I wanted to install Open Office on my Xubuntu laptop, but since I’m already using the Sun Java JRE - a requirement for Java development, I don’t want to install the excremental GCJ (GNU Compiler for Java Runtime). Aptitude wants to install gcj-4.1-base gij gij-4.1 libgcj-bc libgcj-common libgcj7-0 libgcj7-awt libgcj7-jar and other sundry gcj packages. I prefer to manage my SDKs/JREs outside of APT.

I’m also not interested in any of the so-called desktop integration Ubuntu uses; I use fluxbox and it’s easy enough to add soffice to the root menu.

The Linux download of OpenOffice.org includes RPMs. Here’s how to install it on a Debian derived system - like Ubuntu.

Make sure you have Java installed

  $ java -version
  java version "1.6.0_01"
  Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_01-b06)
  Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.6.0_01-b06, mixed mode, sharing)

Download OpenOffice.org

Download OpenOffice.org (currently version 2.2.1) for Linux, without the jre, from: OpenOffice w/out JRE

Untar the download someplace.

Navigate to the RPMS directory.

Use the alien program to convert the RPMs to deb packages.

 sudo alien --scripts --keep-version -d *.rpm

 sudo dpkg -i *.deb

(If you don’t have alien installed, sudo aptitude install alien first)

OpenOffice.org will be installed in /opt/openoffice.org2.2

Start OpenOffice.org with /opt/openoffice.org2.2/program/soffice

UPDATE: 8 February 2008

Sun SDK 6 is now available in the Ubuntu repositories. Here’s how to back out the above, if you’d like to return to a solution under package management:

Install the Sun Java 6 SDK

   sudo aptitude install sun-java6-jdk

Get rid of the Open Office install we did above:

  sudo aptitude purge openoffice.org-core

(Accept aptitude’s ’solution’)

Install OpenOffice from the Ubuntu repository:

sudo aptitude install openoffice.org

Now your OpenOffice install is managed by Ubuntu, and you still didn’t have to install the grotesque GCJ. Life is good.

Posted Sunday 12 August 2007 in linux.  Bookmark on del.icio.us   TrackBack URI