Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2 Released – Install on RedHat and Debian Based Distributions

Apache OpenOffice is a most popular and open source application suit for Linux, Windows & Mac used for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, database, formula and much more. OpenOffice is used by more than 130 millions of users across the globe in corporates, homes and research centers with almost in 38 languages. It is available freely for download and works on all common systems.

Update: Install LibreOffice 5.0.2 on RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Debian/Ubuntu/Linux Mint

OpenOffice 4.1.2 Improvements/Enhancements

1. Performance improvement for faster startup.
2. 38 supported languages.
3. Number of enhancements were added to the WebDAV management and file locking.
4. Bug fixes in Writer, Calc, Impress/Draw, Base.
5. The PDF export dialog was revamped for better usability on small laptop screens.
6. Fixed several security vulnerabilities.

The complete list of features can be found at Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2.

Requirements for Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2

1. JRE (Java Runtime Environment) 1.5
2. Kernel 2.6 or higher and glibc2 2.11 or higher
3. Minimum 256MB and recommended 512MB RAM.
4. Disk space 400MB

Install Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2 on Linux

The following installation instructions shows you how to install Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2 using language US English on a 32-Bit and 64-bit Linux distributions.

For 64-Bit platforms, there will be a minor changes in directory names, but the installation instructions same for both the architectures.

Step 1: Installing Java JRE

As I said above, you must have a JRE version (32-bit or 64-bit) installed on your systems, if not install the latest Java JRE version using following article.

1. Install Java on Linux Systems

Else, you can follow below instructions to install most recent version of Java JRE on Linux distributions such a Debian and RedHat based.

On Debian and its derivatives

$ sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre

On RedHat based Systems

# yum install java-1.8.0-openjdk

Once Java installed, you can verify the version using following command.

$ java -version

openjdk version "1.8.0_66-internal"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_66-internal-b01)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.66-b01, mixed mode)

Step 2: Downloading Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2

Download OpenOffice 4.1.2 using Wget command based on your system bit.

On Debian and its derivatives

# cd /tmp

---------------------------- On 32-bit Systems ---------------------------- 
# wget http://sourceforge.net/projects/openofficeorg.mirror/files/4.1.2/binaries/en-US/Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86-64_install-deb_en-US.tar.gz


---------------------------- On 64-bit Systems ---------------------------- 
# wget http://sourceforge.net/projects/openofficeorg.mirror/files/4.1.2/binaries/en-US/Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86_install-deb_en-US.tar.gz

On RedHat based Systems

# cd /tmp

---------------------------- On 32-bit Systems ---------------------------- 
# wget http://sourceforge.net/projects/openofficeorg.mirror/files/4.1.2/binaries/en-US/Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86-64_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz


---------------------------- On 64-bit Systems ---------------------------- 
# wget http://sourceforge.net/projects/openofficeorg.mirror/files/4.1.2/binaries/en-US/Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz

Step 3: Removing Old OpenOffice Version

$ sudo apt-get remove openoffice* libreoffice*		[On Debian based Systems]
# yum remove openoffice* libreoffice*			[on RedHat based Systems]

Step 4: Extracting OpenOffice 4.1.2 Package

Use Tar command to extract the package in the current directory.

-------------------- On Debian and its Derivatives -------------------- 
# tar -xvf Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86-64_install-deb_en-US.tar.gz	[For 32-bit]
# tar -xvf Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86_install-deb_en-US.tar.gz		[For 64-bit]

-------------------- On RedHat based Systems -------------------- 
# tar -xvf Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz		[For 64-bit]
# tar -xvf Apache_OpenOffice_4.1.2_Linux_x86-64_install-rpm_en-US.tar.gz	[For 32-bit]

Step 5: Installing OpenOffice 4.1.2 Package

Now execute following RPM command to install all the RPM packages at once.

-------------------- On Debian and its Derivatives -------------------- 
# dpkg -i en-US/DEBS/*.deb en-US/DEBS/desktop-integration/openoffice4.1-debian-*.deb


-------------------- On RedHat based Systems -------------------- 
# rpm -Uvh en-US/RPMS/*.rpm en-US/RPMS/desktop-integration/openoffice4.1.2-redhat-*.rpm

Step 6: Starting Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2

On the terminal execute following command to start the OpenOffice application.

# openoffice4

Step 7: Screenshots of Apache OpenOffice 4.0.1