Howtos | UbuntuHandbook

Archives For November 30, 1999

GNOME BitTorrent Client Fragments 2.0 Released! GTK4, Libadwaita & Remote Control

Last updated: February 7, 2022

The Fragments BitTorrent client finally released version 2.0. It’s now uses Rust, GTK4 and the new Libadwaita library to provide a stylish user interface for those running Linux with GNOME desktop.

For those never heard of Fragments, it’s a free open-source torrent app that uses Transmission as backend for transferring data. With it, user may starting downloading via:

click a magnet link
copy magnet into clipboard,
or add torrent via ‘+’ icon.

Fragments dark mode

By releasing version 2.0, it now has the ability to control remote Fragments or Transmission sessions. Simply click the option in hamburger menu, type a name and the IP address of remote machine. In advanced settings, toggle on/off SSL and specify the port if default one is not in use.

The header bar will turn purple and display a subtitle name indicates you’re in control of a remote session.

Instead of expanding the downloading item, it now shows the detailed information via a pop-up dialog. It displays the network speed, total up and downloaded data, as well as a few action buttons.

Other features include:

New context (right-click) menu.
Copy current download as Magnet link into clipboard.
Statistics about the current session
Rework preferences dialog with more options.

How to Install Fragments in Ubuntu & other Linux:

The software is available to install as Flatpak package. Open terminal by searching from ‘Activities’ overview screen. When it opens, run following commands one by one:

1.) Install Flatpak framework if you don’t have it installed by running command:

sudo apt install flatpak

2.) Add flathub, the main repository hosts a large list of flatpak packages:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3.) Finally install the BitTorrent client via command:

flatpak install flathub de.haeckerfelix.Fragments

Once installed, search for and open it from ‘Activities’ overview and enjoy!

How to remove Fragments BitTorrent Client:

To uninstall the app, simply run command in a terminal window:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data de.haeckerfelix.Fragments

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos bittorrent

How to Display Your Text Message in Ubuntu 21.10+ Lock Screen

Last updated: February 5, 2022

As you may know, Ubuntu supports for displaying custom text message in the default GDM login screen. There’s now an extension to do the job for the lock screen!

Similar to Android lock screen owner info functionality, it allows you to add your message to the GNOME lock screen.

Custom text in lock screen

The extension is called ‘Lock Screen Message’. At the moment, it supports GNOME 40 and 41. Which means, you may install it on Ubuntu 21.10, Fedora 34/35, Arch Linux and Manjaro etc.

Install Lock Screen Message extension:

1. Install ‘chrome-gnome-shell’:

Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to install the ‘chrome-gnome-shell’ package and Gnome Extensions app if you don’t have it:

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension-prefs

This package enables the ability to install Gnome Extensions via a web browser.

2. Install the Extension:

Next, click the link button below to go to the extension web page and turn on the slider icon to install it:

Lock Screen Message

If you don’t see the toggle icon, install the browser extension via the link in that page and refresh it.

NOTE: The pre-installed Firefox in Ubuntu 21.10 is a Snap package that does NOT support for installing Gnome Extensions so far. Use another browser or install Firefox as deb.

Finally, search for and open ‘Gnome Extensions‘ from overview screen.

Manage Gnome Extensions

And, click on the gear button after that extension to input the text message to display in lock screen.

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos Gnome

Puddletag Audio Tag Editor 2.1.0 Released [What’s New & How to Install]

Last updated: February 4, 2022

After Python3 and PyQt5 port, the Puddletag audio tag editor finally got a new update after almost 1 year and half of development.

Puddletag 2.1.0 fixed many crash issues, including crashes when using Update From Tag function, mass tagging search button, adding custom tag with language lyrics, searching with AcoustId, specifying ‘Export artwork to file’ in action, and more!!

Besides, there are some minor new features. When refreshing in preview mode, it now asks confirm before discarding changes; New Actions menu option ‘Go to parent folder‘; Copy & Paste cover from/to clipboard.

How to Install Puddletag 2.1.0 in Ubuntu

The new 2.1.0 release updates the minimum core dependency libraries! It seems that system default libraries in current Ubuntu releases (at least Ubuntu 20.04) do NOT meet the requirements.

Fortunately, Puddletag now is available to install via PyPI repository. Which means, all Ubuntu editions (including Ubuntu 18.04) as well as Ubuntu/Debian based systems may install the latest package via following steps!

1. Remove old package:

If you have an old puddletag package installed, such as from PPA repository. Remove it first by running command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt remove --autoremove puddletag

2. Install Pip:

In case you don’t have pip, the command line tool for installing and managing Python packages. Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. And, run command to install it:

sudo apt install python3-pip

Type user password (no visual feedback) for sudo authentication and hit enter.

For non-Ubuntu/Debian based systems, replace the apt command with your system package manager.

3. Install Puddletag from PyPI:

Finally, run this single command in terminal will download & install the latest Puddletag as well as dependency packages from PyPI:

pip3 install puddletag

Later, you may run the command below at any time to try upgrading the package:

pip install --upgrade puddletag

Finally, try launching puddletag via command:

~/.local/bin/puddletag

4. Fix app shortcut issue:

By default, pip installs the executable file into ‘.local/bin‘ directory. If it’s NOT in your PATH, then Puddletag icon won’t show in app launcher (Activities overview search result). To workaround this issue, do following steps:

a.) Add ‘.local/bin’ to the PATH.

Firstly, open a terminal window and run the command below to edit user profile:

gedit ~/.profile

When the file opens, add following lines and save it:

if [ -d "$HOME/.local/bin" ] ; then
    PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
fi

After log out and back in, puddletag should appear in app menu (or overview search result).

b.) Fix missing icon file.

After step a.), the app shows in app launcher but misses icon. To fix the issue, simply grab one from the web. For example, download the source tarball and extract the PNG file.

Then put the icon file (named puddletag.png or puddletag.svg) into “.local/share/icons” directory. It’s a hidden folder, press Ctrl+H to toggle display it in file manager.

Manually install missing icon file

How to Remove Puddletag Python Package:

To remove Puddletag via pip, simply run command:

pip3 uninstall puddletag

However, this command leaves useless dependency packages un-handled. To also remove the dependency libraries, install pip-autoremove tool:

pip3 install pip-autoremove

Then use the tool to remove puddletag as well as dependencies:

pip-autoremove puddletag

And, finally remove pip-autoremove if you want:

pip3 uninstall pip-autoremove

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos audio tag editor, puddletag

LibreOffice 7.3.0 Released! How to Install in Ubuntu 20.04, 21.10 & 18.04

Last updated: February 4, 2022

Ubuntu’s default office suite LibreOffice released new major version 7.3.0 today. Here’s what’s new and how to install it in all current Ubuntu editions.

LibreOffice 7.3 provided a large number of improvements to Microsoft Office file formats support. It now loads large DOCX and XLSX/XLSM files and some complex documents faster! Also, there are many improvements to DOC, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX import/export filter, including:

greatly improved list/numbering import
Hyperlinks attached to shapes now imported/exported
Fix editing permissions.
Make slide footers get exported to PPTX
better XLSX support.

The release also extended theScriptForge libraries with various features, including:

New Chart service to define chart documents stored in Calc sheets.
New PopupMenu service to describe the menu to be displayed after a mouse event (typically a right-click).
Management of printers: list of fonts and printers, printer options, printing documents.
export documents to PDF with full management of PDF options

Other changes in LibreOffice 7.3 include:

Writer now has the start of linked character and paragraph styles, as well as list level support.
Add visualization and Manage Changes support for tracked deletion and insertion of tables and table rows.
Performance improvements for exporting PDF and loading large RTL documents
Calc now lists HTML tables in the ‘Link to External Data’ dialog.
Implement neumaier summation algorithm for using modern SIMD CPU instructions like AVX2
Implement bash like autocompletion for Calc autoinput.
Standard filter supports filtering by colors
Add PowerPoint-compatible screen sizes
Ability to generate one-dimensional barcodes in addition to QR codes.
New WebDAV/HTTP UCP based on libcurl.
Border line widths have been unified throughout LibreOffice.

See What’s New in LibreOffice 7.3 via short video:

How to Install LibreOffice 7.3 in Ubuntu:

It’s HIGHLY recommended to install LibreOffice in Ubuntu using its official PPA, since it updates the pre-installed package.

Though, LibreOffice is also available as Flatpak and Snap packages. The latter can be directly installed from Ubuntu Software. However, they co-exist with the pre-installed .deb package, which mean you’ll have duplicated LibreOffice shortcut icons.

The PPA provides the packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.10, and also the next Ubuntu 22.04.

1. Add LibreOffice PPA

First open terminal from your system start menu (click top-left corner ‘Activities’, search for and open terminal). When it opens, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa

So far, the PPA supports for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.10, and Linux Mint 20.

2. Install / upgrade LibreOffice:

Next, you can upgrade the office suite using Software Updater (Update Manager) utility.

How to Restore:

Purge the Ubuntu PPA will restore the office suite to the pre-installed version. To do so, run the command below in terminal:

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

In Howtos office

How to Install Latest Mixxx 2.4.1 via PPA in Ubuntu 24.04 / 22.04

Last updated: May 19, 2024

The popular free open-source DJ software Mixxx now is at version 2.4.1 with some important fixes. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu via PPA.

Mixxx 2.4 features exporting crates, playlists and the library to Engine DJ OS devices, including Denon and Numark standalone controllers. It supports for Saved Loops, which can be assigned to any Hot Cue slot. As well, it introduced Effect Chains, a set of effects which can be saved and reloaded with all their parameters and individual Meta Knob mappings. For more, see the release page.

How to Install Latest Mixxx in Ubuntu via PPA:

The DJ software has an official PPA for Ubuntu, Linux Mint based systems. So far, it provides the latest 2.4.1 packages for Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.10, Ubuntu 20.04, and Linux Mint 20/21

1. Add Mixxx PPA

Open terminal either from app launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mixxx/mixxx

Type your password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Update package cache:

For Ubuntu 18.04, users need to manually refresh the package cache after adding new software sources. To do so, simply run command:

sudo apt update

3. Install or Upgrade Mixxx:

If an old Mixxx package was installed on your system, you may try upgrading the DJ software using Software Updater:

Or just run the command below in terminal to either install or upgrade the DJ software:

sudo apt install mixxx

Uninstall Mixxx:

You can easily remove the software by running command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove mixxx

And remove the PPA repository via Software & Updates, by removing relevant line utility under Other Software tab.

In Howtos DJ software

How to Disable Printing of Documents & Files in Ubuntu 20.04 /22.04

Last updated: January 30, 2022

For security reason, user may disable printing of documents & files in Linux to prevent them from being photocopied and then shared. Here’s how to do the trick in Ubuntu or other Linux with GNOME desktop.

NOTE: after running steps below ALL applications’ “Print” dialog will no longer accessible either via keyboard shortcut or menu button. Though, this ONLY affect the current user in system!

After this tutorial, ‘Print’ dialog no longer available

Option 1: Single command to disable printing:

A single command is always the most efficient way to toggle a hidden option in Linux.

Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run command:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-printing true

That’s it. The change takes effect immediately!

At any time, you may re-enable the ‘Print’ function by running command in terminal:

gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-printing

Option 2: Disable printing via Dconf Editor:

For those hate Linux commands, the advanced ‘Dconf Editor’ offers an option to toggle on/off the feature.

Firstly, search for and install ‘Dconf Editor‘ from Ubuntu Software:

Next, launch the tool and then navigate to ‘org/gnome/desktop/lockdown‘. Scroll down and find out the key “disable-printing“.

Finally TURN ON the slider for this key will disable printing for all apps for this user! As you see, there’s another key ‘disable-print-setup‘. With it enabled, print settings is no longer available for this user.

In Howtos printing

Wine 7.1 Released with Vulkan 1.3 Support & Various Bug-fixes

Last updated: January 29, 2022

The first development release after Wine stable 7.0 was out. Here’s what’s new and how to install in Ubuntu Linux.

Wine 7.1 comes with the latest Vulkan 3D graphics v1.3 support for running high-performance real-time 3D graphics applications. The new driver features dynamic rendering, additional dynamic state, improved synchronization API, and device profiles.

Other changes include:

A number of theming fixes.
WebSocket improvements.
Improved cursor clipping on macOS.
IDL compiler fixes for C++.

There are as well a total of 42 bug-fixes for Windows apps including Siemens SIMATIC STEP 7, Final fantasy 7, Arx Fatalis, Rising Kingdoms, Far Cry 5, Age of Empires 3, and more!

Wine 7.1 configuration

How to install Wine 7.1 in Ubuntu:

The official Wine repository provides the packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, Ubuntu 21.10, Linux Mint 20, and their derivatives.

NOTE: Installing Wine Dev release will replace the stable package (if installed from same repository) in your system if any.

1. Enable 32 bit architecture

For modern 64-bit systems, you may first make sure the ability to install 32-bit app packages has been enabled.

To do so, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

2. Install the key:

To make your system trust the package from Wine repository, you have to download & install the key.

It’s can be done simply by running the command below in terminal:

wget -O - https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key | sudo apt-key add -

Though the apt-key command is deprecated, it’s still working and the most efficient so far.

NOTE: The command may stuck with blinking cursor after downloading the key, if you run this command in another window or a few minutes after the last. It’s waiting for you to type password for ‘sudo’ authentication. Just type your password (no visual feedback) in mind and hit Enter.

3. Add Wine Repository:

Now in terminal window, run command to add the Wine repository:

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ focal main'

NOTE: the command above is for ‘Ubuntu 20.04’ and ‘Linux Mint 20’ only!!! For other Ubuntu edition (check via lsb_release -a command), do change focal in the code with:

bionic for Ubuntu 18.04.
hirsute for Ubuntu 21.04.
impish for Ubuntu 21.10.

Say you’re running on Ubuntu 21.10, the command will be:

sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ impish main'

4. Install Wine 7.1:

Finally, refresh system package cache by running command:

sudo apt update

And, install Wine 7.1 via:

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-devel

Unmet dependency is a common issue while installing Wine in Ubuntu. In my Ubuntu 20.04, I never had the issue after manually installing the following packages:

sudo apt-get install libgnutls30:i386 libldap-2.4-2:i386 libgpg-error0:i386 libxml2:i386 libasound2-plugins:i386 libsdl2-2.0-0:i386 libfreetype6:i386 libdbus-1-3:i386 libsqlite3-0:i386

Also, you may use aptitude (install it via sudo apt install aptitude) instead to print workarounds:

sudo aptitude install winehq-devel

Uninstall Wine 7.1:

To remove the wine packages, use command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --auto-remove winehq-devel

And remove the Wine repository using ‘Software & Updates‘ utility at Other Software tab.

That’s all. Enjoy!

In Howtos wine

What to do when App Window is larger than Screen Height in Ubuntu

Last updated: January 28, 2022

For Ubuntu PC or laptop with a low resolution monitor, some app windows may be bigger than screen height, thus it’s NOT fully accessible especially for the bottom part.

This usually happens in some Qt apps and Gnome Extension settings dialog in my Ubuntu laptop with 1366×768 screen resolution. A workaround is moving the app window above the top of the screen. Here’s how to do the trick in Ubuntu!

Move app window above screen top

Option 1: Super + Drag

Normally, dragging an app window will maximize it when hitting top bar in Ubuntu Linux.

However, by press and holding Super (aka Windows) key on keyboard, it supports for clicking down anywhere of an app window and moving the pointer to drag it above the screen top.

Option 2: Alt + F7

Without holding any keyboard and/or mouse key, there’s also Alt+F7 keyboard shortcut can do the trick.

Once you press the key combination on keyboard, the current window will be caught via a little hand icon (🤚) in center. Then, just move the mouse pointer will move the app window to anywhere, even above the top of the screen. To release it, just do a single click afterwards.

That’s all. If you know any other method to deal with the issue that app height is bigger than screen size, tell me by leaving a comment here!

In Howtos Gnome

‘Burn My Windows’ Added Some More Cool Animations on App Close

Last updated: January 27, 2022

Want some cool desktop animations? the ‘Burn My Windows’ extension added some more animation effects for Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora workstation, and other Linux with GNOME 3.36+.

Previously when user clicks to close an app window, the extension applies a burning window down effect.

Now, more effects have been added to disintegrate your apps in Ubuntu Linux with style. They are: ‘Energize’, ‘TV Effect’, ‘Wisps’, ‘Matrix’, and ‘T-Rex-Attack’.

See the short videos for new effects when closing app windows:

There’s also new “Broken Glass” effect in upcoming release to shatter your windows into a shower sharp shards!

For each animation, there’s a setting page to change the animation speed, scale, color, etc.

Burn My Windows settings (via Gnome Extensions App)

Install Burn Windows Effect:

1. Ubuntu user needs to first press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command to install the ‘chrome-gnome-shell’ package:

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension-prefs

Also install ‘gnome-shell-extension-prefs’ package for the settings dialog:

2. In your web browser, go to the extension web page and turn on the toggle icon to install it:

Burn My Windows

NOTE: Ubuntu 21.10 has Firefox as Snap package by default, which does not support installing Gnome Extensions so far. Use another browser or install Firefox as native DEB.

Don’t see the toggle icon? Use the ‘Click here to install browser extension‘ link to install browser extension and refresh the page.

After installation, search for and open ‘Gnome Extensions‘ app from activities overview screen:

Manage Gnome Extensions

When the app opens, click the gear button for ‘Burn My Windows’ and select your favorite animation!

In Howtos Gnome

‘Gamebuntu’ Make it Super Easy to Setup Your Ubuntu for Gaming

Last updated: February 21, 2022

Want to play some games in Ubuntu desktop? Gamebuntu is a new project to make life easier for beginners!

Without searching for how to tutorials and struggling with Linux commands, Gamebuntu is an all-in-one app makes it possible to single click to install Steam, Heroic / Epic Game launcher, Minigalaxy GOG client, and/or Lutris game clients.

Install Game Clients via Single clicks!

The app also offer buttons to easily install other useful apps for setting up Ubuntu for gaming. They include:

OBS Studio for streaming purpose
Discord for chatting
MangoHUD for system details, frame time and FPS counter.
GameMode to optimize game performance,
OpenRGB to configure coolers and RAM modules with RGB.
Piper to configure gaming peripharals.
Polychomatic to configure Razer devices.
Noise Torch – real-time microphone noise suppresstion.
Low latency / xanmode kernel for critical runtime applications

And if the NVIDA proprietary drivers installed, it will offer shortcut for configuring Nvidia driver settings.

Install Gamebuntu:

Gamebuntu is a free open-source project in earlier stage. It’s so far recommended for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS only. The source code is hosted in gitlab page.

The developer used to provide the .AppImage package, so the app itself may run without installation.

Sadly, it makes itself NOT easy to beginners to install. See installation instructions in the project page:

Gamebuntu in Gitlab

And to keep track of the project, you may get in touch with the software developer by visiting this thread.

In Howtos game