How to use LibreOffice SDK without the need to install full user LibreOffice package?

neojg · September 1, 2020, 3:36pm

We are looking for the solution of the following problem:

Standard procedure to use the LibreOffice API SDK is to install LibreOffice and next the LibreOffice API SDK.
Unfortunately in the enterprise company environment we will not get the permission to install the full LibreOffice package on end user machines.
The company policy will allow us to install the dedicated application with the needed components but not the full LibreOffice suite.

QUESTION:

Is there a way to install necessary components (we use LibreOffice as a file converter * => pdf, * => txt) and use SDK/API?

anon73440385 · September 1, 2020, 4:52pm

we use LibreOffice as a file converter * => pdf, * => txt)

How do you use LibreOffice as a file converter if not installing LibreOffice?

mikekaganski · September 2, 2020, 7:44am

LibreOffice need not to be installed (in the sense of it being written into some separate place, using administrative permissions for installation, associating itself with something in per-machine registry (if we talk about Windows), etc.) - you might include it in a “portable” way (its files extracted into proper directory structure inside your application). So while no space gain, there would be no separate installation.

neojg · September 2, 2020, 2:28pm

If I understand you (Mike Kaganski) correctly we may be successful when copying LibreOffice files into our application folder and run the API there. No need to register any Windows COM providers, registered services and so on. We do not have file system space limitations. We will try this approach next week and I will let you know our results. Thanks for your suggestion.

mikekaganski · September 2, 2020, 2:32pm

See Installing several versions of LibreOffice in parallel - The Document Foundation Wiki for the description about the recommended way to unpack the directory structure from an installer properly (basically using msiexec /a in case of Windows).

Zizi64 · September 1, 2020, 7:21pm

“The company policy will allow us to install the dedicated application with the needed components but not the full LibreOffice suite.”

The LibreOffice is a well integrated office suite. It always run the soffice.bin (often in more than one instances), but the instances use different parameters and properties, when it is a Calc or a Writer or other application. Therefore you can not spare HDD space when you not install the individual PARAMETER SETs of a specific application, because the lots of the common things must be installed anyway.