How to add additional langage tools

ikfredje · March 8, 2023, 1:34pm

Hi,

I’m stumped … I used to be able to find my around computers … alas

The scene:
Rocky Linux 8 (which should be a clone of RHEL8); pre-installled LO 6.4 (i.e. at the time of the installation of the OS):

libreoffice-calc-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-core-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-data-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.noarch
libreoffice-draw-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-emailmerge-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-graphicfilter-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-gtk3-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-help-en-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-impress-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-langpack-en-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-langpack-nl-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-math-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-ogltrans-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-opensymbol-fonts-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.noarch
libreoffice-pdfimport-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-pyuno-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-ure-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-ure-common-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.noarch
libreoffice-writer-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64
libreoffice-x11-1:6.4.7.2-12.el8_7.x86_64

Also installed:

hunspell-de-0.20161207-1.el8.noarch
hunspell-en-GB-0.20140811.1-12.el8.noarch
hunspell-fr-6.2-1.el8.noarch
hunspell-en-0.20140811.1-12.el8.noarch
hunspell-en-US-0.20140811.1-12.el8.noarch
hunspell-nl-2.10-12.el8.noarch

Installed LO 7.5.1.2 by downloading it and installing the RPMs

libreoffice7.5-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-base-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-calc-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-dict-en-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-dict-es-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-dict-fr-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-draw-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-en-US-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-freedesktop-menus-7.5.1-2.noarch
libreoffice7.5-impress-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-math-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-ure-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64
libreoffice7.5-writer-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64

Apparently it came with en, es and fr dictionaries

The problem
LibreOffice Writer 7.5.1.2 does not have the Dutch language aids

The act:
I want to add the Dutch dictionary/language pack but could not find a RPM for 7.5.1.2 to install.
I downloaded the libreoffice-dictionaries-7.5.1.2.tar.xz and extracted it to a folder libreoffice-dictionaries-7.5.1.2.

The existential question
I don’t seem to find anywhere what I should do now to add the Dutch dictionaries so that I can have the Dutch language aids: Could a good soul help me walk through the process ?

Many thanks upfront !

ajlittoz · March 8, 2023, 1:59pm

It should be noted that this question remarkably gives the context. Congratulations to OP.

Villeroy · March 8, 2023, 2:34pm

https://extensions.libreoffice.org/en/extensions/show/5711

ikfredje · March 8, 2023, 4:10pm

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion @Villeroy !

I had come across this extension and doubted this was the way forward because:

a very limited number of downloads (only 50-ish last time I checked) so wondering if this was a mainstream solution as IMHO there should be many more Dutch speaking users of LibreOffice wanting/needing to use the dictionaries,
looking for a language extension gives a list that appears partial (as in an ad hoc selection of a handful of languages) and “experimental” (as in not officially maintained and try at your own risk … but maybe I’m too fussy here),
it begs the question what is the difference between adding a dictionary as an extension or as an language pack RPM or is it the same ?

But formulating this reply prompted me to check something:

Act #2:
Since the original down load included en, es and fr language dicts RPMs, possibly I could try and download the “Dutch” version of LibreOffice and see if it contained the desired RPM(s).

So from the download page I followed the link “need another language ?” which open a list of languages to chose from. Followed the “Dutch” link which opened a page very similar to the original download page.

Downloading LibreOffice however downloads exactly the same LO RPMs as I already had HOWEVER there is also a link " Translated User Interface: Nederlands" with a tooltip “Download the Languagepack”.

The downloaded LibreOffice_7.5.1_Linux_x86-64_rpm_langpack_nl.tar.gz contains the RPM libreoffice7.5-dict-nl-7.5.1.2-2.x86_64.rpm which I installed and after restarting LO I now have the Dutch dictionaries.

Epilogue:
So this appears for me the easiest way to add dictionaries for another language.

Curtain !

Villeroy · March 8, 2023, 5:45pm

If you had installed the Dutch version of LibreOffice, the spell checker would be there right from the start.
This package is for users who want Dutch spell checking for a non-Dutch office suite.

The deal with Ubuntu Linux is that a free package for almost anything can be installed easily. If your computer skills are limited, simply install everything from the “app store” (the app named “Software”) and you will be served. The distributor promises to fix serious bugs and security issues for the installed version (6.4.0, 6.4.1, 6.4.2 etc). The draw-back is that you can’t have the latest major versions 6.5, 7.0, 7.1 etc. unless you install software from sources other than the Ubuntu repositories which is not as easy as double-clicking on a downloaded file.

Ubuntu offers to install latest versions of LibreOffice bundled in an app container. In the software app of Ubuntu 18.4 LO 7.5.1 is listed as a “snap” package. The container is 3 times bigger than the normal packages because it comes with a lot of system libraries that may or may not be availlable on the target system, so it must not be maintained to the same extent as the “native” distribution packages. Apart from the huge pay load, I found a lot of limitations in functionality because this software runs in a kind of sand box outside the actual operating system.

Until recently I used LibreOffice 6.0 (Ubuntu 18.4) for all my important office tasks. Contrary to the latest sand boxed version, this very old version could do everything I needed as a “power user”.