Testing Development Versions of LibreOffice

If you are not a computer programmer, graphics designer, technical writer, or a web developer, one way to assist in the development of open-source software, such as the LibreOffice suite, is to test pre-release versions of the software as these are developed. If any bugs are identified these can be reported to the development team so that they can be fixed in future builds. A really neat feature of LibreOffice is that a development version can be installed in parallel with a stable release that is being used as a “daily driver”.

As an example, we will install the nightly build for LibreOffice 7.0 as of June 8, 2020. The sequence of operations is given below. Note that I establish a folder named lo in the Downloads folder of my home directory (home/toaster) as a working location for the test build of the software.

(1) Download the nightly build as the file libreoffice-7-0_2020-06-08_06.00.18_LibreOfficeDev_7.0.0.0.beta1_Linux_x86-64_deb.tar.gz from
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/libreoffice-7-0/ to the folder Downloads/lo

(2) Navigate to the lo folder

(3) Unpack the build using:

tar -vxzf libreoffice-7-0_2020-06-08_06.00.18_LibreOfficeDev_7.0.0.0.beta1_Linux_x86-64_deb.tar.gz

This creates a folder named LibreOfficeDev_7.0.0.0.beta1_Linux_x86-64_deb and a sub-folder DEBS

(4) Change directory to LibreOfficeDev_7.0.0.0.beta1_Linux_x86-64_deb/DEBS and issue the command:

for i in *.deb; do dpkg-deb -x $i . ; done

This creates the sub-folder opt/libreofficedev7.0/program under the DEBS folder, and this sub-folder contains the LibreOffice executable modules: Writer (swriter), Calc (scalc), Impress (simpress), etc.

(6) To test the development version of the Writer module, my preference is to create a program launcher with:

Name = Writer Development

Command = /home/toaster/Downloads/lo/LibreOfficeDev_7.0.0.0.beta1_Linux_x86-64_deb/DEBS/opt/libreofficedev7.0/program/swriter

You are now in a position to test the current version (nightly build) of the next release of LibreOffice, while maintaining the stable version of the package for general usage.

Most bugs are reported through the Bugzilla platform.
(See: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/BugReport)

References:

LibreOffice
https://www.libreoffice.org

LibreOffice – Development versions
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/pre-releases/

Installing several versions of LibreOffice in parallel
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Installing_in_parallel

How to Report Bugs in LibreOffice
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/BugReport

Changing Icons in Android Pie

Most of the icons used in Android Pie look fine, but I really don’t like the default icon for the Calendar app. Previously, with Android Nougat, I had used the Icon Changer free app developed by Juyeong to switch the default icon to a different image. However, a note in this app’s description indicates that it does not support Android Oreo (Version 8.0) and, presumably, this also applies to later versions such as Android Pie (Version 9.0). The good news is that many web postings recommend Awesome Icons from Momo apps for the same task.

Waking up the Moto G3 under Android Pie

As noted in the previous post, with Android Pie installed, waking up the phone seems to require (in my case) opening the wallet-style cover, double-tapping on the screen, and swiping up the screen to unlock it. This is a lot more steps that I have been used to since, previously, I could just open the cover and swipe up the screen. Fortunately, the WaveUp app solves my problem.

Upgrading to Android Pie on the Moto G3

For the past several months I have been using a custom ROM of Android Nougat on my Moto G3 smartphone (See: A Stable Custom ROM for the Moto G3) that has been receiving monthly, over-the-air (OTA), security updates. Now, MSe1969, the ROM’s developer from Frankfurt, Germany, has announced the availability of an Android Pie version of his software and has noted that this will become a replacement for the Nougat variant.

Modifying the Netflix key on an Nvidia Shield TV remote control

I recently switched to an ISP that provides TV through an on-line connection to an Android TV device. I chose Nvidia’s Shield TV for this purpose. The system has a nice remote control with a dedicated (large) button to access Netflix. The problem is that the button is very sensitive. It’s really easy to brush against the button and load Netflix inadvertently. Fortunately, there is a relatively easy fix.

Updating the GRUB2 boot menu

Some time ago, I indicated how to manually update the grub boot menu (see: GRUB2 revisited). This required quite a lot of effort to change file permissions and edit several text files. A much simpler method, that uses a graphical user interface, is to use the Grub Customizer application developed by Daniel Richter [Thanks Daniel!]

Verifying a Linux Mint ISO file with a GUI

Some time ago, I downloaded and authenticated the ISO file for Linux Mint Version 18 (see: Verifying the Linux Mint 18 ISO file), using a mostly manual method, through a series of Linux commands. A much easier method is to use the GtkHash app which provides a graphical user interface (GUI).

The Recycle Bin in Asus File Manager

When you first delete a file in Asus File Manager on your Android smartphone, a dialogue box pops up to confirm that you want to temporarily delete the file to the Recycle Bin. Included on this screen is a check box labelled “Permanently delete”. Checking this box has the advantage that disk space is saved since the file is actually deleted rather than being stored in the Recycle Bin for possible future recovery (or permanent deletion when the recycle bin is cleared).

Removing a “missing” PPA

Running Update Manager resulted in an error message to the effect that a Personal Package Archive (PPA) for the Opera web browser, was missing and/or unavailable.

LineageOS 14.1 receiving OTA updates again!

I recently downloaded and installed the LineageOS 14.1 custom ROM (Nougat) developed by MSe1969 (see A Stable Custom ROM for the Moto G3). My rationale was that this is one of the few – the only one that have found – custom ROM’s that has a recent history of monthly updates with Google’s security patches.