NeoOffice Download and Installation Issues

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See [[Troubleshooting Spellcheck]] for further details on issues with certain languages. See [[Troubleshooting Spellcheck]] for further details on issues with certain languages.
-===Why doesn't NeoOffice let me run it as “root”?===+===Why doesn't NeoOffice let me run it as "root"?===
-In [http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2077 this thread], Patrick Luby explains the reasons for this requirement:+Running as root is disabled on purpose. Several years ago we found that when running as root, NeoOffice's underlying OpenOffice code would modify files with the <tt>/Applications/NeoOffice.app</tt> folder. This, in turn, caused NeoOffice to not be launchable from a shared network volume or launchable by any non-root user on a multi-user machine.
-:Running as root is disabled on purpose. Over a year ago I added this code because we found that running as root causes the underlying OpenOffice.org code to act like it is in "single-user install" mode. In this mode, OpenOffice.org starts writing user preferences in the <tt>/Applications/NeoOffice.app</tt> files. This, in turn, makes Neo pretty much unusable for any other user account on your machine.+If you are logged in as "root", you can run NeoOffice as a non-root user using the following steps:
-<!--+
-:The only way to run Neo while logged in as root is to execute Neo as a non-root user in a terminal:+
-:<pre>sudo -H -u <non-root-user-name> /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice.bin</pre>+# Launch the <tt>/Applications/Utilties/Terminal</tt> application
- +# Execute the following command in the Terminal window. Note: replace <tt>"<non-root user>"</tt> with the name of a non-root user on your machine:
-:'''Note that the "-H" and "-u" parameters must be used.''' -->+<pre>sudo -H -u <non-root-user-name> /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice.bin</pre>
- +
-Also note that running as (or even enabling) root is discouraged under Mac OS X, and one should only use root if one is an experienced UNIX admin and has a good reason to do so.+
=== Why does NeoOffice access the Internet after the first launch? === === Why does NeoOffice access the Internet after the first launch? ===

Revision as of 14:18, 15 September 2015

Contents

Downloading NeoOffice

Existing users who have made a payment during the last year

If you are an existing NeoOffice user who has made a payment within the last year, you will be able to download the newest NeoOffice releases as normal. When your services expire in the future, you will be able to make a new payment using the method described below.

Existing users who have not made a payment during the last year

If you are an existing NeoOffice user who has not made a payment within the last year, has not made a payment dispute in the past, and would like to download one of the newest NeoOffice releases, follow these steps in order to make a new payment:

  1. Visit the NeoOffice download page and click on NeoOffice Classic Edition.
  2. Login using the e-mail address that you used when you made your last PayPal payment.
  3. If you have not made a payment during the last year, a PayPal payment form will appear. Follow the instructions on that page to make a new payment.

I want to download NeoOffice 3.4.1 but I only see NeoOffice 2015 Classic Edition

If you are running Mac OS X 10.6 - 10.10 and you do not want to upgrade to NeoOffice 2015 Classic Edition, you can download the older NeoOffice 3.4.1 version here.

Before Installing

Do I need to uninstall a previous version of NeoOffice first?

No. NeoOffice will install over an existing NeoOffice installation. After upgrading, you may want to check for upgrades to any third-party dictionaries that you may have previously installed.

Can I have two versions of NeoOffice installed on the same machine?

Yes. To install a second version of NeoOffice, use the following steps:

  1. In the Finder, create a copy of your NeoOffice installation by navigating to the /Applications fodler and right-clicking or Control-clicking on the NeoOffice icon. In the popup menu that appears, select the Duplicate menu item. This will create a new NeoOffice installation in the /Applications folder.
  2. Install the new version of NeoOffice. The installer will upgrade either the original installation or the copied installation that you created but it will not upgrade both.
  3. When you no longer need to use one of the versions, drag the undesired version of NeoOffice from the /Applications folder to the Trash, empty the Trash.

Note: while you can have two versions of NeoOffice installed on the same machine, in most cases only one version can be run at a time. You must quit the running version of NeoOffice before you launch a different version of NeoOffice.

Do I need to uninstall OpenOffice or LibreOffice first?

No. NeoOffice will not harm your OpenOffice or LibreOffice installation. NeoOffice uses separate folders to store your user preferences, macros, and extensions so you do not need to uninstall either OpenOffice or LibreOffice.

To have the Finder open files in NeoOffice instead of in OpenOffice or LibreOffice, see Setting the default application.

Installation Issues

When double-clicking on the .dmg file, there is an error about "image not recognized"

This error usually means that the NeoOffice .dmg file was not completely downloaded. The NeoOffice .dmg file is very large and some combinations of browsers and internet connections can cause downloads of large files to fail without any error before the entire file has finished downloading.

In this case, you might try using the command-line curl tool to complete the download (this tool is also useful if you have a slow internet connection and you might want to temporarily stop the download to free up your internet connection. Instructions on using curl to download NeoOffice can be found here.

Installation stalls when it gets to the "Select Destination" panel

The installer sometimes hangs when it gets to the "Select Destination" panel and no drives in that panel will be selectable.

Unreachable or unreadable volumes on your Mac

The Apple Installer is known to hang when probing all of the volumes on your system if any of your volumes are unreadable.

Try opening each of the volumes on your desktop in the Finder and unmounting any iPods. Once you can open all volumes, then try rerunning the installer. If opening any volumes causes the Finder to hang, you have found the cause of the problem and you might need to reboot to force Mac OS X to unmount the offending volume.

Virus Barrier X6 software

VirusBarrier X6 is known to crash while scanning NeoOffice’s pre-installation scripts, thereby blocking the Apple Installer from continuing. Sometimes after a period of 10 minutes Apple’s installer will recover.

You may be able to prevent this problem from occurring by temporarily disabling the “Scanning & Firewall” feature of VirusBarrier X6 before trying to install NeoOffice or a NeoOffice patch.

If neither temporarily disabling the “Scanning & Firewall” feature of VirusBarrier X6 nor waiting 10 minutes of the Apple Installer to recover works, you may have to completely uninstall VirusBarrier X6.

Installation fails with a "Install Failed. The source media you are installing from is damaged" error message

For some users, installation will fail and the following error message will appear:

Install Failed. The source media you are installing from is damaged

If you see this message, most likely the disk image you downloaded is corrupted. We recommend that you delete the corrupted file and redownload NeoOffice.

Why does the NeoOffice installer request my administrator password?

The NeoOffice installer is designed to not only support launching NeoOffice on a single user machine, but also to support launching NeoOffice from a shared network volume and launching NeoOffice by any user on a multi-user machine. We have found that installing as an administrative user is the only reliable way to handle all of these types of installation.

Patching Issues

The patch installer refuses to start the installation.

If none of the volumes in the installer's "Select a Destination" panel are selectable, there are possible causes for this:

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

Patches for the latest version of NeoOffice will not apply to earlier versions of NeoOffice. Patches can only be installed when a specific version of NeoOffice is already installed. For example, NeoOffice 2015 Classic Edition must already be installed before you can install NeoOffice 2015 Classic Edition Patch 1.

To fix this problem, download and install the latest version of NeoOffice from the NeoOffice download page. After installing the latest version, select the Help > Check for Updates menu to check if you have the latest patch.

NeoOffice is not located in the /Applications folder

The message will also appear if you have moved NeoOffice from your /Applications folder, or if you have renamed NeoOffice. The patch installer will only search the /Applications folder for NeoOffice installations. If you have moved NeoOffice out of the /Applications folder, quit the installer, move NeoOffice back into your /Applications folder, run the installer, and then move NeoOffice back to its original folder.

Post-Installation and First Launch Issues

Check your language settings before launching NeoOffice

NeoOffice uses the first language in the Preferred languages: list in the Language & Region panel in the System Preferences application.

Some languages have more than one form (English has US English, British English, Australian English, etc.). To add another language or language form, launch the System Preferences application, click on the Language & Region icon, and click the + button below the Preferred languages: list. After adding a new language, move that language to the top of the Preferred languages: list and restart NeoOffice.

See Troubleshooting Spellcheck for further details on issues with certain languages.

Why doesn't NeoOffice let me run it as "root"?

Running as root is disabled on purpose. Several years ago we found that when running as root, NeoOffice's underlying OpenOffice code would modify files with the /Applications/NeoOffice.app folder. This, in turn, caused NeoOffice to not be launchable from a shared network volume or launchable by any non-root user on a multi-user machine.

If you are logged in as "root", you can run NeoOffice as a non-root user using the following steps:

  1. Launch the /Applications/Utilties/Terminal application
  2. Execute the following command in the Terminal window. Note: replace "<non-root user>" with the name of a non-root user on your machine:
sudo -H -u <non-root-user-name> /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice.bin

Why does NeoOffice access the Internet after the first launch?

NeoOffice is regularly being improved. Bugs are being fixed and new features are constantly being added.

When you first install a version of NeoOffice, 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.

If you do need to disable the "patch-check" feature (for instance, you are in a managed environment and will be handling mass-deployment of NeoOffice patches yourself), see Disabling Patch Checking for instructions. If you disable patch checking, we strongly urge you to subscribe to the NeoJUpdate mailing list, closely watch the NeoOffice Release Notes page in this wiki, or use another method to keep aware of the latest patches.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting tips for other common problems can be found on the Troubleshooting Tips page.

How do I uninstall NeoOffice?

To uninstall the NeoOffice application, just drag NeoOffice from the /Applications folder in Finder into the Trash and empty the Trash. If you also want to remove any folders that contain your NeoOffice user preferences, macros, and extensions, see Uninstalling NeoOffice.

Send us a description of your installation problem

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