UbuntuHandbook | Author Archives

Archives For jimingkui

Canon Printer Driver & ScanGear MP For Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: April 22, 2024

There’s already a tutorial talking about Canon Printer Driver and ScanGear in the site. But it’s old and lack of ScanGear support for Ubuntu 14.04, and Linux Mint 17.

UPDATE: This post is outdated! For recent Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 22.04, try this tutorial instead.

Fortunately, a third-party ppa contains the driver and scangear for commonly used Canon printers, available for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and its derivatives, such as Linux Mint 17.

Below devices are supported:

bjf9000, bjf900, bjs300, bjs500, bjs700 series
e500, e510, e600, e610 series
i250, i255, i550, i560, i850, i860, i950, i990 series
ip100, ip1800, ip1900, ip2200, ip2500, ip2600, ip2700, ip3000, ip3300, ip3500, ip3600, ip4000, ip4200, ip4300, ip4500, ip4600, ip4700, ip4800, ip4900, ip5000, ip5200, ip6600, ip7200, ip7500, ip8500, ip90 series
ix6500 series
mg2100, mg2200, mg3100, mg3200, mg4100, mg4200, mg5100, mg5200, mg5300, mg5400, mg6100, mg6200, mg6300, mg8100, mg8200 series.
mp140, mp160, mp190, mp210, mp230, mp240, mp250, mp270, mp280, mp490, mp495, mp500, mp510, mp520, mp540, mp550, mp560, mp600, mp610, mp620, mp630, mp640, mp750, mp780 series.
mx320, mx330, mx340, mx350, mx360, mx370, mx390, mx410, mx420, mx430, mx450, mx510, mx520, mx710, mx720, mx860, mx870, mx880, mx890, mx920 series.
pixmaip1000, pixmaip1500 series.
pixus250, pixus255, pixus550, pixus560, pixus850, pixus860, pixus950, pixus990 series
pixusip3100, pixusip4100, pixusip8600 series

Install Canon Drivers / ScanGear in Ubuntu 14.04:

1. To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, paste the command below and hit enter to run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:inameiname/stable

Type in your user password when it asks and hit Enter to continue. This will add the PPA repository into your system.

2. After that, open Synaptic Package Manager from the Unity Dash. If you don’t find it, search for and install it from Ubuntu Software Center.

Do:

Click the Reload button to refresh your system cache.
- To install a printer driver:
  - In Quick filter box, type in cnijfilter.
- To install a ScanGear:
  - In Quick filter box, type in scangearmp.
Select a package in the result list that matches your device.
Right-click on the package and select “Mark for Installation”
Finally click on the “Apply” button to install the driver.

Once the printer and scanner drivers are installed, connect your device to the computer and start Printers utility test if it works. And launch the Simple Scan utility and select your scanner from app menu Documents -> Preferences -> Scan Source to test if the scanner works.

In Howtos canon drivers, canon scangear

Enable Global Menu For Android Studio, NetBeans, IntelliJ IDEA in Ubuntu

Last updated: April 23, 2024

Want to enable the Unity AppMenu (Global Menu) support for NetBeans IDE, IntelliJ IDEA, Android Studio, etc in Ubuntu?

UPDATE: This tutorial does NOT work anymore for Ubuntu 16.04 and later!

Thanks to open source, there’s a project called java-swing-ayatana that enables Global Menu as well as HUD support for all Java Swing Applications in Ubuntu Unity desktop.

Here are some applications with Global Menu enabled via java-swing-ayatana:

Install java-swing-ayatana in Ubuntu:

The developer has made a PPA contains the packages for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10. An old version also available for Ubuntu 13.10.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danjaredg/jayatana

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install jayatana

Above commands will add the developer’s PPA, update your system cache and finally install the java-swing-ayatana.

Once you installed the package, log out and back in to apply changes.

(Optional) To restore settings, just run the command below to uninstall the project:

sudo apt-get --purge remove jayatana libjayatana libjayatanaag libjayatana-java libjayatanaag-java

That’s it. Enjoy!

In Howtos Global Menu, Java Swing Applications

Install Opera 26 Stable in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: December 3, 2014

Opera web browser for Linux finally goes stable by releasing the Opera 26 which is based on Chromium 39.

Opera for Linux is 64-bit only. It comes with all the same features as Opera for Windows and Mac, including Speed Dial, the Discover feature, Opera Turbo, bookmarks and bookmark sharing, themes, extensions and more.

An official repository for Debian/Ubuntu based system is available for receiving automatic Opera updates.

For more, see the frequently asked questions about Opera for Linux.

Install Opera 26 in Ubuntu 14.04 and Other Releases:

Just download the .deb package from the link below and click to open with Ubuntu Software Center and finally install the browser:

Download Opera Stable

While the installing process, you’ll be prompts to add the Opera Stable repository. To enable flash, just search for and install the package pepperflashplugin-nonfree from Ubuntu Software Center.

In Howtos Opera, Opera official repository

pivot – A Cross-platform Photo Organization Tool

Last updated: December 2, 2014

Want to organize your photographs into a proper date and time based directory structure? Pivot is a free and open-source tool that organizes your images from the hard drive or directly from the camera. The organization is mainly based on the creation date and time of the images.

Pivot features:

copy photographs and videos from the camera to a pre-selected folder on the hard drive
copy photographs and videos from a folder on the hard drive to a pre-selected other folder
flexibly setup up the renaming process of the copying, including sub folders creation (e.g. by year and/or album)
setup albums based on the creation date of files.
adapt time differences of files from different cameras. This includes EXIF meta data adaptation
setup multiple destination targets. For instance, one destination is the actual gallery, the other one a backup path. You can:
- (de-)select every file individually for each destination
- choose different naming conventions for each destination
preview the copy results, before actually copying
rename existing files to fit with the newly copied files (only changing of numbering, including changing the number of digits to match the overall number)
add comments to files and hence, to the destination copy of the files, as well – if you wish so.
adapt a lot of settings to your need
remember already copied files. Depending on the settings, these files won’t be copied again.
recognize duplicate files based on a MD5 hash. Only one of these duplicate files will be copied – depending on the user settings.
recognize file times on different ways, if no meta data is present (i.e. for videos)
save adapted file data, as well as album data between sessions
take care of raw/jpeg combinations in the way you like (e.g. same numbering)

Screenshots:

Install Pivot Organization Tool in Ubuntu:

The binary package is available in PPA for Ubuntu 14.04. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dhor/myway 

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install pivot

For those who don’t want to add the PPA, grab the .deb package directly from the ppa page and click to open with Ubuntu Software Center and finally install the software.

(Optional) To remove the PPA as well as the software, run:

sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:dhor/myway && sudo apt-get remove pivot

For the detailed descriptions including how to use guide, go to Pivot home page.

In App Review digital photo management

Install The Latest EPUB Editor in Ubuntu 14.04 via PPA

Last updated: December 1, 2014

Sigil EPUB editor finally reaches 0.8.x release recently with new feature Plugin Support and various bug fixes. Here I’ll show you how to install it in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10 and their derivatives.

Sigil is an open-source editor for EPUB e-books, works in Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It supports both WYSIWYG and code-based editing of EPUB files, as well as the import of HTML and plain text files.

Sigil features:

Full UTF-16 and EPUB 2 specification support
Multiple views: book, code and preview view
WYSIWYG editing in book view
Table of contents generator with multi-level heading support
Metadata editor with full support for all metadata entries
Spell checking with default and user configurable dictionaries
Full regular expression (PCRE) support for find and replace
Supports import of EPUB and HTML files, images, and style sheets,
FlightCrew EPUB integration for EPUB compliance validator
Integrated API to external HTML and graphics editors

Screenshots:

How to Install Sigil 0.8.2 in Ubuntu:

The developer does not provides the binary packages of Sigil ebook editor for Ubuntu Linux, but there’s a third-party PPA contains the latest builds (Sigil 0.8.2 so far) for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Ubuntu 14.10.

To add the PPA and install Sigil, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:i2p.packages/i2p

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install sigil

For those who don’t want to add PPA, grab the .deb package directly from the PPA page and click to open it with Software Center and finally install the software.

(Optional) To remove the PPA as well as sigil epub editor:

sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:i2p.packages/i2p && sudo apt-get remove sigil

In Howtos sigil epub editor

Linux Mint 17.1 Cinnamon and MATE Releases Available for Download

Last updated: November 30, 2014

Linux Mint Team finally announced the release of 17.1 “Rebecca” Cinnamon and MATE editions, which is a long term support release based on Ubuntu 14.04 that will be supported until 2019.

According to the release note, the Linux Mint 17.1 “Rebecca” comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use.

Linux Mint 17.1 features:

Cinnamon 2.4 / MATE 1.8
MDM 1.8
Out of the box support for Compiz (MATE edition)
Linux kernel 3.13
Ubuntu 14.04 package base
Update Manager now groups packages together according to their source package.
Redesigned UI of Language Settings.
Redesigned Login Window Preferences.
System, Artwork, and Other Improvements.

Both the Linux Mint 17 and 17.1 RC can upgrade to the new release through Updater Manager. For the 17.1 RC release just install any level 1 update you haven’t installed already.

ISO download link: www.linuxmint.com/download.php
Release notes: blog.linuxmint.com/

In Linux Mint, News Linux Mint 17.1, Ubuntu 14.04

How to Install The Real Ubuntu System on USB Flash Drive

Last updated: November 29, 2014

This is a step by step tutorial shows you how to install the real Ubuntu OS on USB stick to create a ‘Windows To Go’ style USB drive. Tested with Ubuntu 14.04

Requirements:

Before getting started, you need to prepare something:

A 8GB+ USB Drive.
A Ubuntu Live CD/DVD/USB. In the case below, I created a bootable Ubuntu Live USB from the .iso image.
A computer with an operating system installed.

And always backup your data on the USB flash drive!

To get started:

In my case I have a newly bought 16GB USB stick, a 4GB old USB stick, and a laptop multi-boot with Ubuntu based systems.

1. I don’t have a Ubuntu CD/DVD, so I decided to burn the Ubuntu .iso image into the old USB stick. To do so:

Download Ubuntu image: releases.ubuntu.com
Download UNetbootin: unetbootin.sourceforge.net. For Ubuntu, install it from Software Center.
Plug in the USB stick.
Start UNetbootin, and burn the .iso image into USB

If you need more hints, follow this screenshot tutorial to create bootable Ubuntu Live USB

2. Plug in the bootable USB drive to your computer and boot into the Live Ubuntu system.

IMPORTANT: For Windows 8 pre-installed machine, you have to disable “fast startup” and “secure boot” features.

To disable “fast startup”, go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > System Settings > Choose what the power buttons do and uncheck the Turn on fast startup box.

To disable “secure boot”, follow this screenshot tutorial.

3. Now you’re in the Ubuntu Live system. Plug in the 8GB+ USB stick. Then launch Gparted from the Unity Dash.

In the top-right drop-down box select the USB drive (16GB in my case), and you should see something like below:

I have two USB flash drives plugged in the computer, the Hard Disk is /dev/sda, 4GB Live USB is /dev/sdb, and the 16GB USB drive is /dev/sdc.

4. From the right-click context menu, un-mount partitions on the USB drive and then delete them.

Click the green check mark button to apply changes, finally you have an unallocated flash drive, like:

When done, close Gparted partition manager.

5. Click the desktop shortcut “Install Ubuntu” to bring up the Ubuntu installation wizard.

Follow the wizard until it asks you to choose where to install Ubuntu. Select the last option “Something else” and click Continue to bring up partition table.

6. In the partition table, scroll down and highlight the “free space” under the USB drive (/dev/sdc in the case) and click the plus sign to create below partitions one by one:

a FAT32 (or fat16) partition (required)
- must be /dev/sdc1 (or sdX1)
- mount point /NAME_HERE (/UDISK in the case)
- set the memory size by yourself, it can be used for normal data storage.
- leave others default.
a EXT4 partition for Ubuntu (required)
- mount point “/” (without quotes)
- memory size 5G+
- leave others default.
a swap partition (optional).
- You can skip this if RAM is large enough and you don’t need hibernation feature.

And very important is select install boot-loader to the USB flash drive (/dev/sdc in the case).

7. When everything’s done, click Install Now and confirm to format the partitions (Pay attention on which partitions to be formatted).

Click continue and finish the wizard. Once the installation complete, restart your computer and boot with the ‘Ubuntu To Go’ USB drive and enjoy!

In Howtos Install Ubuntu To USB

How to Reset Your Forgotten User Password in Ubuntu 14.04

Last updated: November 29, 2014

Lost your Ubuntu user password? Well, it’s not hard to reset your password even you’ve forgot the username and below is how to do it step by step.

1. To get started, you need to boot into Recovery Mode to get a console for running commands.

Start your machine and when you’re at the Grub boot loader, select boot with the entry says something below. You may find it under “Advanced Options for Ubuntu” option:

Ubuntu, with Linux 3.x.x … (recovery mode)

If you don’t see the grub menu, press and hold the Shift key after you pressed the Power button to boot the computer.

2. In the Recovery Mode options list, select “root Drop to root shell prompt” and hit Enter. You should see the black and white command prompt at the end of the screen:

3. Now run below commands one by one:

First remount the file system with read & write permission:
```
mount -o rw,remount /
```
If you don’t remember the username, below command will show you:
```
ls /home
```
To change user password:
```
passwd USER_NAME_HERE
```
Replace USER_NAME_HERE with your username. When it prompts, type in a new password and confirm.

The output “passwd: password updated successfully” means user password has been successfully reset.

Finally run command exit to back to menu (picture in step 2) and select “resume Resume normal boot” to exit Recovery Mode.

In Howtos reset password

Record Music, Skype Calls, Voices to File in Ubuntu via Audio-Recorder

Last updated: November 27, 2014

Audio-recorder is a handy tool allows to record your favorite music and audio to file. It supports for recording devices, such as microphone, webcam, audio card, music/movie players, Skype calls, browsers, etc.

With the Gstreamer plugins, the recorder supports output formats: OGG, Flac, MP3, AAC, and WAV.

Audio-recorder provides an advanced timer that can:

Start, stop or pause recording at a given clock time.
Start, stop or pause after a time period.
Stop when the recorded file size exceeds a limit.
Start recording on voice or sound (user can set the audio threshold).
Stop or pause recording on “silence” (user can set the audio threshold and delay).

The recording can be automatically controlled by MPRIS2-compatible media players. It can also record all your Skype calls without any user interaction.

Install Audio Recorder in Ubuntu:

This amazing software has been made into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04. Old versions available from Ubuntu 10.10 to Ubuntu 13.10.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one to add the PPA, update package lists, and install the recorder:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:osmoma/audio-recorder

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install audio-recorder

If you don’t want to add the PPA, you can grab the .deb package from Launchpad Page and click open it with Ubuntu Software Center and finally install the program.

For more output audio formats support, install gstreamer plugins (ubuntu 14.04 & higher):

sudo apt-get install gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3

In Howtos audio recorder

How to Display Network Manager Icon in Ubuntu XFCE4 Panel

Last updated: November 26, 2014

Xfce desktop session in Ubuntu 14.04 /14.10 does not display Network Manager, Messaging Menu, Keyboard Input, and Power icons on the panel out-of-the-box.

Thanks to Mark Trompell, it’s quite easy to add those icons back to Xfce panel by a small plugin called xfce4-indicator-plugin.

1. To install the plugin, open Ubuntu Software Center, search for and install the package xfce4-indicator-plugin.

2. Once you have the plugin installed, right-click on Xfce panel and navigate to “Panel -> Panel Preferences ….

Under Items tab, add new item “Indicator Plugin” and put it right after the “Notification Area” plugin.

While the plugin includes the time and session menu, you can remove the “Clock” and “Action Buttons” from the list.

3. The xfce4-indicator-plugin includes the Global Menu indicator, which displays application menus on panel.

If you don’t like this feature, right-click on the Network Manager icon and select Properties. When it opens, tick the box after “Application Menus (Global Menu)” to hide the applet.