Hello, silly Newbie question: I’m running Linux Mint cinnamon 22.1 in Live mode (ie not installed) to try it out, booting from USB drive. I appear to have LibreOffice 24.2 included on the USB drive, but ‘Base’ is grayed out, and I see no ‘Base Database’ or similar option when I choose File>New, although I see I can create new Writer files, spreadsheets, presentations…
Is it because I haven’t actually Installed Linux, or is this a different problem? Sorry about my lack of basic knowledge. I’m tempted to ‘Uninstall’ Office, then reinstall it using the Software Manager or download it from the LibreOffice website, but I’m nervous about not downloading a compatible version etc.
If anyone could give me a couple of brief tips to steer me in the right direction I’d be very grateful. Thanks! I’ve emailed the supplier of the USB drive, but they haven’t got back to me.
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-baseIt’s because it’s quite common idea in various Linux distros, that it’s OK to set up only parts of LibreOffice, and that Base is better avoided in the default install set (mainly because Base has quite significant dependency on Java). See @Villeroy’s answer to install it; I only explain the reasons.
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my message so quickly! That gives me a very good idea of what the problem is. I had had a Quick Look on FAQ lists etc and seen some discussions of JRE problems, but decided I didn’t have the knowledge necessary to understand these.
I now need to decide whether to buy and old laptop and tinker about with trying to download (install?) Base and try to straighten out any hiccups that causes, as I think I’m too nervous to risk crashing my existing laptop so badly that I break it and lose my data.
I knew I need to replace the laptop when Windows 10 support expires in November, but I’ve always thought I’d like to give Linux and other shareware (is that the right word?) a try.
Anyway, thanks a million again for your help, much appreciated!
Best wishes,
Paul
Base is not a database. It is a tool to work with databases.
You can use Base in many productive ways without any Java installed on your system by connecting a Base document to an existing non-Java database. With “experimental features” enabled, you can generate a Base document with a non-Java “Firebird” database embedded in the Base document.
With such a database, you can create queries and forms without the wizards written in Java. These wizards are close to useless anyway. They can only generate very trivial forms and queries.
The entire reporting facility depends on Java. However, you can generate fairly well-made database reports with Writer and Calc.
P.S. regarding any “Java issues”: Just install your distributor’s JRE and everything will be fine with LibreOffice Base on Linux.
Many thanks, Andreas, that’s extremely helpful!
I’ll try out these instructions for using a non-Java Firebird database.
Best wishes,
Paul
I recommend to not use an embedded Firebird.
I’ve just tried this for the first time:
File>New>Database…
[X] Connect to existing database (although there is none yet).
Type: Firebird external.
You are prompted for some file name. Firebird is a single-file database. Just enter some name.
Then you are prompted for another file name for the Base document.
Now you have two files, an .fdb file containing the actual Firebird database and an .odb file which is the frontend connected to the .fdb file (see status bar).
Thanks very much Andreas, I’m operating at the limit of my ignorance here.
So I need to run the
sudo apt-get install libreoffice-base
to install Libreoffice Base before creating these two files?
Yes, you need to install Base before you can use it one way or the other with some database or another.
If you install the JRE offered by your distribution, you get the full functionality with wizards, reports, Java databases.