Libre Office fails to start

[miriam]

I'm using Puppy lupu 528.

I downloaded and installed the LibreOffice-3.5.1-en_us-2.sfs which did the pet conversion to install it. When I tried to run it I got a momentary display of its splash screen then nothing, so I tried it from the commandline and found it was giving this message

Code: Select all

/opt/libreoffice3.5/program/soffice.bin: symbol lookup error: /opt/libreoffice3.5/program/../program/libpyuno.so: undefined symbol: PyUnicodeUCS2_FromUnicode

I then renamed the "/opt/libreoffice3.5/" folder to "/opt/libreoffice3.5--removed" and downloaded and installed the rpm files from http://libreoffice.org but when I tried running it I got exactly the same error.

I've posted a bug report on LibreOffice's bugzilla page, but as plenty of people seem to have no problem running LibreOffice, I was wondering if it might be a Puppy-specific problem. It is a bit puzzling though, as LibreOffice appears to be completely self-contained.

Requirements listed in LibreOffice's README file are:

* Linux Kernel version 2.6.18 or higher;
* glibc2 version 2.5 or higher;
* gtk version 2.10.4 or higher;
* Pentium compatible PC (Pentium III or Athlon recommended);
* 256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended);
* Up to 1.55 GB available hard disk space;
* X Server with 1024x768 resolution (higher resolution recommended), with at least 256 colors;
* Gnome 2.16 or higher, with the gail 1.8.6 and the at-spi 1.7 packages (required for support for assistive technology [AT] tools), or another compatible GUI (such as KDE, among others).

On my machine:

* Linux kernel is 2.6.33.2
* Typing in /lib/libc.so.6 (which actually links to /lib/libc-2.11.1.so) returns lots of info beginning with: GNU C Library (Ubuntu EGLIBC 2.11.1-0ubuntu7.1) stable release version 2.11.1... I'm guessing this means that it is glibc2 version 2.11.1
* I have no idea what version of gtk Puppy 528 Lucid uses, nor how to find out, though I assume it has a sufficiently recent version
* I have a recent Athlon processor
* this machine has 2GB RAM
* there's still 8GB of space on the main drive
* my screen exceeds requirements
* I don't know about the Gnome/KDE/other GUI requirements -- I use JWM/Rox

Anybody got any ideas?

[bigpup]

For the best results running Libre Office in Lupu 528.

Get the complete integrated version of LupuLibre 528.005-2 with LibO 3.5.2.
It has Libre Office 3.5.2 installed and integrated with the desktop. Many of the standard Puppy programs are also updated.
This is a complete new version of Lupu528, but the bug fixes and improvements are worth it.
There is also a LupuPlus Libre version.
The details are here:
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=70855

[miriam]

Thanks bigpup. My preferred solution would be to be able to add it to my existing Puppy because then I don't have to lose a day or two refitting all the gazillion customisations I have on my system, but if there is no way for me to get LibreOffice working then I'll probably have to go for the more radical solution of upgrading the whole shebang. [sigh]

I wonder if anybody else has managed to get LibreOffice working on a stock Puppy. I don't have any difficulty getting OpenOffice working. (I hid it in an inaccessible folder so that it couldn't interfere with LibreOffice while trying to run that.)

If other people are finding it difficult to get LibreOffice working out of the gate then maybe I should just wait for a later version of it. OpenOffice works fine for now, and although I won't be getting any more OpenOffice now that it is in Oracle's clutches, my existing version works okay. I would like to keep up with the nice, juicy features in LibreOffice though. [sigh]

Thanks for the link and information.

[bigpup]

You could try this pet of LibreOffice.
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... b00#623475

Talking about upgrading. In the Puppy Universal Installer there is an option given to upgrade a full install of Puppy. This is only offered if you choose full install. It only works when upgrading a previous full install.

For frugal install upgrades just use the old save file with the new frugal install.

Seems any upgrade will have small problems mainly minor issues like icons used or items on desktop, wallpaper used, theme used, etc...

[miriam]

Thanks again bigpup.

I'll pause my download of lupulibre-528.005-2.iso (only another 5 hours to go) and download that version of LibreOffice instead.

Yes, I've used that upgrade option before. It is very useful. I have a full install on my machine (machines actually -- all my computers run Puppy except my two handhelds, one an old PalmOS device, the other a newer Android one). I'm a chronic tinkerer with my machines and end up fitting them comfortably to myself. Unfortunately that makes it a headache to upgrade. Often what I do is add another partition with the new Puppy on it and gradually shift to it. I still have old partitions with Puppy 2, 3, and 4, which I occasionally, though rarely, use. I mostly use 5 Lupu, but added Quirky recently, which I like, and will try Slacko too. I used to have Mandrake and Debian partitions too, but after the speed, responsiveness, and tiny footprint of Puppy it is hard to put up with the bloat and lag of other Linuxes.

[miriam]

I may finally have a lead on what this error means.

At http://bytes.com/topic/python/answers/2 ... romunicode it was said that some versions of python use 4-byte unicode and others 2-byte unicode. I seem to recall hearing of this before, and in fact have before been caught out by obscure errors caused by it.

What is strange in LibreOffice though, is that it contains its own python executable and libraries. But it doesn't have any pygtk stuff. Perhaps that's the problem. I compile a lot of things and I know I was working on pygtk things a while back. Maybe the two camps of pygtk introduced incompatibilities. Damn! Unfortunately it means that no matter what version of LibreOffice I install it will likely have the same problem.

I wish they kept the OpenOffice python. It doesn't have any difficulties with the libs on my computer.... hmmm... maybe I can substitute that python into LibreOffice...

[miriam]

Nope. I recompiled pygtk and reinstalled python. No change in the error.
I tried substituting LibreOffice's python with OpenOffice's, but found an incompatibility with some Sun stuff.

[sigh]

[miriam]

bigpup, sorry to report that I have the same problem with the pet of LibreOffice that you suggested. Thank you anyway. I'm continuing the download of lupulibre-528.005-2.iso... only 3 more hours to go.

[miriam]

Recompiled python 2.6.8, but still have the same problem. It is something else then. I'm about out of ideas.