Software installation Softmakers Office 2021 paid version.

bigrammy

Hi,
I used to use and paid for Softmakers Office product a long long time ago when Windows was the only thing I knew. I had pretty much forgotten about their products as they never really supported Linux back in the day.
Any how I was recently sent an e-mail by them saying they missed me etc and would I be interested in returning if they could offer me a low price & if so then they could offer me the Office 2021 for the insane price £8.49! instead of £84.90.
I thought great but probably just Windows or Mac but I was wrong as they have added a lot of Linux Distro support since I last had anything to do with them. 😃
Sadly Solus is not listed but they do have .tgz-based installation package so my question is would using this .tgz installation script give any issues? Example things like icons not working, dead links, permissions, etc. place things in the wrong areas, etc, etc. Running these install scripts can make a mess sometimes and are difficult to clean up after if it does not go well.
https://www.softmaker.com/en/support/installation/linux/office-2021

Install script here
https://gist.github.com/bigrammy/065786701638c913d9efdec0c561875d

alfisya

The script looks fine to me. It looks like they just put binary blob, icon, and desktop file on your system folder. Probably doesn't even rely on native dependencies. If you are not sure you can try it first on VM.

bigrammy Running these install scripts can make a mess sometimes and are difficult to clean up after if it does not go well

It most probably is, you can not just sudo eopkg rm freeoffice. Do they provide uninstall script?

seanragout

bigrammy
Hey, like you I used Softmaker Office when on Windoz and carried it over, its a fine piece of software so why not?
The install script works perfectly and I can honestly say never had any problems using it.
Currently have Softmaker NX installed and use as my go to office apps with LibreOffice used as a backup

bigrammy

alfisya
Thanks for taking the time to have a look 👍️
I think re-running the installscript may offer the chance to uninstall as I saw this line
echo '#!/bin/sh' >$UNINSTALLSCRIPT
So it probably creates the uninstall as it installs 😆

@brent @elfprince
I know and agree I do occasionally use off line documents & I just remember it had a few good features and the compatibility with MS office was pretty good. I am not a big fan of LibreOffice probably because I don't use it that often.
I just wanted to give it a try and wanted to know if the install would screw anything up I am not trying to plug the software in anyway 😆

brent

It's not necessary to pay for an office suite anymore. save your money.
2 cents.

edit: it's not necessary to pay for a proprietary office suite either.

elfprince

brent In the past I've installed free versions of OnlyOffice and FreeOffice on my Solus. Never used them though. I hardly used LibreOffice as well. Not worth paying for any of it.

WetGeek

elfprince Not worth paying for any of it.

Pretty much the same here. I think I've used LibreOffice to create a couple of small signs, and to address two or three envelopes. That's in six years or so. If I were still a student, or working an office, my usage would probably be different.

bigrammy

For those who are old school & don't mind doing things via the command line then qpdf is already included/part of Solus.
I remember using it to create & password protect some pdf's containing my ID documents that I needed to send via email once. 😿
Once I had worked out the correct cmd's it worked great. 😕
It really is good & with all info and usage is here.
https://qpdf.readthedocs.io
& some pdf page split examples among others here.
https://qpdf.readthedocs.io/en/stable/cli.html#pdf-modification

bigrammy

seanragout
Hi I did post a reply saying I went ahead and installed Softmaker Offfice 2021 without a hitch but I think the post got moved to the PDF thread by the Mod. 😆
I agree totally and I never had any problems using it on Windoz also, It's good to know it works well on Linux too 😀 I have my old Office Apps back so no need to keep LibreOffice so I removed it.
sudo eopkg remove libreoffice-common