[HOW TO] Downgrade Abiword version to 2.8.6 in Xubuntu 12.04/12.10

It has been brought to my attention, by one of the readers, that the Abiword 2.9 which is pre-installed in Xubuntu 12.04/12.10 has some problems. The last stable version is 2.8.6 and people were happier with it, so I wrote a simple script to downgrade the installed version to 2.8.6.

Abiword 2.8.6 running on Xubuntu 12.10

The script removes the current installed version, downloads and installs the deb files for version 2.8.6 and locks this version so it won't get upgraded automatically when the system is upgraded. The code on the "Downgrade" section of this post, downloads and executes this script. It'll ask for your password because it needs administrator privileges for installing the packages.

Downgrade

Open a terminal window and run:

cd && wget -O downgrade_abiword.sh http://goo.gl/cZM6N && chmod +x downgrade_abiword.sh && ./downgrade_abiword.sh && rm downgrade_abiword.sh

[NEWS] 1GB ISO for Xubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail

The size of the ISO file for the next Xubuntu release (13.04 Raring Ringtail) will no longer fit a CD. The size is being increased to 1GB and the ISO will include once again GIMP and Gnumeric.

References

Xubuntu goes 1GB for Raring, GIMP and Gnumeric are back

[TIP] Open Xfce4 Terminal drop-down console from Thunar

This article will show how to open a directory in Xfce4 Terminal's drop-down console, directly from Thunar's context menu.

You can either create a new custom action or edit the existing "Open Terminal Here" action, adding the following as the command:

xfce4-terminal --tab --drop-down --working-directory %f

To learn more about adding Thunar's custom actions, read this.

Elementary Icon Theme for JDownloader

The default icon theme for Xubuntu is "elementary Xfce". There's a theme for JDownloader that matches the icon theme, giving the application a more native look. Let's see how to install it.

Install

1. Download the theme from here.
2. Extract the "jd" directory, that is inside the compressed file you just downloaded, into the hidden folder in your home called jdownloader ($HOME/.jdownloader).
3. On JDownloader go to Settings > User Interface, choose the Light(GTK) style and choose Elementary as the theme.
4. After restarting JDownloader the theme is applied.

References

elementary Icon Theme for JDownloader | Gnome-Look

[HOW TO] Install latest LibreOffice in Xubuntu (PPA)

This article shows how to install the latest version of the productivity suite, LibreOffice. When I say "latest" I'm referring to alphas and betas, so I'll quote the "LibreOffice Packaging" team:

Only for the most brave and courageous!

If you're running Xubuntu 12.04, LibreOffice 3.6 RC will be installed. And LibreOffice 4.0 alpha will be installed for the Xubuntu 12.10 users.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo apt-get purge libreoffice-core -y && sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa -y && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libreoffice -y

Usage

LibreOffice can be accessed via Applications Menu > Office > LibreOffice.

References

LibreOffice Pre-Releases | PPA

[HOW TO] Find which PPA repository a package belongs to

To find out the repository address for a package we use the policy argument of the apt-get tool.

Syntax

Open a terminal window and run:

apt-cache policy PACKAGE_NAME

Example

The repository link is presented on the line second to last:

apt-cache policy diodon
diodon:
  Installed: 1.0.2-0ubuntu0~quantal1
  Candidate: 1.0.2-0ubuntu0~quantal1
  Version table:
 *** 1.0.2-0ubuntu0~quantal1 0
        500 http://ppa.launchpad.net/diodon-team/stable/ubuntu/ quantal/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

References

How To Find Out To Which PPA Repository A Package Belongs To | Web Upd8

[HOW TO] Use Xfce4 Terminal as a Quake-like console

Since version 0.6, Xfce4 Terminal provides a option to use it as a drop-down console, just like Guake and Tilda.

Install

Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x is installed when Xfce is upgraded to 4.12. So if you're running Xubuntu 12.10, all you need is add the Xfce 4.12 PPA. Xubuntu 12.04 users have to add Xfce 4.10 first and only then add the Xfce 4.12 PPA. But do not worry, installation is as simple as navigating to this page and coping and pasting the command written on the Install section on a terminal window. The command will add Xfce 4.10 PPA if you're running Xubuntu 12.04 and will upgrade Xfce and its related programs (Xfce4 Terminal, Thunar, etc).

Usage

Xfce4 Terminal drop-down feature is available as a command line option: xfce4-terminal --drop-down.

You can assign a keyboard shortcut for summoning the terminal (Settings Manager > Keyboard > Application Keyboard Shortcuts). The command bellow will add F4 as the key to summon the terminal; you can edit it to use any other key.

xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -p /commands/custom/F4 -n -t string -s "xfce4-terminal --drop-down"

Once running, the terminal can also be summoned using the icon on the panel. Right-clicking this icon gives access the drop-down preferences where settings can be adjusted:

References

How To Use Xfce4 Terminal 0.6.x As A Drop-Down Console (Guake-style) | Web Upd8