How to Install LibreOffice in Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 and 11.04?
Do you want to install LibreOffice and make it your primary office suite instead of OpenOffice in Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 and 11.04? Here’s a quick tutorial that will teach you how to install the new LibreOffice open source office suite and replace the old OpenOffice.org office suite. Natty Narwhal (11.04) and later versions comes bundled with LibreOffice out of the box.
However, the LibreOffice office suite package is also available for Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) and Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) users. There are two ways to install, you can either remove OpenOffice completely and install or you can add the LibreOffice PPA and test it. Adding the LibreOffice PPA only won’t affect OpenOffice.
Update: You’ve to remove OpenOffice first and then install LibreOffice. Thanks to MTG readers Kent and Fabio for bringing it to my notice.
How to remove OpenOffice.org?
Open the terminal and type the following command:
sudo apt-get purge "openoffice*.*"
You will be asked for your password, type your password and press the Enter key on your keyboard to continue. When asked, “If you want to remove the OpenOffice.org package,” type “Y” and press the Enter key. Wait for the OpenOffice.org packages to be removed.
How to add the LibreOffice PPA repository?
To add the PPA, add ppa:libreoffice/ppa to your software sources or open the terminal and type the following command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
You will be asked for your password, type your password and press the Enter key on your keyboard to continue.
How to install LibreOffice?
Open a new Terminal session and run the following commands:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libreoffice
You will be asked for your password, type your password and press the Enter key on your keyboard to continue.
Now, Ubuntu users should run the following command:
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-gnome
Kubuntu users should run the following command:
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-kde
That’s it! LibreOffice is now completely installed in your Ubuntu machine. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to comment below!
After installing libreoffice i can’t update ubuntu, and it is written that libreoffice has some problems:) So, what to do, becouse i really like libreoffice:) .
Please provide us the details of the error that you are receiving? Did you followed the exact steps as given above?
Mezanul,
I have tried this several times, but each time I’m told (in the terminal):
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libreoffice: Depends: libreoffice-core (= 1:3.5.4-0ubuntu1~lucid1) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-writer but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-calc but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-impress but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-draw but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-math but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-base but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-filter-mobiledev but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-java-common (>= 1:3.5.4~) but it is not going to be installed
Recommends: libreoffice-gnome but it is not going to be installed or
libreoffice-kde but it is not going to be installed
E: Broken packages
it seems that this means I can’t install libreoffice unless libreoffice-gnome is installed, and I can’t install libreroffice-gnome unless libreoffice is installed. Is there a way around this circular error?
thanks,
Dorothy
Ok I followed your instructions for installing Libreoffice-gnome because I am in Ubuntu 10.04 and this is the message that I received:
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libreoffice-gnome: Depends: libreoffice-core (= 1:3.3.1-1ubuntu3~lucid2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-gtk but it is not going to be installed
E: Broken packages
Some help with this would be much appreciated!
Try using the command
sudo apt-get updateagain and then installing LibreOffice:sudo apt-get install libreofficeAfter completing the installation, use the command
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-gnome.Hope this will solve the problem. If you still get any error, reply back to us.
This fix suggested by Mezanul doesn’t work for me at all, and I’ve tried it several times, rebooting after each, etc. I always get this message:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libreoffice: Depends: libreoffice-core (= 1:3.3.2-1ubuntu2~lucid1) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-writer but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-calc but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-impress but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-draw but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-math but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-base but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-report-builder-bin but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-filter-mobiledev but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-java-common (>= 1:3.3.2~) but it is not going to be installed
On my main computer Libreoffice installed without a hitch. On my new Compaq laptop, with a brand new installation of Ubuntu (10.04), it always fails.
Any thoughts?
Shortly after sending this cry for help, I came upon the solution. Hope this is useful for a few other folks. In order to successfully install Libreoffice it appears you need to remove Openoffice. In the terminal enter:
sudo apt-get purge “openoffice*.*”
Then, if you haven’t already done it, enter:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
Finally, enter:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libreoffice
BTW, there are people who say, if you’re in a Ubuntu environment, you should end by entering:
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-gnome
I did, but I couldn’t tell any difference.
Just like Kent, I have Ubuntu 10.04 and I found that the only way to install libreoffice was to get rid of openoffice first. After that, it all ran smoothly. Maybe Mezanul want to add a note to the post?
Thanks Kent for bringing it to my notice. I should’ve removed the fact that LibreOffice can be installed along with OpenOffice long ago. Thanks to Fabio too. :)
I found a number of web pages that attempted to describe doing this. I’m somewhat new to linux and I found yours to be the easiest for me to understand.
Thanks
Dave
first i remove one by one the open office programs, then i follow the intructions and i write sudo etc, and i got: E:Unable to locate package libreoffice
i continued and tried the next instruction sude ettc and the last message was
E: unable to locate package libreoffice-kde
any help will be appreciate
Which version of Ubuntu are you running?
maverick 1010. I fixed ! i did not realized that i download both the one for kubuntu and ubuntu too. i started again and the system ask me to be root and after i got that from an ubuntu forum i download everything with out problem.
when i did in my laptop i did not want to remove openoffice but it happened. does not matter because is running ok so far.
anyways with out your easy explanation i could not do it. i was reading many sites and forum but i did not get because i find that is for IT people and i am not this people. THANKS A LOT . by the way any clue about problems with the internet connection from the thinkpad lenovo. every 5 times i start the computer i have to reboot many times until the desktop show that is connected.
I am happy you got it fixed. :)
Thanks for your kind words. It inspires me and acts like a fuel to carry on my work. :)
Regarding your problem with the internet connection, may I know what type of connection you are using to connect? I mean is it DSL (broadband), dial-up or you use any type of dongle to connect?
i m bell customer and the speed is 100 mbs ethernet interface. i m not sure. probably is dsl
is autoetho
one time i saw someone complaining the same as me but i lost the clue. i remember that problem was related to internet and lenovo r61i same as mine
because i install the same in an all computer and never has a trouble. NEVER ???
Ok, I will need some time to get a solution for your problem.. Though I can’t promise anything at this moment since I don’t have Bell service here, but I will try to find a solution asap.
Will mail you if I get a solution. :)
thanks you so much.
i was considering switch from bell to other more economic but and better service but i m not sure about the connection with ubuntu.
My office suddenly stopped working. would not load writer. would not open documents. I followed your instructions implicitly and libreoffice will still not run?
Goto your home directory press ctrl+h to show hidden files, look for. Libreoffice delete it and open libreoffice it will be just like new.
— Solution sent by Chuq through email.
Easy enough to install and use LibreOffice, but it does not appear in the Ubuntu Software Center and I cannot remove parts (such as sprdeadsheet that I don’t want. All three of my computers suffer the same problem. OS is Ubuntu 10.04.
Hello,
I have Ubuntu 11.10 and am trying to install LibreOffice but sudo is asking for my password.
The only password I have is the one I made during installation (of ubuntu) and when I type, the keyboard seems to be dead and I can go no further.
I have successfully uninstalled OpenOffice..
Please help.
Thanks
Annykim
In linux your password is hidden when you type it. Just type in your password and hit enter. Also remeber that linux a lot of the time does not tell you what’s going on after you give a command unless there is a problem.
Here is the problem I’m getting when I try to update now.
LibreOffice is still not working. It appears to be not fully installed.
Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/Libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu/dists/lucid/main/binary-i386/Packages.gz 404 Not Found
Some index files failed to download, they have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Everytime I check for updates in the Update Manager I get a message:
Could not download all repository indexes
The repository may no longer be available or could not be contacted because of network problems. If available an older version of the failed index will be used. Otherwise the repository will be ignored. Check your network connection and ensure the repository address in the preferences is correct.
Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/Libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu/dists/lucid/main/binary-i386/Packages.gz 404 Not Found.
How can I correct this? Please send me an email?
I followed your directions to the tee, and installation went without any problems. This is on a week old installation of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. I went back to LTS, because I don’t need need cutting edge and I enjoy the ultra stability of it.
Doesn’t seem to work for Kubuntu 10.04 I followed the instructions, did serveral sudo apt-get update’s and still get the errors:
~$ sudo apt-get install libreoffice-kde
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
Package libreoffice-kde is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package libreoffice-kde has no installation candidate
Libreoffice 3.5 is completely broken. How do I compeltely delete it from Ubuntu after installing it with the ppa, and reinstall OpenOffice?
I have installed liberoffice writer , how I can make it to correct my writing mistakes????????????????? like word in windows:(
I am running Ubuntu 10.04 and this morning had an update. The update removed OpenOffice but didn’t replace it. In consequence I was most appreciative of this site and the information because it enabled me to install LibreOffice which at the moment seems to be working well. I have to run a few more tests though.
I followed the steps exactly to install libreoffice, first purging openoffice. However, Writer does not appear in the office tab under Applications. ????
Thanks.
I have installed libreoffice following the steps exaxtly. However librewriter is not in the list Applications-> Office. It is installed, however. I opened a document and it opened with librewriter. How do I get it to appear in the list in Applications-> Office ??
dear sir,
I wanted install libreoffice in my PC in which I’m using ubuntu 10.04.
I followed the steps exactly to install libreoffice, first purging openoffice,updating but the problem is now, after sudo apt-get install libreoffice command im getting the following:
E: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock – open (11: Resource temporarily unavailable)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), is another process using it?
so what to do, please help.
thanks
Ravindra
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-2051830.html
adds the advice to use the stable libreoffice 3.5 repository: “ppa:libreoffice/libreoffice-3-5”
I got past the error:
“The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libreoffice: Depends: libreoffice-core (= 1:3.5.4-0ubuntu1~lucid1) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-writer but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libreoffice-calc but it is not going to be installed
…”
And it seems LO is at least startable… oh and… yay… seems some nasty old LO bugs have been purged as well… so… PPA installation should be viewed as a temporary solution… or involve checking for the “latest stable” version now and then.
Anyway… now it seems to work… using the above ppa (this was on ubuntu 10.04 LTS)
Hope this helps!
/E
Erik’s advice helped. I switched my repository to ppa:libreoffice/libreoffice-3-5 instead of the one in the article, did an apt-get update, and then I was able to install libreoffice just fine on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid).
As of january 2013 this method does nothing. All packages broken, but not showing as broken in synaptic. Dependencies needed but not installed, etc….
I have 10.04 ubuntu (Lucid Lynx) and want to install LibreOffice. (Right now I have Openoffice). However I would like to do it through Synaptic, instead of the command line process described above. Any ideas.
merci
Worked fine on 10.04 with LibreOffice 4.0.2.2 ;-)
No error messages – all just good.
Thanks.
Claus
Hi,
I tried to install the Libre office 4.1 using offline package downloaded from the official site. Using that i was able to install libre alongside openoffice. so far no issues. :)
Earlier i had tried to install using PPA and had to uninstall open office.
Thought its worth mentioning.
error – Couldn’t find package libreoffice-gnome after command sudo apt-get install libreoffice-gnome trying this on LL 10.04 – anybody help pliz?
I keep getting these two messages depending on the command: “Some index files failed to download, they have been ignored, or old ones used instead”
“Package libreoffice is not available, but is referred to by another package. This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or is only available from another source.
E: Package libreoffice has no installation candidate”
What do I do. I have deleted the OpenOffice suite.