How to install latest LibreOffice?

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saikonobiwa
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How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by saikonobiwa »

Greetings,
I have just installed LinuxMint (fresh install: Cinnamon 64bit) on a Asus Netbook on which Windows10 was unbearably slow. I have no previous experience on Linux.

LibreOffice is preinstalled, but version 6.4 I would like to upgrade to the latest version 7.2. I cannot find in in the "software" shell. I have therefore downloaded it from libreoffice.org, Following the instructions there, I have extracted the files, selected all the content of the "DEBS" folder, and launched them with the GDebi package installer (right click). Two files only were installed, all the other give error message "Dependency is not satisfiable". I'm lost and stuck. What should I do to install LO 7.2?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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valouch
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by valouch »

Do not install libreoffice 7 from .deb packages downloaded from libreoffice website (two main disadvantages: separate updating needed, new version installed side-by-side with version 6), use a semi-official ppa repository instead. Remove parts of version 7 you already installed if possible, then type this at Terminal for stable Still version 7.1 (recommended):

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/libreoffice-still
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libreoffice
Or if you really want the most recent Fresh version 7.2, type this:

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libreoffice
Then libreoffice 7 will be fully integrated with mint (language support, common update management, correct replacement of 6.4 version).

More info:
https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+arc ... fice-still
https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+archive/ubuntu/ppa
Last edited by valouch on Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
dorsetUK
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by dorsetUK »

If you've got a bit of spare disk space and want to try a newer version that runs independently then you could try an Appimage.
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/appimage/
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by Michael_Hathaway »

Just because you have the latest release of something doesn't make it better. Having the latest LO probably will not affect you negatively, however there is a possibility of bugs or other conflicts with your system. I suggest installing whichever version is on Flatpak in the software center for new users. - my two cents.
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mikeflan
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by mikeflan »

And if you want the Flatpak you install this ugly icon:
lo.png
I think it is at ver 7.2.1.2 right now, and it automatically updates.
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by MikeNavy »

Hi,

Flatpak version is only for fresh (7.2.x).

This ppa https://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/libreoffice is only for fresh, maintainer is not mentioned.

This one is for still https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+arc ... fice-still, it is maintained by "Ubuntu packaging team", and this team is not Ubuntu nor LibreOffice.

The official way is to download tars from LibreOffice website (choose the deb version):
- LibreOffice,
- language pack, if you use another language than English for LibreOffice UI,
- help pack corresponding to your language pack.

Then untar each.

In the untared directory, a sub-directory is called debs. To install the debs: open a terminal in the debs directory, then:

Code: Select all

sudo dpkg -i *.deb
Begin by LibreOffice, then language pack (if needed), then help pack.

Once this version of LibreOffice installed, you can uninstall Mint one; in Synaptic, Mint version is in "State / Installed", while the one you downloaded from LibreOffice and installed is in "State / Installed (local or obsolete)". Packages have not the same name (they begin by libreoffice and libobasis for the official one, and begin by libreoffice- for Mint one).

From within "official" LibreOffice options, you can check for new version availability and even select an auto-download option.

Choice is yours!

Regards,

MN

PS: "Fresh" versions have new features but may have bugs. "Still" versions have very few or no bug at all, the last version of still is generally ".6", and sometimes ".7"; at he moment 7.1.6 is the latest still version, and 7.1.7 is announced (1st test release has been published). I prefer still versions, and I update when ".6" is published (I use now 7.1.6, I will install 7.1.7 when available, then I will wait until 7.2.6 is published).
If you use the "Still" ppa, you will change your version earlier: LibreOffice considers a version is still at ".5" or even at ".4", with some bugs remaining.
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by Menard »

Semi-official repository ? does it mean the mafia repository ? :shock: :?

I stay in my basic linux rules, never add PPAs, with rare exceptions (when we cannot avoid it)
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by spamegg »

Hello saikonobiwa

"Installing latest versions of everything" is a Windows habit. I tried to do the same thing when I first switched from Windows. So you are definitely not alone there. It will take a while for you to shift your mindset and get used to how things work on Linux.

Mint is based on Ubuntu's LTS (Long Term Support) version, which aims to provide a stable software base for 5 years. This means that the software in the repositories will be "outdated", but this is usually deliberate. Latest versions often come with new features, but also new bugs. Newer does not always mean better. The older versions had a longer period of time to get all their bugs fixed, matured and became more stable (even though they may lack the new features).

You will realize that most of the time, unless you have some very specific reasons to use latest features, you are just fine without having the latest versions of your software, but it will take a while to get used to this. The LTS/Mint philosophy is that, you just install the repository version, forget about it and enjoy the stable system. No need to constantly re-download a newer version every few weeks/months and install it, like you are used to on Windows. And if you desperately need a newer version, then Flatpaks are available. They do not interfere with your package system or dependencies (but they do take up more space).

Personally I'd recommend staying with the pre-installed version of LibreOffice.
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by Michael_Hathaway »

I agree with spamegg and you should just stay with what is installed. If you do choose to upgrade, don't use anything newer than Flatpak.

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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by MikeNovember »

spamegg wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:30 am Hello saikonobiwa

"Installing latest versions of everything" is a Windows habit. I tried to do the same thing when I first switched from Windows. So you are definitely not alone there. It will take a while for you to shift your mindset and get used to how things work on Linux.
Fresh versions have new features, but also bugs and vulnerabilities corrections, and they are supported. Mint 20.x installed version of LibreOffice is 6.4.7, outdated and unsupported (stable releases have been, since then, 7.0.6 and 7.1.6).
Mint is based on Ubuntu's LTS (Long Term Support) version, which aims to provide a stable software base for 5 years. This means that the software in the repositories will be "outdated", but this is usually deliberate. Latest versions often come with new features, but also new bugs. Newer does not always mean better. The older versions had a longer period of time to get all their bugs fixed, matured and became more stable (even though they may lack the new features).
LibreOffice 6.4.7 had NOT a longer period to have its bugs fixed; it is the latest available 6.4.x versions, and its bugs corrections have stopped at this release.

You don't understand how LibreOffice works, there are two branches:
- "Fresh", to test new features,
- "Still", providing a production release, with the maximum of fixed bugs.
The latest still is now 7.1.6, and the latest fresh is 7.2.2, both are officially supported.

So, if you want to use a production version, use the 7.1.6 downloaded from LibreOffice website.
If you want to test new features, install 7.2.2, flatpak version, and copy your LibreOffice profile to flatpak location one (/home/user/.var/flatpak/org.libreoffice.LibreOffice/...). You will be able to test it without perturbing the production version.

The LibreOffice software as found in Debian(s), Linux Mint(s), Ubuntu(s) distributions is NOT the software that has been tested and debugged by LibreOffice.

The official LibreOffice debs are not depending on any library of any distribution: they are compiled with dynamic links to LibreOffice own libraries (the "libobasis" packages) and can be installed "as is" on all Debian family distributions.
Debian, Ubuntu and Mint have several versions of LibreOffice, each version compiled with dynamic links (dependencies) to the distribution libraries. And the list of packages is not the same between the distros ones and LibreOffice one: to use distro libraries, the structure of the software is complexified with much more packages in the distros than in the official version.

The consequence is the following:
- when a bug is identified and reported to LibreOffice, they try to reproduce it, then they try to correct it in the sources and then they generate a test version to see if the bug has disappeared; then, corrections are grouped in a release.
- at the opposite, versions of LibreOffice generated by Debian, Ubuntu / Mint or the PPAs associated to the different versions of Ubuntu / Mint are not tested for bugs correction by LibreOffice; and they are neither tested for bugs correction by the distros maintainers (they have just some launch and work tests, in order to check compiling is OK); since they are compiled with different configuration and depend on different libraries than the ones used by LibreOffice, LibreOffice bugs corrections might not work, and moreover, new bugs might be generated by the use of different libraries.
Assuming the final remaining bugs depend only on the source code is simply wrong: bugs depend on the source code and on the linked libraries.

Regards,

MN
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by ajgreeny »

Just to aď my 2p-worth, I've been using the LO fresh ppa for a very log time and currently using 7.2.2 with no problems at all!
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by valouch »

maintainer is not mentioned
Semi-official repository ? does it mean the mafia repository ?
etc etc

Look at the owner of “LibreOffice Packaging” team (and that PPAs):
https://launchpad.net/~bjoern-michaelsen
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Use ... michaelsen
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MikeNovember
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by MikeNovember »

valouch wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:47 am
maintainer is not mentioned
Semi-official repository ? does it mean the mafia repository ?
etc etc

Look at the owner of “LibreOffice Packaging” team (and that PPAs):
https://launchpad.net/~bjoern-michaelsen
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Use ... michaelsen
Sorry, but Bjoern Michaelsen is not mentioned as the owner or the maintainer of the two ppas https://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/libreoffice and https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+arc ... fice-still. His own PPAs are old outdated ones:
Personal package archives
libreoffice-3-4
libreoffice-nattytest2
libreoffice-oneirictest-20110718
libreoffice-precisetest-20120327
libreoffice-quantaltest-20120601
LibreOffice staging
libreoffice-staging-main
libreoffice-staging-proposed
Your quote
Semi-official repository ? does it mean the mafia repository ?
is not mine but YOUR writing, I wrote:
it is maintained by "Ubuntu packaging team", and this team is not Ubuntu nor LibreOffice.
MN
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by Menard »

I was in contact for a long time on Twitter with part of the french Libre office foundation team because I discovered a bug that bring to very long time to wait when saving some calc sheets previously built under Excel 2000 and they could reproduce it on their machines and it was fixed, it was around 2017 2018 but then I ve had some files whith which this bug was still there and they say they would work on it but I ve never had any return
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by valouch »

MikeNovember wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:56 am
valouch wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:47 am
maintainer is not mentioned
Semi-official repository ? does it mean the mafia repository ?
etc etc

Look at the owner of “LibreOffice Packaging” team (and that PPAs):
https://launchpad.net/~bjoern-michaelsen
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Use ... michaelsen
Sorry, but Bjoern Michaelsen is not mentioned as the owner or the maintainer of the two ppas https://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/libreoffice and https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+arc ... fice-still. His own PPAs are old outdated ones:
Personal package archives
libreoffice-3-4
libreoffice-nattytest2
libreoffice-oneirictest-20110718
libreoffice-precisetest-20120327
libreoffice-quantaltest-20120601
LibreOffice staging
libreoffice-staging-main
libreoffice-staging-proposed
Your quote
Semi-official repository ? does it mean the mafia repository ?
is not mine but YOUR writing, I wrote:
it is maintained by "Ubuntu packaging team", and this team is not Ubuntu nor LibreOffice.
MN

"Sorry, but Bjoern Michaelsen is not mentioned as the owner or the maintainer of the two ppas"
Selective blindness? Both PPAs and their homepages provided by me belong to the same “LibreOffice Packaging” team which is owned by Michaelsen. Page (mentioned by MikeNavy, not me) which you link (https://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/libreoffice) only references the same PPA repo, which can know anyone who click on External PPA Homepage button.

"Your quote ... is not mine but YOUR writing, I wrote:"
oh my gods... not mine but Menard. I NEVER said both quotes are yours.

And no, “LibreOffice Packaging” team is not the same as "Ubuntu packaging team".
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by MikeNovember »

valouch wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:32 am Selective blindness? Both PPAs and their homepages provided by me belong to the same “LibreOffice Packaging” team which is owned by Michaelsen.
Michaelsen name is not mentioned anywhere on the PPA page. The contact is "LibreOffice Packaging"; when you click on it you open a new page where you read "This is the Ubuntu packaging team, this is _not_ the LibreOffice project" (and yes, on this 2nd page only, Michaelsen is mentioned as the owner).

PPA and "LibreOffice Packaging team" are not related to LibreOffice or The Document Foundation or to LibreOffice, despite the name and despite the fact that Michaelsen is a member of The Document Foundation Board.
And no, “LibreOffice Packaging” team is not the same as "Ubuntu packaging team".
Right, they are two different teams, publishing unofficial releases of LibreOffice for Ubuntu (still for "LibreOffice Packaging team", fresh for "Ubuntu packaging team") and none of these releases are endorsed by LibreOffice or by Ubuntu.

I prefer to use official LO releases than Ubuntu ones or any unofficial ones, because they are different software, sharing the same source but compiled with different libraries, and the only releases where bugs corrections have been tested are the official ones.

MN
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by valouch »

Michaelsen name is not mentioned anywhere on the PPA page
Unimportant because
The contact is "LibreOffice Packaging"; when you click... on this 2nd page only, Michaelsen is mentioned as the owner
Exactly same as what I wrote.
PPA and "LibreOffice Packaging team" are not related to LibreOffice or The Document Foundation or to LibreOffice, despite the name and despite the fact that Michaelsen is a member of The Document Foundation Board.
Nobody said PPAs are fully formally related to/owned by LO/TDF.
they are two different teams, publishing unofficial releases of LibreOffice for Ubuntu (still for "LibreOffice Packaging team", fresh for "Ubuntu packaging team"
No. Both are published by one team. Its formal name is “LibreOffice Packaging” and they describe themselves a bit inaccurately as Ubuntu packaging team (which has different/broader meaning).

Enough please.

page.png
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by zakko »

valouch wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:18 pm Then libreoffice 7 will be fully integrated with mint (language support, common update management, correct replacement of 6.4 version).
Back to the initial question:
Given the "regular" 6.4.* version installed on my Mint 20.3, after setting up the 7.* libreoffice-still ppa, will this upgrade the 6.4 to 7.* out-of-the-box or are there any actions necessary to be taken before setting up the ppa? My expected result would be just one clean LO version 7.* on my system after the ppa update...!?
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by sohitrharma »

zakko wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:22 am
valouch wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:18 pm Then libreoffice 7 will be fully integrated with mint (language support, common update management, correct replacement of 6.4 version).
Back to the initial question:
Given the "regular" 6.4.* version installed on my Mint 20.3, after setting up the 7.* libreoffice-still ppa, will this upgrade the 6.4 to 7.* out-of-the-box or are there any actions necessary to be taken before setting up the ppa? My expected result would be just one clean LO version 7.* on my system after the ppa update...!?
Once you add ppa with

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
(Don't know about 'still ppa') and run

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get update
v7.3 would become available for update. You can then update it from Update Manager or with

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install libreoffice
It would prompt you to install some new packages, update older packages, and suggest removing couple of packages which are no longer needed with

Code: Select all

sudo apt autoremove
Either way, you'd end up with one clean LO v7.3, as you expect, with no trace of LO 6.4
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Re: How to install latest LibreOffice?

Post by zakko »

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a go...
sohitrharma wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 10:47 am Don't know about 'still ppa'
And just for the record, as mentioned above:
https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+arc ... fice-still
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