SOLVED – Java Issues on OpenOffice.org for Apple Mac Users

On October 28, 2010, in Advanced, Beginners, Database, General, Intermediate, OpenOffice.org, by stephanie
1

BugfixEarlier this week I posted 3 Options for Java Issues on OpenOffice.org for Apple Mac Users [Show Stopper].

I’m happy to report over at the reported bug page this is now solved, and for those that are experiencing difficulties you can apply a patch.

If you find all the tech-speak a little intimidating, then please proceed to the page of Raphael Bircher who has a handy set of instructions on applying this patch and returning your OpenOffice.org goodness to situation normal. :-)

Click on the link below:

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3 Options for Java Issues on OpenOffice.org for Apple Mac Users [Show Stopper - SOLVED]

On October 26, 2010, in Advanced, Beginners, Database, General, Intermediate, OpenOffice.org, by stephanie
6

Update: This issue has now been solved. :)

I have been on leave for a month, and came back to a software update for Java 1.6 on my Mac. As usual, I installed it.

Unfortunately, the next time I opened OOo to put together a tutorial, I was met with this message:

Mac JRO OpenOffice.org issue

It is a known issue with OOo. You can see more information about this at the issue 115180 webpage.

At this time, if you haven’t already, don’t install the latest JRE (Java) update from Apple until Issue 115180 is resolved.

If you have already (like me), there are a couple of options available to you.

Option 1 – Disable JRE

Disabling the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) in OOo might be an option for you if you don’t use the features that require Java. For a full list of these features, check out the Java and OpenOffice.org page.

In OpenOffice (quickly before this error kicks in, or hit the escape key until you don’t see it any more – I had to hit it 20-30 times), select the menu: OpenOffice >> Preferences.

OpenOffice.org preferences

Then click on ‘Java’ under ‘OpenOffice.org’ on the left panel, and then deselect (remove the tick) next to ‘Use a Java runtime environment’ on the right side.

Java Preferences in OpenOffice.org

Restart OpenOffice.org (not 100% necessary all the time, but I found it just a reassuring step).

Option 2 – Install NeoOffice

According to this forum, NeoOffice has fixed the JRE issues caused by the latest upgrade.

From the NeoOffice website:

NeoOffice is a full-featured set of office applications (including word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs) for Mac OS X. We have created an office suite that is adapted to the unique needs of Mac users by taking the features in Oracle’s OpenOffice.org office suite and adding improvements.

You can download and install NeoOffice from:

http://www.neooffice.org

Option 3 – Workaround implemented using Terminal **Unstable

This is not for the faint-hearted, and has mixed results of working or (worse) OpenOffice.org crashing. If you don’t know what the Terminal is, this is probably not the best thing to learn on.

The Issue # 115180 reports that the JavaVM can be picked up by OpenOffice.org if you enter the following lines in the Terminal.

cd /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
sudo ln -s ../../Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/JavaVM JavaVM

After doing this, my OOo installation crashed, so I reversed it with:

sudo rm /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/JavaVM

For me, I am now using NeoOffice, and as soon as there is a fix, I’ll post it here.

Updates

Some users have reported success with resetting their profiles. Please comment below if this works for you.

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DiscoveringOOo has been featured in the OOo-announce newsletter!

On September 13, 2010, in General, Miscellaneous, Online, OpenOffice.org, by stephanie
0

This site has been included in the OOo-announce newsletter! Please continue to spread the word and introduce friends, family and co-workers to OpenOffice.org! Check out more at: http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&msgNo=427 and sign up for the newsletter.

Also, a big “HI!” to all those who came here from the link in that newsletter. Please take a look around, and check out some of the more popular links!

An extract from the OOo-Announce newsletter:

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How to Assign Special Characters in OOo [How-to Guide]

On September 6, 2010, in Intermediate, Miscellaneous, Useful Tools, by stephanie
0

Often we need to use special characters that don’t appear on our keyboard. For example, my keyboard doesn’t have the pound sign (the one used for currency in the UK – £).

Fortunately there has been a guide published which will allow you to see various methods for inserting these special characters in OpenOffice.org.

So now you can insert all the ¥, ¤, ±, µ you want, using your preferred method of using macro, menus, autocorrect or key combinations.

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OpenOffice.org in the Cloud – Access your Open Office from anywhere in a browser

On September 2, 2010, in Online, OpenOffice.org, Useful Tools, by stephanie
2

There has been some speculation as to whether Oracle will release a web-based version of the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, however two companies have gone ahead and developed solutions for using OpenOffice.org through a web browser.

OpenOffice Anywhere is charged at US$0.65 per hour, with 15 free minutes as a trial.

Ulteo has 1Gb of free storage for your documents, and requires the Sun JVM to work.

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OpenDisc gives you OpenOffice.org and many other programs on one disc – free!

On September 1, 2010, in Beginners, General, Miscellaneous, OpenOffice.org, Useful Tools, by stephanie
2

I’m always on the hunt for good open source resources, and OpenDisc is a fantastic one. Basically it’s a site where you can download an ISO disc image and burn it on a CD. It is aimed largely at the education market – students and teachers on a budget, however anyone can download their disc images, and burn a CD.

Note that it supports Windows only.

You do get a lot in the download, with many programs available for installation (you do not have to install them all). If you are more interested in having OOo on a thumb drive / memory stick (USB drive), then try the portable OpenOffice.org page.

Applications included with this ISO image at the time of this post are as follows:

  • Design – Blender, Dia, The Gimp, Inkscape, Nvu, Scribus, Tuxpaint.
  • Games – The Battle for Wesnoth, Enigma, Neverball, Sokoban YASC.
  • Internet – Azureus, Firefox, HTTrack, Pidgin, FileZilla, RSSOwl, SeaMonkey, Thunderbird, TightVNC, WinSCP.
  • Multimedia – Audacity, Celestia, Really Slick Screensavers, Stellarium, Sumatra PDF, VLC media player.
  • Productivity – GnuCash, MoinMoin, Notepad2, OpenOffice.org, PDFCreator.
  • Utilities – 7-Zip, Abakt, Clamwin, GTK+, HealthMonitor, TrueCrypt, Workrave.

What a fantastic resource!

Get the ISO file at this link, and visit the OpenDisc homepage for updates.

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