Instructions for Downloading and Installing
Apache OpenOffice 3.4 on Linux

DRAFT Last updated: 2012-09-01

Linux Installations

The following preinstallation steps are recommended for Linux distributions. These should be taken to assure that you have a clean install of Apache OpenOffice due to internal considerations and/or the installation of LibreOffice, if it exists, on your system.

  1. Check to see if LibreOffice has re-routed the OpenOffice binary to itself instead.
    Type "whereis soffice" from a console.

    If this is symlinked to libreoffice, remove the symlink. (see your favorite reference for how to do this)

    This will NOT remove LibreOffice, this will only disallow LibreOffice to redirect the normal OpenOffice binary -- typically /usr/bin/soffice -- to libreoffice instead.
  2. Remove your old version of OpenOffice completely.
    The safest way to do this for most users is to use a GUI package manager to search for OpenOffice and remove all packages.

Linux RPM-based Installation (command line)

Prerequisites

If you want Java integration, you want to make sure you have the latest JRE installed. It should be at least JRE 1.6. You can find the JRE for Linux at the Java JRE for Linux download site. Alternatively, a JRE might be included on the installation media of your distro as part of a complete Java development environment.

Installation Steps

  1. Review the System Requirements
  2. Download your favorite Linux version of Apache OpenOffice
  3. Review helpful information and installation options in the Setup Guide.
  4. Unpack the downloaded image to prepare for installation.
    The following command should work: tar -xvzf "linux package name".tar.gz
    where "linux package name" is the beginning part of the archive you just downloaded.

    This will create an installation directory.
    The name of the installation directory will likely be the language abbreviation for the install set, e.g., en-US.
  5. su to root, if necessary, and navigate to Apache OpenOffice installation directory (the unpacked archive).
    You will likely need to be root to run the rpm command to install the software.
  6. cd into the RPMS subdirectory of the installation directory.
    You should see a lot of rpms here and one sub-directory called "desktop-integration".
  7. Install this new version by typing rpm -Uvih *rpm.
    By default, this will install Apache OpenOffice in your /opt directory.

    Alternatively, you can use a GUI package installer, reference the installation directory, and install all rpms at the top level. This may also aid you in determing any dependency problems if they exist.
  8. Install the desktop integration features for your setup.
    cd to desktop-integration in the installation directory,
    and, depending on your package manager/system, install the appropriate desktop interface using RPM.
  9. Finally, start up Apache OpenOffice 3.4 to insure it's working.

Linux deb-based Installation (command line)

Prerequisites

If you want Java integration, you want to make sure you have the latest JRE installed. It should be at least JRE 1.6. You can find the JRE for Linux at the Java JRE for Linux download site. Alternatively, a JRE might be included on the installation media of your distro as part of a complete Java development environment.

Installation Steps

  1. Review the System Requirements
  2. Download your favorite Linux version of Apache OpenOffice
  3. Review helpful information and installation options in the Setup Guide.
  4. Unpack the downloaded image to prepare for installation.
    The following command should work: tar -xvzf "linux package name".tar.gz
    where "linux package name" is the beginning part of the archive you just downloaded.

    This will create an installation directory.
    The name of the installation directory will likely be the language abbreviation for the install set, e.g., en-US.
  5. su to root, if necessary, and navigate to Apache OpenOffice installation directory (the unpacked archive).
    You will likely need to be root to run the deb command to install the software.
  6. cd into the DEBS subdirectory of the installation directory.
    You should see a lot of debs here and one sub-directory called "desktop-integration".
  7. Install this new version by typing sudo dpkg -i *.deb.
    By default, this will install Apache OpenOffice in your /opt directory.

    Alternatively, you can use a GUI package installer, reference the installation directory, and install all debs at the top level. This may also aid you in determing any dependency problems if they exist.
  8. Install the desktop integration features for your setup.
    cd to desktop-integration in the installation directory,
    and, depending on your package manager/system, install the appropriate desktop interface using dpkg.
  9. Finally, start up Apache OpenOffice 3.4 to insure it's working.

Packages for Linux Distributions (Not compiled by Apache OpenOffice developers)

The Linux downloads provided on the Apache OpenOffice site (mirrors) are generic for either the RPM- or DEB-based package managers. If you have experience in directly installing these types of packages on your system, one of these types of installs should work for you. They are not specific to a particular Linux distribution.

Many Linux distributions now include a version of Apache OpenOffice in their own native package manager format (.rpm, .deb, etc.) either from their own repositories or community repositories which they support. These packages have been built and are supported by the distributions' own teams or community members, not by Apache OpenOffice. Some distributions have strict policies around licensing, which means they have chosen to disable parts of Apache OpenOffice which rely on software which does not meet their criteria (e.g. the Fedora rpms have disabled the parts of Apache OpenOffice which require Java).

Note: Please check carefully before using a third-party build that it does actually include all the parts of Apache OpenOffice that you will require. Replacing a 'native' distribution build with the full Apache OpenOffice original build can be tricky, but can usually be successfully accomplished by completely removing the existing 'native' install.

Installation Problems

The best resources to help you with installation problems are: