Libreoffice 7 German dictionary

Quack · January 24, 2021, 7:05pm

I installed libreoffice 7 on Ubuntu 20.04. I have been using Libreoffice 6.4 for some time and it is still installed. Unfortunately, the German dictionary did not carry over from version 6.4 to version 7. No German dictionary was installed by default, so I tried to install a standard dictionary by downloading an .oxt file from the official extension site, adding it via the extension manager and restarting libreoffice. I was still unable to use the German dictionary, e.g., for checking spelling in a Writer document. It would also be nice to be able to use my custom dictionary from Libreoffice 6.4 in Libreoffice 7.

Advice would be appreciated. I assume Libreoffice 7 is still being tested; I will stick with Libreoffice 6.4 for now and hope that dictionaries will become easier to use in a future release of Libreoffice 7.

Hrbrgr · January 24, 2021, 7:34pm

The definition of LibreOffice versions only makes sense if the version number is specified in a traceable way. For example 7.0.4.2.

Please share your LibreOffice version correctly. Thank you very much.

anon87010807 · January 24, 2021, 7:50pm

I have 7.0.4.2 and 7.1.0.2 (RC). On both, English, Dutch, French and Spanish (all with a slew of variants) are installed, but not German. Odd to say the least.

gabix · January 25, 2021, 7:06am

dictionaries will become easier to use in a future release of Libreoffice 7.

The usage of spellcheck dictionaries has not changed since OOo 3.0 and has been efficient for many users. I would not expect any change in the foreseeable future as there are more important issues for the developers.

Read this tutorial.
If you can’t find an answer, read these guidelines and ask a good question.

In particular, you say:

was still unable to use the German dictionary

Why do you think that the dictionary did not work?

Quack · January 25, 2021, 8:44pm

Thank you for taking the time to reply. The version of Libreoffice is 7.0.4.2.
I assumed that the dictionary does not work because when I use the menu Tools → Language → For all text (or for selection or for paragraph), German is not an option, only English. This worked in Libreoffice 6.4.6.2.

anon87010807 · January 25, 2021, 8:53pm

It sounds odd, but you shouldn’t use Tools - Language at all. It’s really much better to assign the main language of a document in the Default paragraph style, and less used languages in character styles.

gabix · January 26, 2021, 6:14am

Show a sample file.

anon73440385 · January 24, 2021, 10:09pm

Hello,

on Ubuntu 20.04 you need to install myspell-de-de / hunspell-de-de using:

sudo apt install myspell-de-de --yes (installs hunspell-de-de as well)

It would also be nice to be able to use my custom dictionary from Libreoffice 6.4 in Libreoffice 7.

This should be available automatically from your previous LibreOffice user profile unless you deleted your previous user profile.

Libreoffice 7 is still being tested. I will stick with Libreoffice 6.4 for now and hope that dictionaries will become easier to use in a future release of Libreoffice 7.

The issue got absolutely nothing to do with the version of LibreOffce, but the way how Ubuntu maintainers of LibreOffice package the software for their distribution. If you want that to change, you need to turn to maintainers of Ubuntu distribution packages unless you decide to use .deb packages from TDF (libreoffice,org) directly in the future (though official statements do not recommend to do so). Using Ubuntu packages requires (and has required in the past) to install myspell / hunspell packages. So it won’t get easier, it had not been easier in the past and sticking with 6.4. won’t provide a path out of this situation.

I have been using Libreoffice 6.4 for some time and it is still installed.

My concern is, that having installed and using version 6.4 and 7.0 at the same time, may have corrupted your LibreOffice user profile in $HOME/.config/libreoffice/4 and: Consistently using Ubuntu repositories disables the option to have both versions to be installed at the same time. Ubuntu 20.04 provides 6.4.6.2 and using LibreOffice PPA for fresh would override/replace 6.4.6. Hence you must have installed 7.0.x (whatever x is) from some other repository (which you did not mention). In that sense, from a distance, your problem with German dictionary appears to be a bit self-inflicted.

Hope that helps.

Quack · January 25, 2021, 8:55pm

Thank you for the reply and for educating me about where the problem lies. What you wrote about libreoffice vs Ubuntu packages certainly makes sense. The fix unfortunately did not work. I still cannot see the German dictionary in Ubuntu 7.0.4.2. Perhaps you are right about my profile being corrupted. That is frustrating. I’ve made quite a few customizations to the German dictionary, adding 100-200 words. It would be sad to lose them.

Regarding the problem being a bit self-inflicted, perhaps you are right again. I used Ubuntu Software and simply installed the updates as instructed, which included LibreOffice 7.0.4.2. I am not sure which repository Ubuntu Software uses. Would you recommend installing updates in a different way?

anon73440385 · January 25, 2021, 9:23pm

still cannot see the German dictionary in Ubuntu 7.0.4.2.

Where did you download version 7.0.4.2 from? If you got that directly from libreoffice.org you need to install package libreoffice7.0-dict-de_7.0.4.2-2_amd64.deb - or did you install a snap version of LibreOffice 7.0.4.2? (It’s really hard to provide a solution without having technical details)

anon87010807 · January 28, 2021, 5:51pm

Downloading the dictionary extension from German Spellchecker (de-DE frami) » Extensions solved it foe me - though just the de-de dictionary for German German was installed, not the ones for Austrian, Swiss, and other speakers.