[K12OSN] StarOffice

Larry Mateo LarryM at fsusd.k12.ca.us
Fri Apr 23 14:40:07 UTC 2004


Steve: The school district for which I work has three K12LTSP servers.  Two are running StarOffice 6.0 while the third has both 6.0 and 7; it being the test unit for StarOffice 7.  Both versions were easy to install, and we have had no problems with the software.  Keep in mind, though, that we are not using the software in a business setting; it's being used to teach elementary school students the concepts behind the various programs.  I cannot, however, compare StarOffice with OpenOffice since I have no experience with OpenOffice.

The installation consists of two steps: 

1. A Server Installation, which puts the StarOffice files on the file server, and
2. A Workstation Installation, which copies specific files to each users personal folder on the server.  This, of course, must be run for each user.

Both steps are easy, and are fully explained within the Setup Guide on the StarOffice CD.  The Workstation Installation can be automated by placing a few lines of code in the /etc/profile file and creating a response file, which contains installation parameters. There is a document called Installation with Response Files, but I'm not sure if that comes on the CD.  The document for using response files with 6.0 is found at http://docs-pdf.sun.com/816-7523/816-7523.pdf.  I have not searched for the 7 version, since I used the same response file for both versions.

The response file we use for the StarOffice 6.0 automated installation, which I named so6r, looks like the following:

*** BEGIN SO6R ***

[Environment]
InstallationMode = INSTALL_WORKSTATION
InstallationType = WORKSTATION
DestinationPath = <home>/staroffice6.0

[Java]
JavaSupport = none

*** END SO6R ***

The response file for the 7 automated installation, so7r, is similar except for the DestinationPath value.

The code in /etc/profile is as follows:

*** BEGIN /ETC/PROFILE CODE ***

# 12-12-02 LM Added the following to automate the installation
#             of StarOffice 6.0 when a user first logs in or if
#             the ~/staroffice6.0 folder is missing or if the
#             ~/.sversionrc file is missing.
if (! [ -e ~/staroffice6.0 ]) || (! [ -f ~/.sversionrc ])
    then
        /usr/lib/staroffice6.0/setup -r:/usr/lib/staroffice6.0/so6r -debug
fi

*** END /ETC/PROFILE CODE ***

Note: the -r parameter called from the setup executable is what runs the response file.  The automated response causes the initial login to take about 30 seconds longer than usual, but it only runs once.

Downsides:

* I have not found a way to configure StarOffice parameters for specific users or groups automatically; though I really haven't had to,  so I haven't researched it much.
* After the initial installation, when the user first opens the various StarOffice applications, default and registration windows open, which the user has to close.  These are more an annoyance than anything else.

Larry Mateo
Network Technician II
Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District
larrym at fsusd.k12.ca.us

>>> skossakoski at sau16.org 04/22/04 01:32PM >>>
Has anyone installed and configured StarOffice on a K12LTSP server, or
would you recommend staying with OpenOffice?  
Thanks,
Steve



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