NeoOffice Download and Installation Issues

From NeoWiki

Contents 1 Installation Issues 1.1 When running the NeoOffice/J installer, the "test" returns with "NeoOffice/J can not be installed on this computer." 1.1.1 Mac OS X 10.2.x "Jaguar" 1.1.2 Mac OS X 10.3.x "Panther" 1.2 Why does the NeoOffice/J installer request my administrator password? 1.3 When upgrading to a new version, the old brown icon remains in the Dock. 2 Patching Issues 2.1 The patch installer refuses to start the installation. 2.1.1 The patch is for a version of NeoOffice/J newer than the version installed on your computer 2.1.2 NeoOffice/J is not located in the /Applications folder 3 Post-Installation and First Launch Issues 3.1 Why does NeoOffice/J access the Internet after the first launch? 3.2 Why does NeoOffice/J ask me to register when I first run it? 3.3 Do I have to make a donation?

Installation Issues

When running the NeoOffice/J installer, the "test" returns with "NeoOffice/J can not be installed on this computer."

Mac OS X 10.2.x "Jaguar"

This problem may occur on versions of Mac OS X 10.2.x. The Neo/J installer checks to see if you are running Mac OS X 10.2 or higher and checks to see if you have BSD support installed on your machine. If either test fails, Neo/J will not install.

The solution is to install the BSD support. If you have the retail version of Mac OS X 10.2 system it's on the first install CD. When you put the CD in, the Welcome to Mac OS X window pops up. Open the Optional Installs folder, where there is a shortcut to the BSD installer. Double-click, then follow the instructions.

If you believe the BSD subsystem is installed, you can also look for the file BSD.pkg in /Library/Receipts.

To check manually if the BSD subsystem is installed, try the following in a terminal window:

basename ihavebsd.test .test

If you see the text: ihavebsd, the subsystem is (at least partly) there. If you get an error, you should certainly install the BSD subsystem anew.

Mac OS X 10.3.x "Panther"

This likely applies to Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" also.

The BSD subsystem is installed by default on 10.3.x (Panther) as part of the BaseSystem.pkg. If this problem occurs on 10.3.x machines, your BSD subsystem may have been somehow removed or messed up. It is not recommended that you reinstall BaseSystem.pkg alone, since this may leave your system in an unuseable state. Instead, reinstall Mac OS X from your retail CD; select the "Upgrade" option to preserve all of your settings, documents, etc. Then reinstall the latest Mac OS X updates and security updates to return you system to an up-to-date state.

N.B.: Since this requires a fairly significant amount of work, and perhaps time, you should probably check the trinity forums first and see if someone can determine if something else is the problem and find another solution.

Why does the NeoOffice/J installer request my administrator password?

In this thread, Patrick Luby explains the reasons for this requirement:

Administrator access is required because Neo/J uses OpenOffice.org's multi-user installation. This doesn't require admin access, but in the early days of Neo/J testing, we found that the OOo code has a very bad habit of trying to edit the installed files if the files are owned by the same user that is running Neo/J. This can really muck up a Neo/J installation over time.

So, to prevent the OOo code from editing any of the files in the installation, the installer executes chown -Rf root:admin and chmod -Rf a-w all of the Neo/J files.

When upgrading to a new version, the old brown icon remains in the Dock.

For those of you who are upgrading from 1.1 Alpha to Beta, or from 0.x to 1.1 Beta, 1.1 Release Candidate, or the full 1.1 release, the new icon (a tan ship in a dark blue circle) does not show up in the Dock if the old brown one is already there. Drag the existing icon out of the Dock until it goes poof, then start NeoOffice/J. Now the new icon appears in the Dock. Choose Keep in Dock.

Patching Issues

The patch installer refuses to start the installation.

Under Mac OS X 10.2.x, the installer will return the error message "There are no suitable partitions for the installation"; on Mac OS X 10.3.x and 10.4.x, the installer will provide a red "stop" sign with exclamation point; clicking on the volume will produce the error message "You cannot install this software on this volume" as well as some further information about the problem (or on 10.4.x, "Could not find specified message for index 16", which is a bug in the 10.4.x installer).

There are two cases in which these messages might appear.

The patch is for a version of NeoOffice/J newer than the version installed on your computer

As solved in this thread, "It seems you were still running NeoOffice/J 1.1 Alpha 2, and the latest patches only work on NeoOffice/J 1.1 Beta. Neo/J moved from the OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 codebase to the 1.1.3 codebase between Alpha 2 and Beta, so one can't just patch Alpha 2 and get Beta. It would be like trying to apply the Mac OS X 10.3.1 updater to Mac OS X 10.2.8...."

If you open NeoOffice/J and select "About" from the "Help" menu, the version reported in the About window should be NeoOffice/J 1.1 Release Candidate (as of May 2005).

To fix this problem, drag NeoOffice/J from the Applications folder to the Trash. Then download and install the latest version and the new patch that goes with it. See the NeoOffice/J Release Notes to learn which version is the latest.

NeoOffice/J is not located in the /Applications folder

The message will also appear if you have moved NeoOffice/J from your /Applications folder. The patch installer will only search the /Applications folder for NeoOffice/J installations; /Applications is the only supported location for installing NeoOffice/J.

To fix this problem, quit the installer and move NeoOffice/J back into your /Applications folder. Because the underlying OpenOffice.org stores a number of absolute pathnames in its configuration and preference files, you will also have to delete the <username>/Library/NeoOfficeJ-1.1 folder or you will experience errors running NeoOffice/J in the future. Then run the installer again to install the patch.

Post-Installation and First Launch Issues

Why does NeoOffice/J access the Internet after the first launch?

NeoOffice/J is regulary being improved. Bugs are being fixed and new features are constantly being added.

When you first install NeoOffice/J, and about once a week thereafter, the application will check the Internet to inform you of any new recommended patches or updates so that you can be sure that your version is always up-to-date.

If a new patch is found, your preferred web browser should open and take you to the patch download page.

Staying up-to-date will not only increase the stability of your software, it will cut down on the large number of "duplicate" bugs filed that have already been fixed in released patches. This helps ensure that limited development time can be spent on unfixed bugs and adding new features.

Why does NeoOffice/J ask me to register when I first run it?

Registration is not required to use NeoOffice/J. It is simply a way for developers to get a sense of who is using NeoOffice/J and to connect you with the Web site.

Do I have to make a donation?

If you would like to make a donation to help support continued software development, you are encouraged to do so. It is not, however, required.