they use your email for is to send you occasional reminders about product upgrades, and sometimes to offer free 'font packs', etc. They don't bombard you with crap, like some I could mention....I will give them that.

I think you'll find that if you've ever used their products in the past, they've got a record of previous email 'key requests' and the like. That's why some of us don't get the product key request box come up.

It's not a problem, mate; you can rest assured of that.

Mike.

[keniv]

@mikewalsh
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the information above. I can't remember if I've tried to use it before. If I have I don't remember having to get a product key. I see you have a 64 bit portable version in another thread. You know how much I like the portables. If I get a product key I'll give it a try.

Regards,

Ken.

[greengeek]

I downloaded SM-Textmaker32_Free2818_engMinimal_gg-0.2.sfs and placed it on sda1 where I also have a copy of Dpup Stretch. I used Munu>setup>SFS Load on the fly to load it. At this point a pop-up box appears giving the option to "run" it which I did. At this point I get the box in the image I have attached. If I click on "Get your free product key now" I get the box the image of which I included in my previous post. I get exactly the same if I try and launch from Menu>Document>FreeOffice 2018 TextMaker. It also happens with @mikewalsh's version of TextMaker 'standalone' Hope this helps.

Hi ken - sorry that you ran into this roadblock. I honestly did not expect it with Freeoffice. It is not something I have experienced during my usage of Freeoffice but possibly this is because I do not have any savefile so each boot is like a fresh install.

Is it possible that you already had either of the following directories or files on disk? :

/root/Softmaker
/root/.softmaker
/root/.config/softmaker

These appear after the first run of any Softmaker product.

In my case these disappear at shutdown and don't cause any trouble.

And if I am trialling a bunch of different pets/sfs during a testing session I frequently delete these files/directories as they still hang around after the Freeoffice sfs is unloaded or the pet is uninstalled. (During normal use they just disappear at the end of each day never to be seen again because I have no savefile)

Maybe it is possible that your installation may have some residue of a previous Softmaker product testing and so it asks for the product key.
I really don't know for sure.

Sorry about that!

ps: one other factor that may impact this - is that I never fill out the user details screen. I just click cancel and continue to the main screen.

[mikewalsh]

@greengeek :-

You're probably right about things working differently due to your lack of a 'save'. I keep forgetting you run like that....

In my experience,/root/Softmaker has always been there. I used to see /root/.softmaker alongside it with FreeOffice 2016, but not since they moved to the newer builds.

/root/.config/softmaker, I have never seen in the years I've used it. Nor /root/.local/share/softmaker; I have found some apps stick stuff in here, though not on this occasion...

Mike.

[greengeek]

/root/.config/softmaker, I have never seen in the years I've used it.

I wasn't certain about that one. I have it in the back of my mind that there was once a tricky little config file that hid away somewhere - but I suspect that was only specific to a version I found somewhere which had a "limited time free trial" of the full Softmaker Office. (I got bitten by that one because all of the documents created during the trial period stopped working 3 months later and could only be read by my paid version. That really upset me so I'm only coming back to Softmaker products just now - even though I have had work and personal paid subscriptions for years)

[greengeek]

Uploaded new versions and more info to first post (different sized packages to suit hopefully all tastes)

[keniv]

@greengeek
Sorry I seem to have put you to all this trouble.

Hi ken - sorry that you ran into this roadblock. I honestly did not expect it with Freeoffice. It is not something I have experienced during my usage of Freeoffice but possibly this is because I do not have any savefile so each boot is like a fresh install.

Is it possible that you already had either of the following directories or files on disk? :

/root/Softmaker
/root/.softmaker
/root/.config/softmaker

Of the three mentioned above the only one I have is /root/Softmaker which, for the moment, I've renamed to /root/Softmakerold. Nor do I have /root/.local/share/softmaker mentioned by@mikewalsh though he mentioned, like some of the others, he had not seen them in a while but I thought that it was still worth checking. I'm not surprised that I have /root/Softmaker as I have recently tried both yours and Mike's versions of Textmaker
I see from your latest post that you have produced thee new packages. I think of the three I would probably choose the .sfs version of package 2).

I initially believed there was no need for user registration with the latest version of Freeoffice but after seeing keniv's comments it appears that it may be necessary to obtain a free product key from Softmaker at some point.

I have a couple of questions about this which I hope you won't mind answering just to confirm I'm doing the right thing.
1) From the above quote should a request for registration now be expected?
2) I take it that before I install a new package I should manually remove anything previously to do with Textmaker.

Regards,

Ken.

[greengeek]

I have a couple of questions about this which I hope you won't mind answering just to confirm I'm doing the right thing.
1) From the above quote should a request for registration now be expected?
2) I take it that before I install a new package I should manually remove anything previously to do with Textmaker.
Regards,
Ken.

Hi Ken,
Many thanks for testing. It is really helpful

1) It appears that a request for obtaining a product key may pop up unexpectedly. Somewhat annoying but as others have said - Softmaker seems to be a trustworthy company and just want to advise users of other features or (paid) products. That is business I guess - but I am annoyed by it in this case as I have not seen such a popup yet and I thought we had moved away from that behaviour.

2) Just for trial purposes it is probably worth making sure that /root/Softmaker directory is removed before loading any Freeoffice or Textmaker pet or sfs for the first time. If - after trialling - you plan to keep Textmaker longer term then it will probably be beneficial to keep that directory and just accept the likely need for obtaining a product key.

However - I think the appearance of the popup depends on how you run your pups. I will suggest some other testing options and if you feel like experimenting there may be more to learn about this:

- It would be interesting to see what happens if you temporarily hide any savefile you have (and also remove the Softmaker directory as discussed). I wonder if you will then experience what I do - that Textmaker runs with no product key request.

- Do not fill out the "user details" field during programme startup (not sure if you ever got that far before seeing the product key request...)

- Be offline when loading Textmaker pet or sfs.

No worries if you don't feel like any further testing. I will be trying various things to see why/when the product key becomes a requirement.

Cheers!

[keniv]

@greengeek

- It would be interesting to see what happens if you temporarily hide any savefile you have (and also remove the Softmaker directory as discussed). I wonder if you will then experience what I do - that Textmaker runs with no product key request.

- Do not fill out the "user details" field during programme startup (not sure if you ever got that far before seeing the product key request...)

- Be offline when loading Textmaker pet or sfs.

Hi greengeek,
I downloaded version https://www.mediafire.com/file/t1yllmn9 ... gg-0.3.sfs and installed it on sda1. On this partition I have a copy of Dpup Stretch 7.5. I booted it pfix=ram. When it booted to the desktop I did not make any setup changes so no connection to the internet. I then used "SFS Load on the fly" to load it. I did not get any requests to get a product key. I got two pop-up boxes the first was a kind of "choose your preferences" and the second was more like the "user details" you mentioned in your post. I made no changes to either. The textmaker "start a document page" then appeared so it does look like the restrictions under which you run your system does have an affect on whether you are asked for a product key or not though we would have to see what happens when I boot up with my save folder then a save folder and an internet connection. Don't have time to try this just now but will try it tomorrow and report back. Hope this is of help.

Regards,

Ken.

[MochiMoppel]

@keniv @greengeek After a fresh install you will not see the registration request dialog.
However when you open menu Help -> Manage license you can access this dialog. The right button reads "Skip (10 days left)". On keniv's screenshot this button is grayed out ("0 days left"). Explains why a user running without a savefile will never be asked to register - provided the user powers down his machine regularly and doesn't just sends the machine to sleep via suspend mode.

[greengeek]

After a fresh install you will not see the registration request dialog.
... Explains why a user running without a savefile will never be asked to register - provided the user powers down his machine regularly and doesn't just sends the machine to sleep via suspend mode.

Great, thanks for the explanation MM.
So users who have savefiles, save folders, or sequential system captures to adrv / ydrv are likely to experience the registration popup.
If I understand the Softmaker website correctly then registering may be a good idea as having entered the product key ensures the programme will run fully indefinitely.
So in cases like mine - with no savefile - i could remaster the /root/Softmaker directory into my adrv after registering Textmaker. (Possibly will do that at some stage but for now I will just keep using it without savefile)

[MochiMoppel]

Each version is available in either pet or sfs
1) A "fullfonts" normal sized Textmaker which includes all of the fonts that come with the Freeoffice suite.
2) A "basicfonts" version with a reduced font set to make the package smaller (This is the one I mostly use).
3) A "supermicro" version which only contains one font - which is necessary for the interface to be readable.

I prefer to use
4) A "supernanobarebone" version containing the only 3 files (= 23MB) Textmaker requires to start:
textmaker
textmaker.iwr
textmaker_us.dwr

OK, that's not a pet or sfs. I keep these files outside of Puppy, together with a little launch script to set the location for the Settings folder and a few .ini settings to avoid the nagging startup dialogs asking for my preferred "user interface" and for "user data". I also try to prevent Textmaker from downloading tons of useless banner images after starting for the first time.

I don't know why you need an extra font. Textmaker seems to be happy with my system fonts, however it is picky when it comes to Japanese fonts. Without NotoSansCJKjp-Regular.otf a Japanese interface would not be readable, no matter which other fine Japanese fonts I've installed.

[mikewalsh]

I've cobbled together an English-only 'micro-portable' version, taking on board some of what Mochi's been saying, along the lines of Ian's 'supermicro'. I, too, have found that there is ONE font which is necessary for a clear interface. Without it, everything is pale & washed-out looking, and ain't at all clearly readable. I have crap eyesight, after years in the mineral-processing industry, and can't bear bright light. Wherever possible, I always run apps in 'dark' mode; in TextMaker's case, that washed-out pale grey font is almost impossible to read.....

You can read about it here, along with a wee vid to explain stuff a bit more:-

viewtopic.php?p=39342#p39342

Mike.

[greengeek]

I prefer to use
4) A "supernanobarebone" version containing the only 3 files (= 23MB) Textmaker requires to start:
textmaker
textmaker.iwr
textmaker_us.dwr

Clever idea. Here is a trial pet and sfs using that idea (and incorporating a menu entry). Seems to have a clear user interface (at least with the basic fonts already in my current system) and after minimal testing seems to be fine. I don't know if there will be any downstream issues but it will be very handy if this supernano idea proves reliable.
Thanks MM!

https://www.mediafire.com/file/wfucwzlj ... gg-0.1.pet (11MB)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/ge25m426 ... gg-0.1.sfs (9MB)

[greengeek]

I've cobbled together an English-only 'micro-portable' version, taking on board some of what Mochi's been saying

Works well. Couple of questions:
1) Is clicking the LAUNCH script the correct way to start this? (works perfectly but i'm just not sure if I'm using this the intended way)
2) Seems that this portable method keeps Softmaker directory out of /root - is that correct? (quite like that feature...)

[mikewalsh]

@greengeek :-

1) Mm-hm. From what Mochi was saying, and from what my own investigation has revealed, SoftMaker use the

Code: Select all

SMPATH

....variable in their own builds, to delineate the location of the FreeOffice directory....where all the binaries normally live in the full suite. So, the 'LAUNCH' script sets the portable directory to equal SMPATH, then simply runs

Code: Select all

$SMPATH/textmaker

....to start it. And creating the 'portable.txt' blank file alongside the binary tells TextMaker to create its config directory in the same location.

Code: Select all

2> /dev/null

....simply tells the script to ignore creating 'portable.txt' if it already exists.

(If you don't use the 'LAUNCH' script, it goes scampering off to look for the 'freeoffice2018' directory in /usr/share, which is where the 'standard' download will locate it. Not finding that, it'll then try to create a 'ghost' directory, and put the 'SoftMaker' config directory inside that! However, IF it finds a 'freeoffice' directory in /usr/share, the 'SoftMaker' directory will then get put in the standard location in /root...)

2) This being the case, with this type of portable method, the 'SoftMaker' directory never goes anywhere near /root.

Okay?

Mike.

[MochiMoppel]

I've cobbled together an English-only 'micro-portable' version, taking on board some of what Mochi's been saying

Works well. Couple of questions:
1) Is clicking the LAUNCH script the correct way to start this? (works perfectly but i'm just not sure if I'm using this the intended way)

Despite Mike's claim that not using the LAUNCH script would go "scampering off to look for the 'freeoffice2018' directory in /usr/share" I don't see how this would be possible. IMO there is no reason whatsoever to use the provided LAUNCH script. Just clicking on the textmaker binary works fine. As long as the portable.txt file is present Textmaker will create the SoftMaker directory in the binary directory.

2) Seems that this portable method keeps Softmaker directory out of /root - is that correct? (quite like that feature...)

Normally yes. Depends on the location of the binaries. If you start the textmaker binary from a USB stick it will write the stuff to the USB stick, which is something I don't like.

By default Textmaker creates the Softmaker directory in $HOME, that's why in single-user Puppies it normally ends up in /root, however you can create it in any directory you like by changing HOME. In its simplest form a launch script could look like this:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh
HOME=/tmp
exec "/path/to/textmaker"

Creates a disposable directory /tmp/SoftMaker (wouldn't get saved even when using savefiles).

[tosim]

greengeek-I dl'd: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ge25m426 ... gg-0.1.sfs (9MB). When I went to move it to a folder, this is what I got:

text1.png (7.72 KiB) Viewed 5991 times

Your suggestions, please.

[greengeek]

greengeek-I dl'd: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ge25m426 ... gg-0.1.sfs (9MB). When I went to move it to a folder, this is what I got:
text1.png

Your suggestions, please.

My guess is that the question mark needs to be removed from the new directory name. I assume that is just a manual typo - unless you have an automatic copy utility of some sort?
Or is textmaker misreporting the directory name?

[tosim]

Thanks for the reply. Previously to my above post, I had changed file name to : "textmaker.sfs". And then I
got the error message also.
Edit: I removed "?" from Directory name, and working correctly now. Thanks again.