Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Hi all,

I'm running fossapup64 9.5 and use Openoffice installed from quickpet.
However a friend of my is using the latest version of Microsoft Word and when I try to read his document Openoffice tells me it needs a later version to read it.

It has a check for updates but when executed reports 'Error reading data from the Internet.
Server error message: .'

I'm trying to install a later version from the .deb file but without success.
It downloads a huge number of .deb files and tells you to use the command 'dpkg -i *.deb', however the command does not work.

Has anybody installed it from the .deb and if so how?

Regards
Phil.

bigphil wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:05 pm

Hi all,

I'm running fossapup64 9.5 and use Openoffice installed from quickpet.
However a friend of my is using the latest version of Microsoft Word and when I try to read his document Openoffice tells me it needs a later version to read it.

It has a check for updates but when executed reports 'Error reading data from the Internet.
Server error message: .'

I'm trying to install a later version from the .deb file but without success.
It downloads a huge number of .deb files and tells you to use the command 'dpkg -i *.deb', however the command does not work.

Has anybody installed it from the .deb and if so how?

Regards
Phil.

Hi Phil!
I gave up trying to keep current with OpenOffice/LibreOffice, etc., and despite misgivings have turned to using the free MS Office Online tools
available via an old Hotmail account. Works quite well with most browsers in use by Puppy community. That way I don't have to install any
extra stuff to my old ScPup.
Wiz
ps...I know, I know...MS is "evil"...but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

The most Microsoft Office Suite compatible is Softmaker-office, or its free version FreeOffice. Mikewalsh published a portable version of the latter. You'll find the link to it from here, viewtopic.php?t=5104&sid=a43e8d40242751 ... 419180240a. Mike has also published just a TextMaker portable if that's all you need. Same link. These may not be the latest, but it's not likely that you need the latest.
IIRC, eventually you'll have to register it by providing an email address; doesn't have to be your 'main' email address. The company which publishes it is highly reputable and doesn't abuse your email address. A couple times a year you'll be offered the full version at a discount or a free font. The Free version only has Writer, Spreadsheet and Presentations.

FWIW, you should be able to install the OpenOffice deb just by Left-Clicking it*. Fossapup --in fact all Puppies-- know how to handle deb files. But I don't recommend installation. If you're using a SaveFile, you'll have to increase its size to accommodate three times the size of the deb you download and you'll always be using some RAM to store it. You're better off creating an SFS: Unloaded it uses none; loaded but un-opended it uses about 32 Mbs. Ask for instructions on how to create an SFS.

See also this thread, https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=1354 regarding OpenOffice. It may be newer than that via quickpet.

* I'm currently downloading the latest OpenOffice from its web-site just to see what's involved. IIRC, the package does contain scores of individual deb files. I think to create an SFS I unpacked it and copied all the deb files (but not the folder named desktop-integration) into a folder named OpenOffice64-XXX, where XXX was the version number. PaDS, https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 6355#p6355 will combine scores of debs and produce one SFS. I then had to mount the SFS, copy its contents into a folder, create Menu entries, Right-Click that folder>dir2sfs to produce the finished product. I'll post again when the download finishes. Currently experiencing slow wifi.

OpenOffice seems to be a mess when it comes to supporting Linux and offering a version for Linux that downloads and installs.

I use LibreOffice, it seems to work better and really does try to support Linux.

If Fossapup64 9.5 does not have this in menu ->Document

Here is the program get LibbreOffice
https://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/p ... e-0.43.pet

Install it and run it to download and install the latest version of LibreOffice.

It will ask you as the program runs on what version, any added features, etc.......

It will make the LibreOffice into a SFS package that you can load or unload to use it.

Load it when asked, so it is now in the working file system.

Run it by going to menu ->Document to see different run options.

Can be loaded or unloaded into the file system by using SFS-load-on-the-fly program.

Looking in LibreOffice file format types it can use.
Seems to be up to date on latest Word document formats.

Because this is in SFS package way to use it.

When you want to get a newer version of LibreOffice.
Run get LibreOffice and let it make a new SFS package of the latest version.
Unload the old SFS package and load this new one.

bigphil wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:05 pm

Has anybody installed it from the .deb and if so how?

Hello Phil,
It has been a while since I last did it and there must be a quicker way I feel sure, but in the past I recall that I made myself a pot of tea and then sat down and click-installed all the stack of .debs one-by-one. I would have done this in a fresh pfix=ram boot of my Puppy which I could ditch after completing the task.

You end up with everything in a directory under /opt
Create a new directory with the openoffice-*.*.* package name and create a directory tree with /opt and /usr in it and copy everything out into that
There will be a few things like .desktop files, icon paths and relative symlinks for the executables in PATH which you have to add or tweak in order to make it a perfect package for Puppy. Then run dir2sfs to create a .sfs (or dir2pet if you prefer) to create the Puppy package.

As I wrote in my prior post, you can use PaDS to combine all th debs you'll find in the extracted tar.gz you downloaded.

Don't include the Desktop Integration folder. That leave you with an SFS you can load/unload; but without menu entries to the actual applications and in that absence the inability open the applications, to set openoffice applications as default and/or associate them with file-types.

Creating menu entries is a PITA. The easy way should be to drag desktop files from /opt/openoffice4/share/xdg/ into /usr/share. But OpenOffice chose to bury icons in usr/share/icons/apps... where Puppies can't find them. And even if Puppies could the desktops' Icon= argument doesn't specify that the icons are pngs. So Puppies don't know what to do with them. You could copy/symlink the icons from /...share/icons... to /usr/share/pixmaps --where Puppies will find them-- and edit the Icon= arguments.

And when you update OpenOffice, you'll have to do that again. I thought that I could create am installable Pet which would over-write the desktop files in /opt/openoffice4/share/xdg/, symlinks to them in /usr/share/applications and provide icons in /usr/share/pixmaps. The desktop files would not specify version numbers; so the pet could be used with any 4 Series OpenOffice. But I'm having one of those days.

Here is an attempt from me, packaged as .sfs
British English (en_GB) version 4.1.14 (64bit)
Creates 8 menu entries in assorted categories, but the Start panel entry is in "Document".
Tested briefly in Fossa F96-CE
http://smokey01.com/OscarTalks/openoffi ... -en_GB.sfs

@bigphil :-

.....and in similar vein - following Oscar's modus operandi of using a pristine, "pfix=ram" Puppy; I chose Xenial64 for this, and frankly, this HP, running at nearly 4 GHz as it does, makes mincemeat of installing over 40 debs - here's a 'portable' build of 64-bit OpenOffice, packed as a ROXapp. You can either just click on it and run - the built-in app selector is what pops into view when you do - or you can do the usual trick (rt-clk -> Look inside...), and add a Menu entry via the usual script ONCE it's where you want it. Preferably, somewhere outside the save.

You can even run it from a thumb drive if you want. Running A-OK here in my heavily-customized Tahrpup64, and is fine under Xenialpup64 where it was built.

If anyone's interested, you can find it here:-

viewtopic.php?t=9758

Hope it's of use to some of you.

[Click to enlarge:-]

(Yes, I know mine looks rather different to Oscar's. Trust me, it's the exact same app.....that's all due to the themes & fonts I'm using here... )

Enjoy!

Mike.

And I finally figured it out. This post explains and details the process to create an SFS and provides a pet to create menu entries for any version of OpenOffice. https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 63#p101363

@mikeslr :-

Me, I never quite see the need for all those Menu entries with LibreOffice/OpenOffice. Both provide a central 'launcher' for the suite, so I use this.....which keeps my Menus tidier, because there's only a single entry instead of half-a-dozen. And the claim of "Oh, it gives me faster access" rings a wee bit hollow to me; using the launcher adds but a single click. Are we nit-picking over mouse-clicks now?

I built a YAD-based one for SoftMaker's FreeOffice because that ONLY provides traditional Menu entries....and I wanted a single, central 'launcher' for the suite. Horses for courses (of course). We all have different requirements, I guess.

Mike.

Thanks for all the replies guys.
I settled for Mikes portable and it quite happily reads my friends documents.

Thanks Mike.

@bigphil :-

Well, it boils down to this; regardless of what you've decided is best for YOU, the upshot here is that we've now got at least 2, if not 3 up-to-date builds of OpenOffice once more for the community.....Oscar's SFS package, my 'portable' version, and apparently watchdog put together an up-to-date version with the built-in "internationalization" a few weeks back. So; plenty for folks to choose from again. Which is all to the good as far as the community's concerned.

I know that without the actual Puppies themselves, there'd be nothing to build the software FOR.....but I've always been more interested in what you can actually do with an OS once you have it. An OS - ANY OS - is about as much use as a chocolate teapot IF there's nowt to run on top of it.

To me, the OS and the software are inextricably intertwined; neither is a lot of use without the other. I have immense respect for our devs and other community members who build our Puppies, Dogs, KL distros, whatever.....but that kind of dedication is a bit beyond my pay-grade, I'm afraid. I do, however, enjoy re-packaging/building/creating software for them, so I concentrate on what I AM good at.

Mike.

bigphil wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 3:45 pm

Thanks for all the replies guys.
I settled for Mikes portable and it quite happily reads my friends documents.

Thanks Mike.

Settle is too negative a term. Portables are my preferred way of using applications: from many Puppys when external to all, or run from the /opt folder included in an adrv.sfs or ydrv.sfs if I want to run a Puppy from a USB-Key and unplug the Key after boot-up.

Just so that you know, I've provided a pet to create Menu-entries for Mike's portable. https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 23#p101423. With that pet installed you can use Menu>Setup>Default Application Chooser to select the OpenOffice applications as the defaults for appropriate categories of work. Additionally or alternatively, you can associates various types of files with OpenOffice applications. For example, you can Right-Click an odt (wordprocessing) file, select Customize Menu and drag&drop /usr/share/applications/OpenOffice-writer.desktop* into the GUI which opens. Thereafter, Right-Clicking any odt file will give you the option to open it with OpenOffice-writer even if something else remains your default application for that type of file.

* To make things prettier, you can rename OpenOffice-writer.desktop in the GUI window to just OpenOffice-writer. It's just a symbolic link and symbolic links, themselves, can have any name.

I’ve run into similar issues with OpenOffice before. When installing from .deb files, the dpkg -i *.deb command can fail if dependencies aren’t installed. After running that command, try using sudo apt --fix-broken install to resolve any missing packages. This should clean up any errors that are blocking the installation.
Alternatively, you can switch to LibreOffice. It’s regularly updated, supports more formats, and is pretty similar to OpenOffice's interface and usability. If compatibility with Microsoft Word is crucial, though, consider looking at Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac, which works well with all recent formats.