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OnlyOffice Desktop Editors Available as Snap For Testing

Last updated: February 20, 2018

ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors can now be installed in Ubuntu easily via Snap package, the universal Linux app packaging format, though it’s in candidate channel for testing so far.

ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors are free open-source office editors for text documents, spreadsheets and presentations working offline. The software features:

  • Work with all popular formats – DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, PDF, HTML, EPUB, XPS, DjVu, XLS, XLSX, ODS, CSV, PPT, PPTX, ODP, FODS, FODT, FODP.
  • View, create and edit documents of any size and complexity.
  • Extend editing capabilities with the pre-installed plugin set (e.g. insert special symbols, YouTube videos, ClipArt, create templates and more).
  • Automate your routine activities with macros.
  • Ability to switch to online mode to collaborate with your teammates in real time.

1. For Ubuntu 16.04 users never installed a snap, you need to install snapd first via command:

sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. To install the office suite, open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher, and run command:

snap install --candidate onlyoffice-desktopeditors

The snap has been tested on Ubuntu 16.04, Solus OS, and Fedora 27. For any issue, report on Github page.

Uninstall:

To remove the snap, run command in terminal:

snap remove onlyoffice-desktopeditors
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SMPlayer 18.2.2 Allows to Select Opacity of Subtitles Background

Last updated: February 18, 2018

SMplayer

SMPlayer media player 18.2.2 was released earlier today. It has been made into PPA repository for all current Ubuntu releases.

SMPlayer 18.2.2 features:

  • The option Open -> URL can now also load YouTube playlists.
  • New option in Preferences -> Subtitles to select the opacity of the background of the subtitles (available when the “border style” is set to “opaque box”).
  • The options to select the preferred number of track for audio and subtitles are back.
  • (mpv) Now the direct3d is the default video output for Windows, since some users reported problems with the gpu output.

SMPlayer with Mac skin

How to Install SMPlayer 18.2.2 in Ubuntu:

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives, do following steps to install or upgrade SMPlayer via PPA.

1. Search for and launch “terminal” from application launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

Smplayer PPA

2. Then upgrade SMPlayer using Software Updater (or Update Manager):

upgrade smplayer

or run commands in terminal to install (or upgrade) the media player:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install smplayer smtube smplayer-themes

Uninstall:

To remove SMPlayer, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove smplayer smtube smplayer-*

And remove the PPA via “Software & Updates” utility under Other Software tab.

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qBittorrent 4.0.4 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu

Last updated: February 16, 2018

qBittorrent

qBittorrent 4.0.4 was released earlier today with numerous bug-fixes. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

qBittorrent 4.0.4 contains a few new features and lots of bug-fixes include:

  • Add source field in Torrent creator.
  • Torrent creator: raise maximum piece size to 32 MiB
  • Add a force reannounce option in the transfer list context menu.
  • Fix sorting of country flags column in Peers tab.
  • Fix natural sorting when the common part of 2 strings ends partially in a number which continues in the uncommon part.
  • Fix application of speed limits on LAN and μTP connections.
  • Make peer information flags in peerlist more readable.
  • Fix gui issues on high DPI monitor.
  • Fix dialog and column size on high DPI monitors.
  • Fix constant status of ‘[F] Downloading’.
  • Fix translation context.
  • Separate subnet whitelist options into two lines.
  • Don’t set application name twice.
  • Set default file log size to 65 KiB and delete backup logs older than 1 month.
  • And see more changes for web UI, RSS, Windows and Mac OS editions.

How to Install qBittorrent 4.0.4 in Ubuntu

The official PPA has built the new release packages, available for install/upgrade in Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

qbittorrent PPA

2. To upgrade from a previous release, launch Software Updater and you’ll see qBittorrent available for upgrade after checking for updates.

upgrade qBittorrent

Or run commands below to install /upgrade it from terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install qbittorrent

3. (Optional) To uninstall the 4.0.4 release and revert to the stock version of qBittorrent in Ubuntu repository, do:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable

Thanks for reading. Happy new year!

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Enable “Open as Admin” in Nautilus File Browser

Last updated: February 15, 2018

gnome shell

It’s been a long time last time I wrote about how to enable “Open as root” or “Open as Administrator” in Nautilus’ context menu.

A Nautilus extension called Nautilus Admin has been created for a period of time. It’s a simply Python script that adds some administrative actions to the right-click menu:

  • Open as Administrator: opens a folder in a new Nautilus window running with administrator (root) privileges.
  • Edit as Administrator: opens a file in a Gedit window running with administrator (root) privileges.

To install the Nautilus extension:

The extension is available for all current Ubuntu releases: Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, and Ubuntu 18.04.

1. Simply open “Terminal” either via Ctrl+Alt+T or from app launcher. Then run command:

sudo apt-get install nautilus-admin

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. Then restart Nautilus via command:

nautilus -q

That’s it. Open nautilus file browser again and enjoy with new context menu options!

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Plasma 5.12.1 Released with Numerous Bug-Fixes (PPA)

Last updated: February 14, 2018

KDE Plasma 5.10

The first bug-fix release for KDE Plasma 5.12 LTS was released a day ago. And it can be installed in (K)Ubuntu 17.10 via PPA.

Plasma 5.12.1 adds a one week’s worth of new translations and fixes from KDE’s contributors. The bugfixes are typically small but important and include:

  • System Settings: Fix crash when searching.
  • Fixed mouse settings module crashing on Wayland.
  • Show a beautiful disabled icon for updates.

How to Install Plasma 5.12.1 in (K)Ubuntu 17.10:

Kubuntu backports PPA has just built the packages for (K)ubuntu 17.10.

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “Terminal” from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

Type in your password when it prompts and hit Enter.

kubuntu backports ppa

2. Then upgrade your system to get the latest Plasma Desktop via either Update Manager or command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

After the upgrade process has completed, and assuming everything went well, reboot your computer.

For non-Kubuntu user, you may first install the kubuntu-desktop package either from Ubuntu Software or by running below command before doing the upgrade.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop

How to Uninstall:

To undo the changes and restore to the stock version of Plasma Desktop in your main Ubuntu repository, purge the PPA via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
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Install TuxGuitar 1.5 in Ubuntu 16.04 & Higher

Last updated: February 13, 2018

TuxGuitar, a free and open-source guitar tablature editor, reached the 1.5 release recently.

After more than one year of development, TuxGuitar 1.5 brings following new features:

  • String count range moved to 1 – 25
  • New Oxygen Dark skin created for dark themes
  • New synth host plugin with FX support
  • Native VST support (only for Windows/GNULinux) for the new synth host plugin.
  • Zomm in/out support

Install TuxGuitar 1.5 via Snap

The 1.5 release is available as snap, the universal Linux app packaging format.

1. For Ubuntu 16.04, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command if first time installing a snap:

sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open

2. Then install the snap either from Ubuntu Software:

Or by running single command:

snap install tuxguitar-vs

It’s large in the installation file size since it comes with all required libraries bundled.

Download / Install TuxGuitar via official DEB:

If a previous release was installed, remove it before doing following steps.

The DEB binaries for TuxGuitar 1.5 are available for download at:

Download TuxGuitar 1.5 (.deb)

Grab x86.deb for 32-bit system or x86_64.deb for 64-bit system.

And run command command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to install it:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/tuxguitar*.deb; sudo apt-get -f install

For those who stuck at installing OpenJDK-9-jdk, run following command to manually fix it:

sudo apt-get -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-overwrite" install openjdk-9-jdk

Uninstall:

To uninstall the deb package, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove tuxguitar
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Enable Fn Keys on HP Essential Laptops & Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: February 12, 2018

HP Linux Imaging and Printing

I’ve bought a cheap laptop HP 246 G6 recently. As expect, Fn + function keys are not working after installing Ubuntu 16.04 on it.

So below is the quick fix how to enable the Fn keys on this laptop which may work also on other HP essential laptops.

1. First open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo -H gedit /etc/default/grub

Input your password (no visual feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. The command opens the grub configuration file with gedit text editor.

There find out the line says:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

and change it into:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi="

3. After saving the changes. Update grub bootloader via command and reboot:

sudo update-grub

4. If F1 to F12 function keys are working even without pressing Fn:

Restart and press F10 to go to BIOS, disable “Action Keys Mode” in System Configuration tab.

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Yarock Music Player 1.3.1 Released (Ubuntu PPA)

Last updated: February 11, 2018

Yarock 1.3.1, a Qt audio player designed to provide an easy and pretty music collection browser based on cover art, was released a few hours ago with some bug-fixes.

The new release fixed Qt4 compile issue. The unofficial PPA now is maintaining the latest Yarock packages again for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Bugs that are fixed in Yarock 1.3.1:

  • Fix Qt4 compile issue.
  • Fix that writing rating to file causes file corruption
  • Fix player tool bar save/restore
  • Fix playqueue track rating minor issue

Yarock Track View

How to Install Yarock 1.3.1 in Ubuntu:

The new release is available in PPA for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04, and derivatives. Due to requirement of Qt5 >=5.6, Ubuntu 16.04 build is now compiled against Qt4.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for “terminal” from app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. After adding the PPA, upgrade the player from an existing release with Software Updater.

Or run commands one by one in terminal to install it:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install yarock

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, launch “Software & Updates” utility and navigate to “Other Software” tab.

To remove Yarock music player, either use synaptic package manager or run command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove yarock
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VLC 3.0 Released! Install it is Quite Easy Now

Last updated: February 10, 2018

VLC media player reached new major 3.0 release a day ago. Now you can directly install the latest VLC in Ubuntu Software utility.

VLC 3.0 “Vetinari” features:

  • VLC 3.0 activates hardware decoding by default, to get 4K and 8K playback!
  • It supports 10bits and HDR
  • VLC supports 360 video and 3D audio, up to Ambisoncics 3rd order
  • Allows audio passthrough for HD audio codecs
  • Can stream to Chromecast devices, even in formats not supported natively
  • Can play Blu-Ray Java menus: BD-J
  • VLC supports browsing of local network drives and NAS

How to Install VLC 3.0 in Ubuntu:

VLC 3.0 is available as snap, the universal Linux app packaging format, for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

Never installed a snap package? Ubuntu 16.04 (and Ubuntu 14.04, not sure if VLC snap works in 14.04. I don’t have trusty desktop running on may machine.) user need to install snapd daemon first.

Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo apt-get install snapd snapd-xdg-open

Open Ubuntu Software utility, search for and install VLC, though there are two versions available.

As an alternative, you can run command in terminal to install the snap:

snap install vlc

The snap is kinda large in file size since it contains all required run-time libraries.

Uninstall traditional VLC package:

If you’ve a previous version of VLC media player installed, you’ll have two launcher icons and two VLC options in video files’ open with menu.

So you may want to remove the old traditional VLC package via Synaptic Package Manager, Ubuntu Software, or by running command:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove vlc
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Install LibreOffice 6.0 via PPA in Ubuntu 16.04, 17.10, 18.04

Last updated: February 9, 2018

LibreOffice 5.3.4

LibreOffice office suite reached the 6.0 release more than a week ago. Now it’s finally made into LibreOffice Fresh PPA for Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.10, Ubuntu 18.04.

Though LibreOffice offers .deb binaries for downloading in its website, it’s recommended to install the PPA packages which are well integrated with Ubuntu desktop.

LibreOffice 6.0 release highlights:

  • Better compatibility with Microsoft Office documents
  • Support for standards-compliant PDF forms within Writer
  • Experimental Notebookbar and other user-interface improvements
  • OpenPGP can now be used to sign ODF documents
  • OOXML interoperability improvements
  • Ability to save documents as ePub ebook files
  • And many more other changes, see the announcement for details.

How to Install LibreOffice 6.0 via PPA in Ubuntu:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcuts, or by searching for “terminal” from application launcher. When it opens, do:

1. Run command to add the LibreOffice Fresh PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa

Input your password (no visual feedback while typing) when it prompts, and read terminal output for PPA description and hit Enter to continue.

LibreOffice PPA

2. Then you’ll see the upgrade available in Software Updater after checking for updates.

The LibreOffice upgrading process may be kept back. If so, run following commands instead in terminal after added the PPA:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Uninstall:

You can restore to stock version of LibreOffice in Ubuntu main archive by running command in terminal:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:libreoffice/ppa
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