Installing OpenOffice 3.2.x under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x

16 March 2010

If you’re actually trying to install another version of OpenOffice, then click on the OpenOffice tag, as there may be an entry on that other version.

My suggested procedure for installing OpenOffice 3.2.x under RHEL 5.x is essentially the same, mutatis mutandis, as that for installing OpenOffice 3.1.x:

  1. If you don't have a JRE installed, then install one. As I write, OpenOffice and Sun are in-synch at update 18, but check with Sun for a more recent version when you are installing OpenOffice. (I suggest that one use jdk-6uxx-linux-xxx-rpm.bin or jre-6uxx-linux-xxx-rpm.bin, rather than jre-6uxx-linux-xxx.bin.) The remainder of these instructions assume that one has a JRE installed.

  2. Remove any earlier installation of OpenOffice. As root, enter these three commands:

    rpm -qa | grep openoffice | xargs rpm -e --nodeps
    rpm -qa | grep ooobasis | xargs rpm -e --nodeps
    rpm -qa | grep fake-db | xargs rpm -e --nodeps

  3. Unpack OOo_3.2.x_LinuxIntel_install_wJRE_en-US.tar.gz (or the version appropriate to a devil-language, if you use one of those) to your filespace.

  4. Go into resulting OOO32x_mxx_native_packed-x_en-US.xxxx/RPMS/ (or to the OOO32x_mxx_native_packed-x_xx-xx.xxxx/RPMS/ corresponding to your devil-tongue).

  5. As root, run

    find . -maxdepth 1 -name "o*.rpm" | xargs rpm -U

  6. As root, run

    rpm -U desktop-integration/openoffice.org*-redhat-menus-*.noarch.rpm
    (NB: You may need to log-out and back-in for the Applications menu to be up-dated and list the latest OpenOffice components. Your previous version may continue to be listed on the menu.)

  7. As root, run

    rpm -U userland/*.rpm

  8. Tell OpenOffice which JRE to use:

    • Launch OpenOffice:
      /usr/bin/openoffice.org3
      (It may not be listed on the applications menu unless you have logged-out and back-in. Before then, you may be able to launch it from the menu by way of a listing for a previous version.)
    • Select
      Tools | Options… | OpenOffice.org | Java | Use a Java runtime environment
    • Choose one of the environments that is then listed.
    • Click the OK button.
    • Shut-down OpenOffice. (The selection of JRE will be in effect upon next launch.)

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