[Solved] Update OpenOffice from menu bar icon

[RAJJ]

Hi there,

I was happy to receive an email that Open Office had the new version out. I clicked on the link in this email, and my computer began downloading the new software, after I gave it permission.

About halfway through, or a little further, the download stopped and I looked for it, but it was no longer present in my downloads folder.

Shortly after that I noticed that at the very top of my screen, there was a tiny icon for Open Office that said there was a new way of downloading rather than clicking on email links, and that if I wanted to download the new version of Open Office, I had to navigate to the website and press download. This seemed odd to me, so I didn't do it. I have had some changes to websites I regularly visit that I don't appreciate so I am a bit wary that websites can be changed. However, obviously emails can also be sent with false links. I was not sure what to think, and I made a note about it on my computer.

Today I notice that that tiny icon for updating Open Office that was installed at the top of my screen is gone. I received a tiny icon for Avid and for BitDfender up there already. Is this a new thing - putting icons at the very top of the screen? I thought that location was just for your control centre and things related to your apple computer. Personally, I believe that apps should be kept together in one place, like in the apps folder, or in the dock.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing with the Open Office icon to download? I have not downloaded the update yet because I did find it odd.

What would you do if this happened to you?

Thanks.

[Hagar Delest]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I'm no mac user so maybe it's logical I don't get it at all. But could you upload a screenshot to show what you see exactly (see How to attach a document here)?

Use the link bottom right of this page to go to the official download page.

[RAJJ]

Hi, thanks for replying. I would like to take a screenshot, but the icon is no longer up at the top, so I can't now.
I was able to download the update from the email link like normal today, so I do have the updated version now.

[Hagar Delest]

Do you still have the mail? Does it point to the same place (SourceForge.net) as the link from this page?
The only mail I can think of is the one from an AOO mailing list if you are subscribed.

[RAJJ]

I don't know if I'm blind or what, but I don't see a link on this page.
I do still have the email and this is how the link began: http://l.sourceforge.net (but it was very, very long).
I hope that's the right link because I just downloaded it...
The sender from the email was listed as noreply-updater@sourceforge.net and it said that it was from a mailing list.

[Bill]

...I noticed that at the very top of my screen, there was a tiny icon for Open Office that said there was a new way of downloading rather than clicking on email links, and that if I wanted to download the new version of Open Office, I had to navigate to the website and press download. This seemed odd to me, so I didn't do it.

By "at the very top of my screen" do you mean the icon is on the OpenOffice Menu Bar? It's my understanding that the Menu Bar for apps is placed at the top of the screen on a Mac instead of at the top of the app window. When a new version of AOO is available, AOO does place an icon on the right end of the AOO Menu Bar in Windows and Linux that can be clicked for information about the update, but that's not really a new feature.

[RAJJ]

Yeah, that's what I mean - to the far right of the menu bar. I didn't really mind it being there, I was just not expecting this, and I was not sure if this was a new or normal feature. And now it is not there anymore.

[Bill]

And now it is not there anymore.

If you still need to update AOO, select Help > Check for Updates. That should open the same Check for Updates dialog that clicking the icon opens. Clicking the Download button should open the official Apache OpenOffice Download page.

[RAJJ]

Okay, thanks!

[MrProgrammer]

I was happy to receive an email that Open Office had the new version out. I clicked on the link in this email, and my computer began downloading the new software, after I gave it permission. … I have not downloaded the update yet because I did find it odd.

Advice on avoiding malware problems on computers always says never to click on links in unsolicited email you receive. Those may go a fake site which is designed to look official but actually contains a download to infect your computer and make you vulnerable to various scams. It was good that you didn't install that download. Instead of clicking email links, go directly to the organization's website. In this case, use the link at the bottom right of this page: ⬇︎ OpenOffice

I noticed that at the very top of my screen, there was a tiny icon for Open Office that said there was a new way of downloading rather than clicking on email links. … I received a tiny icon for Avid and for BitDfender up there already. … Personally, I believe that apps should be kept together in one place, like in the apps folder, or in the dock.

If you install software, you give it permission to use the MacOS menu bar if the software wants to. If you don't like how non-Apple software which you installed operates, you can remove it. For OpenOffice, you can disable the Online Update feature and then you won't get that icon in the manu bar. I disable the feature since it can cause problems. Recent versions have tried to address those problems, but I still don't trust it.
Issue 128535 MacOS: Application crashes 30 seconds after opening if "check for automatic updates" is turned on
Q50: The automatic updates feature is not working. How do I fix it?
[Solved] AOO 4.1.13 crashes on MacOS about 15 sec after opening

What would you do … ?

The link at the bottom right of this page will tell you the latest available version of OpenOffice.
Q22: How do I tell what version of OpenOffice I have?
Q03: How do I install OpenOffice on a Mac?
Q05: The Gatekeeper won't let me run OpenOffice. How do I proceed?

If this solved your problem please go to your first post use the Edit ☐ button and add [Solved] to the start of the Subject field. Select the green checkmark icon at the same time.

[RAJJ]

Thanks this was useful information.

I noticed when downloading that instead of making copies -1, -2, -3 if multiple identical downloads were made into the downloads folder, that once the download had completed, it turned into the disk image, and the download itself disappeared from the downloads folder. Only the disk image remained (which is what was there before, since the I had downloaded a second copy). I was surprised that only one file was in the downloads folder at the end, and not two, since I had downloaded the file several times. I took a screen recording of this. Maybe this is normal, but I have never seen such a thing happen before this latest update, and I have now seen it happen several times.

In any case, I read the links you gave on doing the update properly, and I downloaded the update from the website. Thanks!