====================================================================== LibreOffice 3.3 ReadMe ====================================================================== For the latest updates to this readme file, see http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation#Other_Documentation_and_Resources This file contains important information about the LibreOffice software. You are recommended to read this information very carefully before starting installation. The LibreOffice community is responsible for the development of this product, and invites you to consider participating as a community member. If you are a new user, you can visit the LibreOffice site, where you will find lots of information about the LibreOffice project and the communities that exist around it. Go to http://www.libreoffice.org/ Is LibreOffice Really Free for Any User? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LibreOffice is free for use by everybody. You may take this copy of LibreOffice and install it on as many computers as you like, and use it for any purpose you like (including commercial, government, public administration and educational use). For further details see the license text packaged with this LibreOffice download. Why is LibreOffice Free for Any User? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can use this copy of LibreOffice free of charge because individual contributors and corporate sponsors have designed, developed, tested, translated, documented, supported, marketed, and helped in many other ways to make LibreOffice what it is today - the world's leading Open Source productivity software for home and office. If you appreciate their efforts, and would like to ensure that LibreOffice continues to be available far into the future, please consider contributing to the project - see http://www.documentfoundation.org/contribution/ for details. Everyone can make a contribution of some kind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes on Installation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As a general rule, you are recommended to install LibreOffice via the installation methods recommended by your particular Linux distribution (such as the Ubuntu Software Center, in the case of Ubuntu Linux).This is because it is usually the simplest way to obtain an installation that is optimally integrated into your system. Indeed, LibreOffice may well be already installed by default when you originally install your Linux operating system. This “stand-alone” LibreOffice installer is provided for users having special needs, and for out-of-the-ordinary cases. System Requirements ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Linux kernel version 2.6.18 or higher; * glibc2 version 2.5 or higher; * gtk version 2.10.4 or higher; * Pentium-compatible PC (Pentium III or Athlon recommended); * 256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended); * Up to 1.55 GB available hard disk space; * X Server with 1024x768 resolution (higher resolution recommended), with at least 256 colors; * Gnome 2.16 or higher, with the gail 1.8.6 and the at-spi 1.7 packages (required for support for assistive technology [AT] tools), or another compatible GUI (such as KDE, among others). There is a wide variety of Linux distributions, and there may be different installation options (KDE vs Gnome, etc.) available from the same Linux vendor. Some distributions ship with their own “native” version of LibreOffice, which may have different features from this community-supplied version of LibreOffice. In many cases, you can install the community-supplied LibreOffice alongside a “native” version. However, you may prefer to remove the “native” version before installing this community-supplied version. For details on how to do that, please consult the user help resources provided by your particular Linux vendor. It is a recommended best practice to back-up your system and data before you remove or install software. Please make sure you have enough free memory in the temporary directory on your system, and please ensure that read, write and run access rights have been granted. Close all other programs before starting the installation process. Installation of LibreOffice 3.3 on Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux systems ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Downloads for Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux systems are at the following addresses: For 32-bit Debian/Ubuntu-based systems: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/deb/x86/ For 64-bit Debian/Ubuntu-based systems: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/deb/x86_64/ Installation packages are available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems, in the “x86” and “x86_64” directories, together with language packs for obtaining a LibreOffice 3.3 installation in your preferred international language. The instructions herein are for installing LibreOffice in US English, on a 32-bit system; there will be slight differences in some directory names if you are installing a different version (i.e. 64-bit instead of 32-bit), but the process is basically the same and – hopefully – you will not find these instructions difficult to follow. If you have a previous version of LibreOffice already installed, then you will need to de-install it before proceeding further. For instructions on how to do that, please read the section below entitled “De-installation of a Previous Version of LibreOffice”. For instructions on how to install a language pack (after having installed the US English version of LibreOffice), please read the section below entitled “Installing a Language Pack”. Download this package: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/deb/x86/LibO_3.3.0_Linux_x86_install-deb_en-US.tar.gz When you unpack the downloaded archive, you will see that the contents have been decompressed into a directory called "LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_install-deb_en-US". Open a Nautilus file manager window, and change directory to the "LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_install-deb_en-US" directory. 2) The "LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_install-deb_en-US" directory contains a subdirectory called "DEBS". Change directory to the "DEBS" directory. 3) Right-click within the directory and choose “Open in Terminal”. A terminal window will open. (If you use a file manager other than Nautilus, the method for opening a terminal window may differ. For example, with Dolphin, select "Menu > Tools > Open Terminal.) From the command line of the terminal window, enter the following command (you will be prompted to enter your root user's password before the command will execute): sudo dpkg -i *.deb 4) The above dpkg command does the first part of the installation process. To complete the process, you also need to install the desktop integration packages. To do this, change directory to the "desktop-integration" directory that is within the "DEBS" directory, using the following command: cd desktop-integration Now run the dpkg command again: sudo dpkg -i *.deb The installation process is now completed, and you should have icons for all the LibreOffice applications in your desktop's Applications/Office menu. Installation of LibreOffice 3.3 on Fedora, Suse, Mandriva and other Linux systems using RPM packages ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Downloads for Fedora, Suse, Mandriva and other Linux systems that use RPM packages are at these addresses: For 32-bit systems: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/rpm/x86/LibO_3.3.0_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz For 64-bit systems: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/rpm/x86_64/LibO_3.3.0_Linux_x86-64_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz Installation packages are available for 32-bit and 64-bit systems, in the “x86” and “x86_64” directories, together with language packs for obtaining a LibreOffice 3.3 installation in your preferred international language. The instructions herein are for installing LibreOffice in US English, on a 32-bit system; there will be slight differences in some directory names if you are installing a different version (i.e. 64-bit instead of 32-bit), but the process is basically the same and – hopefully – you will not find these instructions difficult to follow. If you have a previous version of LibreOffice already installed, then you will need to de-install it before proceeding further. For instructions on how to do that, please read the section below entitled “De-installation of a Previous Version of LibreOffice”. For instructions on how to install a language pack (after having installed the US English version of LibreOffice), please read the section below entitled “Installing a Language Pack”. Download this package: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/rpm/x86/LibO_3.3.0_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz When you unpack the downloaded archive, you will see that the contents have been decompressed into a directory called "LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US". Open a Nautilus file manager window, and change directory to the "LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US" directory. 2) The "LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US" directory contains a subdirectory called "RPMS". Change directory to the "RPMS" directory. 3) Right-click within the directory and choose “Open in Terminal”. A terminal window will open. (If you use a file manager other than Nautilus, the method for opening a terminal window may differ. For example, with Dolphin, select "Menu > Tools > Open Terminal.) From the command line of the terminal window, enter the following command (you will be prompted to enter your root user's password before the command will execute): For Fedora-based systems: su -c 'yum install *.rpm' For Mandriva-based systems: su urpmi *.rpm For other RPM-using systems (Suse, etc.): rpm -Uvh *.rpm 4) The above command does the first part of the installation process. To complete the process, you also need to install the desktop integration packages. To do this, change directory to the "desktop-integration" directory that is within the "RPMS" directory, using the following command: cd dsktop-integration Now run the installation command again: If you have a Fedora system, execute this command: su -c 'yum install libreoffice3.3-redhat-menus-3.3-1.noarch.rpm' If you have a Suse system, execute this command: su -c 'rpm -Uvh install libreoffice3.3-suse-menus-3.3-1.noarch.rpm' If you have a Mandriva system, execute this command: su -c 'urpmi libreoffice3.3-mandriva-menus-3.3-1.noarch.rpm' The installation process is now completed, and you should have icons for all the LibreOffice applications in your desktop's Applications/Office menu. Notes Concerning Desktop Integration for Linux Distributions Not Covered in the Above Installation Instructions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It should be easily possible to install LibreOffice 3.3 on other Linux distributions not specifically covered in these installation instructions. The main aspect for which differences might be encountered is desktop integration. The “desktop-integration” directory also contains a package named “libreoffice3.3-freedesktop-menus-3.3.1.noarch.rpm”. This is a package for all Linux distributions that support the Freedesktop.org specifications/recommendations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedesktop.org), and is provided for the optimal installation of other Linux distributions not covered in these instructions herein. Nowadays, most Linux distribution comply with the Freedesktop.org specifications. But, at the time the package was added, many distributions did use their own methods for making their desktop environments aware of installed/removed applications, and had their own methods for registering MIME types. The Freedesktop.org specifications/proposals standardize this to use some well-known paths and utilities to update that information. Affected are the icon theme specification, the MIME types specification and the desktop files specification (application launcher definitions). To install the desktop integration on such systems, use the following command (you will be prompted to enter your root user's password beforehand): rpm -Uvh libreoffice3.3-freedesktop-menus-3.3.1.noarch.rpm Installing a Language Pack --------------------------------------------------------------------- - Language packs for LibreOffice for various Linux distributions are available at the following addresses: For 32-bit Debian/Ubuntu-based systems: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/deb/x86/ For 64-bit Debian/Ubuntu-based systems: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/deb/x86_64/ For 32-bit Fedora, Suse, Mandriva and other systems using RPM packages: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/rpm/x86/ For 64-bit Fedora, Suse, Mandriva and other systems using RPM packages: http://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/testing/3.3.0-beta3/rpm/x86_64/ 1) Download the language pack for your desired language. From the Nautilus file manager, extract the downloaded archive into a directory (your desktop, for instance). Ensure that you have exited all LibreOffice applications (including the QuickStarter, if it is started). 2) Change directory to the directory in which you extracted your downloaded language pack. 3) Now change directory to the directory that was created during the extraction process. For instance, for the French language pack for a 32-bit Debian/Ubuntu-based system, the directory is “LibO_3.3.0beta3_20101115_Linux_x86_langpack-deb_fr”. 4) Now change directory to the directory that contains the packages to install. On Debian/Ubuntu-based systems, the directory will be “DEBS”. On Fedora, Suse or Mandriva systems, the directory will be “RPMS”. 3) From the Nautilus file manager, right-click in the directory and choose the command “Open in terminal”. In the terminal window you just opened, execute the command to install the language pack (with all of the commands below, you will be or may be prompted to enter your root user's password): For Debian/Ubuntu-based systems: sudo dpkg -i *.deb For Fedora-based systems: su -c 'yum install *.rpm' For Mandriva-based systems: su urpmi *.rpm For other RPM-using systems (Suse, etc.): rpm -Uvh *.rpm Now start one of the LibreOffice applications – Writer, for instance. Go to the “Tools” menu and choose “Options”. In the “Options” dialog box, click on “Language Settings” and then click on “Languages”. Dropdown the “User interface” list and select the language you just installed. If you want, do the same thing for the “Locale setting”, the “Default currency”, and the “Default languages for documents”. After adjusting those settings, click on “OK”. The dialog box will close, and you will see an information message telling you that your changes will only be activated after you exit LibreOffice and start it again (remember to also exit the QuickStarter if it is started). The next time you start LibreOffice, it will start in the language you just installed. De-Installation of a Previous Version of LibreOffice ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The instructions given below make use of the Synaptic Package Manager. While Synaptic is standardly installed on many Linux distributions, it is not on others. Therefore, you may have to install it before proceeding further. While Synaptic may not be installed, it will generally be available from your Linux vendor's software repositories. To install Synaptic, either use the software installer provided by your Linux distribution (such as the Ubuntu Software Center provided by Ubuntu Linux), or else open a terminal window and enter the following commands (you will have to enter your root user's password beforehand): sudo apt-get install synaptic You may be prompted to approve the installation of some dependencies for Synaptic. If prompted, approve the installation of the dependencies. Note for KDE users: If apt-get complains that Synaptic is not available, launch KPackageKit and enable all repositories, by checking the appropriate boxes in the “Settings” page. Then, from the command line of a terminal window, update from the repositories by running the command "sudo apt-get update" (you will have to enter your root user's password before the command will be executed). After doing this, resume the installation of Synaptic. Once you have ensured that Synaptic is installed on your system, proceed as follows to de-install an existing installation of LibreOffice: 1) Launch the Synaptic Package Manager. 2) Click in the Search box. 3) Enter the string “libreoffice”. You may need to click on the “Search Results” button before you see this filtering string applied. 4) This search will display a list of matching packages. In this list, there will be one package named simply “libreoffice3”. Right-click on that package name and, in the context-sensitive menu that opens, choose “Mark for Complete Removal”. You will be prompted to accept the marking of a number of additional changes. Accept these additional changes. In the packages list, scroll down until you see the first package that is not yet marked for removal. Right-click on that package name and, in the context-sensitive menu that opens, choose “Mark for Complete Removal”. Do the same for the next package. You will be prompted to accept the marking of a number of additional changes. Accept these additional changes. Continue right down to the bottom of the list and mark every single listed package for complete removal. Note: Complete removal is the best option: “Mark for Removal” removes the installation, but does not delete the files from your system; “Mark for Complete Removal” also deletes the files from your system. 5) Click on “Apply”. A dialog box will open, to prompt you for confirmation. Click on “OK”. Allow the de-installation process to complete. 6) Afterwards, the package list may still contain a few more packages. Mark all of those remaining packages for removal, as explained in step 4 above. 7) Click on “Apply”. A dialog box will open, to prompt you for confirmation. Click on “OK”. Allow the de-installation process to complete. LibreOffice will now have been removed from your system. To ensure the cleanest-possible removal of a previous installation of LibreOffice, you can optionally also execute the following command in a terminal window, and then manually delete any remaining files discovered, using Nautilus or the file manager provided by your particular Linux distribution: locate libreoffice | less Skipping this optional step will not have any serious consequences for your system. You'll just have a small number of obsolete files taking up a fairly small amount of disk space. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Extension Database Incompatibility ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Berkeley database engine has been upgraded in this version of LibreOffice. The database engine upgrade introduces an incompatibility with user data for installed extensions for LibreOffice versions prior to 3.2 that may require your action if you downgrade your version of LibreOffice. This version of LibreOffice will convert your extension database to the new Berkeley database format when extensions are installed or removed. After this conversion, the database can no longer be read by earlier versions of LibreOffice. Downgrading to an earlier version may result in a dysfunctional installation. If you downgrade to an earlier version of LibreOffice, you must remove the user data directory {user data}/uno_packages, for example ~/.openoffice.org/3/user/uno_packages, and reinstall all extensions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problems During Program Startup ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you experience LibreOffice startup problems (most notably while using Gnome) please 'unset' the SESSION_MANAGER environment variable inside the shell you use to start LibreOffice. This can be done by adding the line "unset SESSION_MANAGER" to the beginning of the soffice shell script found in the "[office folder]/program" directory. Difficulties starting LibreOffice (for instance, applications crashing) as well as problems with the screen display are often caused by the graphics card driver. If these problems occur, please update your graphics card driver or try using the graphics driver delivered with your operating system. Difficulties displaying 3D objects can often be solved by deactivating the option "Use OpenGL" under 'Tools - Options - LibreOffice - View - 3D view'. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Shortcut Keys ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Only shortcut keys (key combinations) not used by the operating system can be used in LibreOffice. If a key combination in LibreOffice does not work as described in the LibreOffice Help, check if that shortcut is already used by the operating system. To rectify such conflicts, you can change the keys assigned by your operating system. Alternatively, you can change almost any key assignment in LibreOffice. For more information on this topic, refer to the LibreOffice Help or the Help documentation of your operating system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- File Locking ---------------------------------------------------------------------- File locking is enabled by default in LibreOffice. On a network that uses the Network File System protocol (NFS), the locking daemon for NFS clients must be active. To disable file locking, edit the soffice script and change the line "export SAL_ENABLE_FILE_LOCKING" to "# export SAL_ENABLE_FILE_LOCKING". If you disable file locking, the write access of a document is not restricted to the user who first opens the document. Warning: The activated file locking feature can cause problems with Solaris 2.5.1 and 2.7 used in conjunction with Linux NFS 2.0. If your system environment has these parameters, we strongly recommend that you avoid using the file locking feature. Otherwise, LibreOffice will hang when you try to open a file from a NFS mounted directory from a Linux computer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Accessibility Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information on the accessibility features in LibreOffice, see http://www.openoffice.org/access/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Please take a little time to complete the minimal Product Registration process when you install the software. While registration is optional, we encourage you to register, since the information enables the community to make an even better software suite and address user needs better. Through its Privacy Policy, the LibreOffice Community takes every precaution to safeguard your personal data. If you missed the registration at installation, you can return and register at any time at by choosing "Help - Registration" from the main menu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- User Survey ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There is also a User Survey located online which we encourage you to fill out. The User Survey results will help LibreOffice move more rapidly in setting new standards for the creation of the next-generation office suite. Through its Privacy Policy, the LibreOffice community takes every precaution to safeguard your personal data. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- User Support ---------------------------------------------------------------------- User support is available from the LibreOffice user support mailing list. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail message to: users+subscribe@libreoffice.org Then simply follow the instructions that will be mailed back to you. Once you are subscribed, you can send an e-mail message with your questions to: users@libreoffice.org The user support mailing list is monitored by many knowledgeable people who are friendly and perfectly willing to help out other users. To get the most-effective help, please try to provide as much useful information as possible, and please try to describe your problem as clearly and precisely as possible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporting Bugs & Issues ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The LibreOffice project has a bug tracker for reporting, tracking and solving bugs and issues. We encourage all users to feel entitled and welcome to report issues that may arise on your particular platform. Energetic reporting of issues is one of the most important contributions that the user community can make to the ongoing development and improvement of the suite. After trying to identify a solution to your problem via the user support mailing list, and after having established that it is indeed due to a bug, you are invited to report the problem via: https://bugs.freedesktop.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice When reporting bugs, please try to provide as much useful information as possible, and please try to describe your problem as clearly and precisely as possible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Used/Modified Source Code ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Portions Copyright 1998, 1999 James Clark. Portions Copyright 1996, 1998 Netscape Communications Corporation.