StarOffice8

[dangbert]

I was installing StarOffice8 and my system crashed (hardware problem).  However, I cannot do a repeat install because StarOffice sees an installed version in "/opt/staroffice8" and demands I delete that install before starting another one.  There is just one problem, there is no "opt/staroffice8" because I deleted it, the "/var/tmp/update_staroffice" folder, the entry in "/etc/staroffice" and did a removal under Synaptic.  Apt-get says Staroffice is not installed and I can find nothing when I do a search under "Find Files."  I was talking to a friend of mine last night and he (and he ought to know) said it was in the "apt-get/rpm" repository/lisiting and we needed to clear that.  However, we could not find any location for such a file.  I had done an "apt-get clean" and would have done an "apt-get purge" but for the fact that "purge" is not supported in PCLinuxOS(at least the released version of apt-get)  So, the question is, "How do I clear the system so Staroffice can do an install?" 

Thanks

Deb

[Animal]

you could try to manually create those directories yourself, and then try to install.

[dangbert]

I tried your suggestion, and as I expected, it did not work.  The problem is it is reading a previous installation and WILL NOT install until that installation is deleted.  But the "WHERE" of the information that lists the installation is what I am asking for, so I can manually deleted the entry from the "log/conf" file and allow Staroffice to install.

Deb

[Animal]

I guess you could try to do a force install.. and see if that works

[dangbert]

How would I do a force install?  The installer is a shell script that does not give you the "force" option.  What I need to know is how to add the "force" option to the install.

Deb

[pinoc]

Some things are unclear to me:
1. Why do you install StarOffice, which is unsupported by PCLinuxOS, when you can run getopenoffice to install OpenOffice?
2. How can you use Synaptic to uninstall Staroffice when StarOffice was installed with a shell script?

Assuming StarOffice installs similar to OpenOffice you could try the following to remove StarOffice, enter in a terminal:

Code: [Select]

locate -i staroffice and see what can be deleted. Probably this:

/bin/rm -fr /opt/staroffice/
/bin/rm -fr /home/<user>/.staroffice/
/bin/rm `which staroffice`

once there is nothing more found with the locate command you can go ahead and install StarOffice again, or even easier run the latest getopenoffice which will install the Novell enhanced version of OpenOffice, which is essentially the same as StarOffice.

good luck,
-p.

[dangbert]

Good questions both.

Why am I using StarOffice?
I began using StarOffice instead of OpenOffice years ago, because of the "working" graphic preview function.  At that time, I was dealing with a large number of graphics and needed the preview function.

Why did I not just download OpenOffice with "getopenoffice?"
This one is simple.  If I had not "happened" across the installer, I would never have known to use it.  As it was, if I had not been around Linux for years, i would not have guessed to run it in a "root terminal."  You really need to put that as a link the the "Office" section of the Menu so those unfamiliar with Linux will know to click and download.  As it is, it looks, if one only looks at the respositories, that PCLinuxOS does not support OpenOffice.

Why/how did I remove StarOffice in Synaptic?
From what little I know, Synaptic reads what is installed on your machine (I assume from a file/log) and is displayed as being installed.  All I did was click on those StarOffice apps and select "Complete Removal".

Now, where is the file Synaptic reads?  I think that is what StarOffice install is reading.  Now that I think abouit it.

Deb

[yodelu]

just a guess ..
try to download and install latest UPDATE from Sun official site
http://sunsolve.sun.com/show.do?target=patches/zp-StarOffice8

[dangbert]

I can tell you before I even try, "It won't work."  "Why?," you ask.  Because the shell script scans the system to see if there is a current copy of StarOffice loaded, if there is, it aborts the load.  On my system there is not, but the shell script is reading something in a log file somewhere that tells it there is.  My question is, "Where does PCLINUXOS store the log of installed apps?

Deb

[pinoc]

dangbert,

You really need to put that as a link the the "Office" section of the Menu so those unfamiliar with Linux will know to click and download.  As it is, it looks, if one only looks at the respositories, that PCLinuxOS does not support OpenOffice.

getopenoffice is a tool to install/update/remove OpenOffice or add additional OO-locales and for this reason is to be found in the Configuration section of the menu. Another link to it is in the Desktop/Utilities folder and if you search for OpenOffice in Synaptic you will find GetOpenOffice with a description of what it does as well.

How about this: forget about (the unsupported) StarOffice and run just getopenoffice to get your work done.

good luck,
-p.

[dangbert]

I have downloaded OpenOffice and have it installed.

But this has my curiousity up and I want to find where the log file of installed progams is.


If I had not known what to do with the file, once I stumbled across it, I would still be without an office suite.  HOWS about making "getopenoffice" a clickable link in the "Office" section of the menu.  Preferably under the "Wordprocessor" section.

Deb

[pinoc]

I have downloaded OpenOffice and have it installed.

Have you done what you wrote or have you installed OO with getopenoffice? These are two completely different things.

Making "getopenoffice" a clickable link in the "Office" section of the menu is up to Tex to decide. Personally, I find its current location in the Configuration section appropriate because getopenoffice is not OpenOffice but a configuration tool for the system. If it were in the Office section, people would click it and then complain that OO-writer does not start....
-p.

[dangbert]

I understand who makes the decisions and it was only a suggestion.  But keep in mind, I only stumbled across "getopenoffice" when I saw it in the repository and never saw it in the "Configuration Section" (which one? Deb asks)  I know the developers are fully aware of where it is.  But those of us just stumbling along sometimes need a few clues.

Deb

[Neal ManBear]

Deb,
Look in /var/log/rpmpkgs for any reference to staroffice. You can remove any listing of it. Next, go to /var/cache/apt and delete the 2 pkgcache.bin files and then go to /var/lib/apt/lists and delete the list files.
Reload Synaptic.

[dangbert]

I did as advised and deleted and restarted Synaptic..  Still no go.

Then I stumbled across IBM Sympohny, which looks much better than OpenOffice and handles spreadsheet files better.  It installed and I am now up on it.  Star Office remains broken and will remain that way as I no longer need it.

Thanks to all those who gave advice.  It is what makes PCLinuxOS such a great distro.

Deb