How to Install Apache OpenOffice in Linux

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

Apache OpenOffice can is a great alternative for Microsoft Office because it features many additional improvements, but best of all, it is free. Here is how to install it on a Linux computer.

Steps

1
Download the correct package for your distro from here. OpenOffice offers a DEB package or an RPM package. Normally, the DEB package is designed for Debian/Ubuntu, and the RPM package for Fedora, OpenSuse or Mandriva.
2
Extract the downloaded archive. Since it is an archive, you need to extract it. You can do that using your package program, or you can do it using this terminal command: tar -xzvf Apache_OpenOffice_3.4.1_Linux_x86-64_install-deb_ar.tar.gz. You may need to change the name in the text above to fit your package.
3
Become root and install all the packages. In Debian/Ubuntu and other related distros, type the following command into the terminal: sudo dpkg -i *.deb. You will be required to provide an administrative password to run this command. If you are using a different distro, check below to see the command you should use:
- OpenSuse: sudo zypper install *.rpm.
- Fedora: sudo yum localinstall *.rpm.
- Mandriva: sudo urpmi *.rpm
4
If you wish, add a shortcut of OpenOffice to your desktop. The executable file is located here: /opt/openoffice.org3/program/soffice.

Community Q&A

Question

The above instruction doesn't work for Ubuntu MATE. Any alternatives?

Somone

Community Answer

Libreoffice is a useful suite of office tools that will probably work for Ubuntu MATE.