[Solved] Trying to install 4.1.7

[Hagar Delest]

Hello!

I've been an OpenOffice user for some years now. However, installing 4.1.7 has set me back some years. I was working with 4.1.6 when I got news about the update. After trying and failing and reading and so on, I deleted the 4.1.6 version, as the .7 wasn't coming through. I thought that might be the problem.

So I opened the .dmg file again, opened OpenOffice again.. and it now says it's version 4.1.5.

What's wrong? Why am I not able to install 4.1.7 ?? HELP!

Thanks in advance..

[RoryOF]

, as the .7 wasn't coming through

So, have you actually downloaded the 4.1.7 version?

[Villeroy]

The downloaded version is indicated in the file name of the downloaded .dmg package. You have to shut down any running instance of OpenOffice before installing a new version. Possibly this is the problem.

The exact version of Apache OpenOffice does not matter that much. 4.1.7 is the same as 4.1.6 plus 3 bug fixes, 4.1.6 is the same as 4.1.5 plus a hand full of bug fixes. The last new feature was added to version 4.1.0 several years ago. OpenOffice development came to halt. They kick out a new release with tiny changes once a year just because otherwise they would have to leave the Apache foundation.
Since 2011 https://libreoffice.org/download/ is the actively developed successor. Most (if not all) developers switched from OpenOffice over to LibreOffice.
I recommend to install LO 6.2.7 which is 6.2.0 (February 19) plus seven bug fix releases.
LO 6.3.2 is 6.3.0 (August 19) plus 2 bug fix releases.

[Tanja]

, as the .7 wasn't coming through

So, have you actually downloaded the 4.1.7 version?

If clicking on 'download' and installing the dmg is downloading it, I must have severall times by now!

[Tanja]

The downloaded version is indicated in the file name of the downloaded .dmg package. You have to shut down any running instance of OpenOffice before installing a new version. Possibly this is the problem.

The exact version of Apache OpenOffice does not matter that much. 4.1.7 is the same as 4.1.6 plus 3 bug fixes, 4.1.6 is the same as 4.1.5 plus a hand full of bug fixes. The last new feature was added to version 4.1.0 several years ago. OpenOffice development came to halt. They kick out a new release with tiny changes once a year just because otherwise they would have to leave the Apache foundation.
Since 2011 https://libreoffice.org/download/ is the actively developed successor. Most (if not all) developers switched from OpenOffice over to LibreOffice.
I recommend to install LO 6.2.7 which is 6.2.0 (February 19) plus seven bug fix releases.
LO 6.3.2 is 6.3.0 (August 19) plus 2 bug fix releases.

This might be a good idea. Will I still be able to use the same OpenOffice documents though?

[Villeroy]

The most important matter with the whole OpenOffice thing is the standardized Open Document Format (odt, ods, odp for text, spreadsheets, presentations). This standard is completely free and 100% documented. Dozends of programs, including recent versions of MS Office, can handle these documents more or less. The intention is that as many programs as possible should be able to handle complex office documents so you do not longer depend on a single vendor for a specific type of documents. OpenOffice and LibreOffice are two reference implementations for this free standard which means that they both try to implement every aspect of the standard. When LibreOffice was forked from OpenOffice in 2011, both versions 3.3 were identical except for the branding (OO=blue, LO=green).
Yes, LibreOffice handles your Open Document files equally well and it handles more foreign file formats way better than OpenOffice did. There are rare corner cases where OpenOffice can open a foreign file and LO fails, though.
One issue with LO is that some of its improvements do not really improve anything.

[Tanja]

Thanks Villeroy. I just don't get why an update just doesn't replace the older version. Is it really the case you have to manually remove the version you've got to install the new one? I'm a bit fed up with it now. Half a workday down the drain

[Villeroy]

The new version does overwrite the new one, even if you do not remove the old one. If this fails, it may be due to the fact that the old version was silently running in the background without any window being visible. OpenOffice (and LO too) has a nasty feature called "Quick Starter". It keeps the program running in the background after you closed the last Window. It may even start the office suite invisibly on system start-up. The running office should be indicated by a "tray icon" (Windows term), a little icon, typically displayed near the clock. The OpenOffice tray icon has menu items to start new documents and to exit the whole thing. In addition, your Mac might have some gadget to display all running processes (Windows "task manager"). A running office would be indicated by a process named "soffice" (the predecessor of OpenOffice was a commercial product named "StarOffice"). Sorry, I never used a Mac in my life.

[robleyd]

You might find useful information in the Installation Guide

The [Tutorial] Mac FAQ is also a useful resource for Mac users.

[Tanja]

The new version does overwrite the new one, even if you do not remove the old one. If this fails, it may be due to the fact that the old version was silently running in the background without any window being visible. OpenOffice (and LO too) has a nasty feature called "Quick Starter". It keeps the program running in the background after you closed the last Window. It may even start the office suite invisibly on system start-up. The running office should be indicated by a "tray icon" (Windows term), a little icon, typically displayed near the clock. The OpenOffice tray icon has menu items to start new documents and to exit the whole thing. In addition, your Mac might have some gadget to display all running processes (Windows "task manager"). A running office would be indicated by a process named "soffice" (the predecessor of OpenOffice was a commercial product named "StarOffice"). Sorry, I never used a Mac in my life.

OMG I tried it again. First I 'quit' (the hard quit) the running OO (which I thought I'd done before??) and then downloaded OO 7 again. AND THEN IT REPLACED THE OLD ONE AND IS UP AND RUNNING!

Thanks a bunch Villeroy, you made my day

[Tanja]

You might find useful information in the Installation Guide

The [Tutorial] Mac FAQ is also a useful resource for Mac users.

Yes, I read this earlier. Thanks for the tip!