SoftMaker FreeOffice 2018 - "Anniversary" update

[Mike Walsh]

G'day,

I think the directory Softmaker in /root (NOT the hidden one) is also worth running from a symlink if you want to run Softmaker Free on your multi-Pup computer, and economise/ease its use to each Pup.

This directory seems to hold the Templates, so if you have personal template files, having just a single, shared /root/Softmaker directory could reduce hassles between Pups. There may be other stuff in /root/Softmaker to make this worth doing as well.

David S.

Cheers for that, David. Yes, I always sym-link all /root-related stuff whenever I'm doing this with a 'program by remote'. Since that's where most configuration settings are stored, it's not a good idea to miss out anything, I find.

On another note, I've made a pleasant discovery. I said earlier that I'd be making up a 64-bit package for this. I probably will still do that.....but if you have the 32-bit_compat_libs SFS loaded (for Tahr64, at least), then the existing, 32-bit FreeOffice will run without incident.

SoftMaker themselves provide just the one .deb package, and state it's for both 32- and 64-bit. I believe this is to do with the Debian 'multiarch' stuff; I don't think Slackware or most of the Red Hat 'family' have a direct equivalent to this.

(I'm perfectly happy to be corrected, mind you...)


Mike.

[Terry H]

Thanks Mike for this softmaker sfs, working well on my dpup stretch frugal install.

Also nice tip by dabids45 regarding .softmaker hidden directory. Thanks.

[Mike Walsh]

Have re-uploaded packages again, this time to remove the hidden /root directory called .softmaker, which contains the registration info.

As greengeek found out earlier this evening, there's only so many times you can use the serial key..!

Please refer to the instructions in post #1 for how to obtain your own, personal serial 'key'.


Mike.

[Galbi]

Ahh... that's why it didn't ask me the key.
It seemed strange but, since I already was registered in SoftMaker (around 2011 - 2012). Now that I think about it, it was in another Linux and in another computer...
Now I'm using it with my key.

Anyway, thanks Mike for the .sfs

Saludos.

[Mike Walsh]

You're very welcome, Galbi.

I hope this one serves you as well as the older version..!

Enjoy.


Mike.

[keniv]

Hello Mike,
Thanks for this update. Have used the 2012 version on and off,
however, it would not use the key for this so I made a new one. Am running it on quite limited hardware on the 2017 update of lucid 5287 sulu 002 version.

Regards,

Ken.

[Mike Walsh]

Evening, boys & girls.

Well, I've finally got around to doing what I said I would attempt, 4 months ago:-

The other thing I kinda miss is L.Office's StartCenter. Click on one icon, you've got access to the whole suite. FreeOffice doesn't have an equivalent.

I might study some of Smokey's GTK-dialog tutorials he's been publishing in the Newsletter, and see if I can't knock up a wee combi-box with three selection buttons.....one for each app within the suite.

And that's exactly what I've done. I've been studying Smokey's YAD tutorial:-

http://smokey01.com/yad/

...and another one in particular, which was what linked me to Grant's tutorial in the first place:-

http://www.thelinuxrain.com/articles/the-buttons-of-yad

Smokey has been given credit down the bottom of this article. Nice to see!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've re-uploaded the modified packages; what you will now get when you go into Menu->Document is one single entry:-

The SoftMaker FreeOffice StartCenter. And when you click on that, what you will get is this:-





Just a wee 3-button selector box. Click on any Button, and it opens the appropriate module. My personal version of LibreOffice's 'StartCenter' (and I can't find any reference that they've copyrighted that name, so I've, a-hem, 'borrowed' it). But it does cut down on the number of Menu entries.....which is what I wanted to do all along.

For anyone who's interested, the code looks like this:-

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh
#
#Selector for SoftMaker FreeOffice components: © Mike Walsh Apr 2018 - with thanks to Smokey01
#
yad --center --window-icon=/usr/local/lib/X11/pixmaps/office-2-icon.png --title="SoftMaker FreeOffice2016 StartCenter" --form --width=450 --text="SOFTMAKER FREEOFFICE2016 STARTCENTER
--------------------------------------------------
Please choose your desired office module:-" \
--image="/usr/local/lib/X11/pixmaps/office-2-icon.png" \
--field="TEXTMAKER (word processor)":fbtn "textmaker16free" \
--field="PLANMAKER (spreadsheet)":fbtn "planmaker16free" \
--field="PRESENTATIONS (slideshows, etc.)":fbtn "presentations16free" \
--no-buttons --close-on-unfocus

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you use the standard YAD 'form' box, with 'Cancel' & 'OK' buttons, you have to clear the box manually.....or else it'll still be there when you close whichever module you've been using. Well, I didn't want that (and the alternate YAD 'exit' strategy looked a bit of a handful at my current skill-level), so I went with the '--no-buttons' option.....meaning it looks tidier. I also went with a fairly new option, which has only been in the last couple of versions of YAD; '--close-on-unfocus', meaning when the selected module opens, focus switches to that.....and the 'StartCenter' auto-closes.

In order for this to work properly, you may need to compile the newest version of YAD for your Puppy.....but it's incredibly easy, and older versions really want updating anyway. Just follow the instructions provided by our Editor-in-chief, Smokey01, in the very first Puppy Newsletter:-

http://smokey01.com/newsletters/2017/Ja ... 17.html#18

It's a 60-second job.....literally!


I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to be playing around with YAD quite a bit from now on..!


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Afternoon, all.

Following from the above post, I've decided to make the 'FreeOffice StartCenter' available as an 'add-on'. It won't affect your existing installation in any way; it merely offers an alternative way of calling the modules up.

For anybody who's interested, I've included it as an attachment with this post. There's also one for those older Pups where the newest YAD may have problems compiling, due to the need for other, newer system components.....and who are therefore stuck with the default YAD 0.12.4.




Enjoy.


Mike.

[festus]

I thank you, Mike, for making the "FreeOffice StartCenter" available for all here to use.

I slipped it into my office-sfs along with my personal settings and it is a handy improvement.

bliss,
festus

[Puppyt]

Cheers Mike!
Currently working on TahrPup64 + 32-bit libraries added, with the following 10s modifications to /usr/local/bin/FreeOffice.sh for my purchased SoftmakerOffice 2018. Works a treat!

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh
#
#Selector for SoftMaker FreeOffice components: © Mike Walsh Apr 2018 - with thanks to Smokey01
#
yad --center --window-icon=/usr/local/lib/X11/pixmaps/office-2-icon.png --title="SoftMaker Office2018 StartCenter" --form --width=450 --text="SOFTMAKER OFFICE2018 STARTCENTER
--------------------------------------------------
Please choose your desired office module:-" \
--image="/usr/local/lib/X11/pixmaps/office-2-icon.png" \
--field="TEXTMAKER (word processor)":fbtn "textmaker18" \
--field="PLANMAKER (spreadsheet)":fbtn "planmaker18" \
--field="PRESENTATIONS (slideshows, etc.)":fbtn "presentations18" \
--no-buttons --close-on-unfocus

(...will later do some fiddling to include icon and have it listed in radky's tray2 dock in his JWMDesk...)

[Mike Walsh]

@ festus/Puppyt:-

Glad you like it, guys. It was just one of the very few things about FreeOffice that niggled me; I'd got used to it in LibreOffice. I use FreeOffice for all that sort of stuff now, since I just like the way it handles things.

Enjoy.


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Updated StartCenter .pet package

Morning, all.

Following some experimentation, there's now just one, single StartCenter package. I've had a .pet package for yad-0.38 kicking around underfoot for some time; can't remember exactly where it came from. I tested it out in older Pups like Lucid & Racy, as well as newer Pups; this YAD binary seems to function OK in all of 'em, and the 'modern' StartCenter now seems to work well with every Pup.

So, I've re-packaged to include yad-0.38 along with everything else.....eliminating the need to have to compile a newer version of YAD before it'll function. I do like to make things as easy as I can for my fellow Puppians..!

With the inclusion of a newish version of YAD, it's taken the package size a little ways over the Forum upload limit, so you can now find it at my MediaFire a/c, here:-

http://www.mediafire.com/file/gczd6zzli ... -0.1.5.pet

Enjoy.


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

The entire FreeOffice2016 package (both .pet & SFS) has been re-packed to include the suite, StartCenter and yad-0.38. It won't matter in the slightest if yad overwrites an existing version of itself, since it's 'backward-compatible'. Newer versions contain everything found in older ones, with the addition of newer functionality. Bonus!

These can be found at the existing location, as detailed in post #1. Enjoy.

Any problems, I'm easily 'find-able'.


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Evening, all.


SoftMaker FreeOffice 2018


Following a recent thread by Colonel Panic about SoftMaker's Office 2018, I thought it was high time I got off my backside and set about packaging the new version of FreeOffice..!

So; here it is.

A few changes of note:-

The user now has the option of the infamous 'ribbon' interface (or not). You don't have to use it, but you can (if you really think it's the best thing since sliced bread, and simply must have it!)

One negative aspect (for me, at least) is the dropping of the option under the Tools->Options->Appearance tab to be able to change the appearance by means of the 'System Colours'. That, unfortunately, no longer exists.....meaning you're stuck with the horrible plain light grey Windoze-style interface. The 'Linux (system colors)' option used to give a nice dark grey interface, with restrained orange/yellow highlights.....which I really liked.

Never mind..!

Aside from those minor niggles, this appears to be just as functional as the previous version. Oh, and before I forget, there is one item of interest; under the above-mentioned tab, if you hit the 'User Interface' button, you'll see, along with the options for 'Ribbon' & 'Classic' interface, there is now a check-box for something called 'Touch mode' (this is supposed to make icons, menu-entries, etc., BIGGER.....and, I guess, more 'finger-friendly'?)

----------------------------------------------------------------

I've provided SFS and .pet packages, as before. The all-in-one 'StartCenter' is still there, making app selection neater and tidier than a bunch of separate Menu entries.

This time, I will get around to packaging the 64-bit versions, for those that want them. Just be patient, and bear with me, please; I need to get the newest yad compiled for 64-bit, first.

You can find the packages at my GoogleDrive. The link is as follows:-

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Any feedback/problems, y'all know where to find me. I think, over the issue of the suite's appearance, I shall personally be sticking with FO 2016 for the forseeable future....but I know many of you believe the newest of everything is the 'safe' option', so; I'm not one to disappoint!

Enjoy.


Mike.

[anewuser]

Thank you. Is this freeoffice 2018 AND the starter application? It wasn't clear for me.


I registered Softmaker's office 2016 (student license) in win7 and linux (puppy) but I still have a series of complaints with the software. I brought it up on their forum, even. In the end it's their software yet...


I found out key features were starting to dissapear from the free version, eg:

1. Full screen support was weakened in the free version I believe by the inability to assign shortcuts to fullscreen support. Actually full screen support was eventually taken out unless you registered.
2. Needing an internet connection on "first time usage" for registration. What then if you live in the jungle (ok, in an urban area but without internet). That's of no use. That's a usuability "no" for me.

Advice for users of softmaker office:

1. save in a universal format for interoperability rather than softmaker's format. You don't know when you will be unable/willing (app crash, hdd failure, lacks of feature) to run their software and will need to migrate critical documents to other software.
2. Don't allow internet access to the software.

If they follow on the feature bandwagon with the ribbon thing, or if they first offer features to get customers but then start taking them off then I don't need that. Full screen for me it's critical because I need user space to take advantage of the little screen of my netbook. Of course, I'm very small niche, but I'm still an user...

If only libreoffice was smaller than 100MB (it sounds outrageous saying that number outloud for a text processor) Must be the dependcies and the framework used. I refuse to install 300MB of software to write a documment with some formatting.
If only abiword didn't crash so random :'(
The long quest for at least a rich text format word processor that would allow interoperability between linux and windows systems.

[Galbi]

The long quest for at least a rich text format word processor that would allow interoperability between linux and windows systems.

Perhaps:
http://genscriber.com/genappsd/rtf-editor-85.html
(unzip and run)

[RetroTechGuy]

I think you had it correct the first time with the product key.
That key is your key and no one else's!

Softmaker requires a key, and it is assigned to each person, as their own key.

I do wonder if they are using the information you have to give them to get a key, as a way to make some money.
Personal info is money to the right people!

Since this thread has revived... Quite some time ago, I registered for a key (since they said it supported Linux).

I never got around to installing it yet (I just wanted to play with it), but I get periodic emails from them offering various enhanced packages and fonts, and whizbang stuff. I assume that they make money by selling these enhanced products. And that's a fine model - the free version being more limited in some manner (most probably don't need the enhanced - and it's a free test drive, without the modern crippleware/expiring trial version game)

[Burn_IT]

I have been using it for ages on both.

[rockedge]

I am using the latest free version....I like it a lot..runs nice on my latest Bionic Puppy as well as Xenial Pups...

[SolusUmbra]

I downloaded and installed the .pet of free office from mike’s google drive page and I couldn’t get the program to run at all.
In the end I ended up downloading and installing the .deb file from the free office site and everything runs just fine.
However I’m still wondering if anyone else has had that problem or what I might of done wrong.