Ubuntu Tutorials

The topic of installing Adobe products in Ubuntu has both been loved and hated by reader since the first time I outlined it. Some very much appreciate the clear steps outlining installation of the PDF reader application. Others despise the idea of proprietary software intermingling with their otherwise open source desktop. However you feel about Adobe Reader, love it or hate it, it is a popular application and in many cases required by users for work or otherwise. With each new Ubuntu release I outline how to install and update your Adobe Reader installation.

Repository Requirements (Optional)

Canonical, the parent company behind Ubuntu, has provided a repository to distribute Adobe Reader and similar applications. The method of installing Ubuntu by way of a repository is more automated than a direct download from the Adobe website. I’ll outline either version, but keep in mind that I prefer (and suggest!) the first. Configuring the partner repository is a requirement for the first option.

Canonical Partner Repository – Option 1

Installation of Adobe Reader 9 requires the activation of the Canonical Partner repository. You can add the Partner repository by following the steps outlined below.

1. Navigate to System > Administration > Software Sources
2. Select “Third Party” or “Other Software”
3. Select “Add” and enter: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner

You should now be able to install the latest version of Adobe Reader on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS by using the following command, or clicking the embedded link:

sudo aptitude install acroread

Direct Download: Adobe.com – Option 2

The alternate installation solution is to download Adobe Reader directly from the Adobe website. As a disclaimer, I should warn you that this method will not receive automatic updates and it is left to the user to download and install any future releases of this application.

If you understand these requirements, continue to install Adobe Reader using the following steps:

1. Visit this page: http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/
2. Select “Linux – x86 (.deb)” from the drop-down menu
3. Select your preferred language
4. Download the package

Depending on your browser you may be prompted to open the package with the package installer, or it will simply save it to disk. If it saves to disk, you’ll simply need to double-click the archive for the installation to begin.

Conclusion

Most of my dealings with PDF files is managed by Evince, the default GNOME pdf reader. Occasionally however I need the Adobe-specific application. As with many of the readers here, I prefer the free software solution where possible, but sometimes it just isn’t possible. Love it or hate it, Adobe Reader is sometimes part of our lives.

Again, I would suggest the first solution toward installing Adobe Reader as it will automatically manage security updates for you. The packages are provided directly from Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, and managed by Ubuntu staff. I trust these packages just as much (if not more) than the direct-from-adobe packages available in the secondary solution.

UPDATE: This article has been update for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. Please see Install Adobe Reader 9.3.2 on Ubuntu 10.04 “Lucid Lynx”.

Adobe Reader 9 allows you to easily view, print, and collaborate on PDF files! Adobe Reader is the standard for electronic document sharing. It is the only PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all PDF documents. Use Adobe Reader 9 to view, search, digitally sign, verify, print, and collaborate on Adobe PDF files. In this article I will outline how to install the latest Adobe Reader release on Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala”.

Requirements

Installation of Adobe Reader 9 requires the activation of the Canonical Partner repository. You can add the Partner repository by following the steps outlined below.

1. Navigate to System > Administration > Software Sources
2. Select “Third Party” or “Other Software”
3. Select “Add” and enter: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ karmic partner

Installation

Once the Partner repository is configured and active you are ready to install Adobe Reader 9. This can be done by running the following command within your terminal, or clicking the linked package name.

sudo aptitude install acroread

Use

You should now be able to launch Adobe Reader 9 from your Applications menu. You can find it in Applications > Office > Adobe Reader 9, or in KDE: Office > Adobe Reader 9. This installation also prompts to set Adobe Reader 9 as the default PDF reader.

I recently blogged about installing the Adobe Acrobat Reader on Ubuntu 8.04.  For those that followed that tutorial you may also be interested in adding the Firefox plugins for Adobe Reader as well.  These will also require the Medibuntu repository, which I’ll review quickly here.

Configuring the Medibuntu Repository

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update

Installing the Mozilla Acroread Plugins

sudo apt-get install mozilla-acroread acroread-plugins

The acroread-plugins package will provide support for completion of fillable forms and javascript.  The mozilla-acroread package will provide support for mozilla, firefox, galeon and konqueror.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Install Adobe PDF Reader on Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala”

I figured it was time to update my previous posts on how to install Adobe Acrobat Reader for Ubuntu 8.04.  It has become much simpler to install than it has been in the past, meaning it can be installed via a proper .deb package.  It is not available in the main Ubuntu repositories, but it is available in Medibuntu.

Install Adobe Reader 8.1.2 on Ubuntu 8.04

All you’ll need to do in order to install Adobe Reader is add the Medibuntu repository.  This can be done via:

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

Once that is done you’ll likely want to add the Medibuntu GPG key as well:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update

..and finally install Adobe Reader v8.1.2 (at the time of this writing) by using:

sudo apt-get install acroread

UPDATE: This article has been updated for Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala”. Medibuntu on Ubuntu 9.10.

I am generally very wary of suggesting the use of 3rd party repositories. I rarely, if ever, use them myself, even if it’ll make installing an application a bit simpler. The bottom line for this is that I want my machine to be as supported as it can be, so I generally only use the official Ubuntu repositories (main restricted universe multiverse). Adding this repository will add unsupported packages to your system, but it is considered far more trusted than other repositories.

Medibuntu is the one repository that I find I can suggest to people, and this solves most all of the non-free issues people have. Everything from DVD playback to non-free codecs–even Google Earth!

A breakdown of what is available via Medibuntu:

• Non-Free Media Codecs (w32codecs, libdvdcss, etc)
• Acroread
• Google Earth
• RealPlayer
• Skype
• Popular Media Players without stripped codecs (amarok, xmms, mplayer, kaffeine, k3b)

Adding the Medibuntu Repo

To add the Medibuntu repository we’ll need to grab the sources.list available there. Note: the following is for Ubuntu 7.10 “Gutsy”. Replace gutsy.list with feisty.list, etc for your version:

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/gutsy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

We’ll also need the key in order to validate the packages as they come in:

wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update

Installing Packages

So the heavy lifting is now done, now for a few examples of adding some of these codecs or applications.

To install DVD playback use:

sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2

To install non-free codec support:

sudo aptitude install w32codecs

(w64codecs for 64bit, ppc-codecs for PPC architecture)

More documentation is available at the Ubuntu Community Medibuntu Wiki.

Installation via apturl

If you’ve added the repository in the above step you can now install any of the below by clicking on the link. These will install from the Medibuntu repository ONLY if you’ve configured them as above. These packages are not distributed or downloaded from my servers:

Adobe Reader – Adobe’s PDF Reader

Adobe Reader Plugins – Ability to complete fillable forms

Adobe Mozilla Plugin – Adobe Plugin for Firefox, Galeon, Konqueror

Google Earth – Google Earth : Explore, Search and Discover

Win32 Codecs – nonfree media playback (wma, realplayer, quicktime)

Amarok – The popular media player + mp3/mp4 integration

Skype – VOIP with Skype

ffmpeg – Multimedia player, server and encoder (mp3,mp4,h264,amr support)

Ubuntu Restricted Extras

You may also want to read my previous, Installing Ubuntu Restricted Extras for a wider list of the packages that are not installed by default.

Disclaimer: These are not in base Ubuntu for a reason. Either they are patent encumbered or not free software.

Patent and copyright laws operate differently depending on which country you are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country.

I realized the other day that the flashplugin-nonfree package appears to be broken.  It’ll act like its installing but at the end, if you pay close attention, it’ll give an error about the md5sum not matching and give up.  This applies to installing the package manually or via the browser notification itself.  I wanted to post a temporary fix while we wait for the package to be updated.

Manually Install Adobe Flash

1. Download the Flash for Linux archive
2. Unpack the archive (/tmp perhaps)
3. sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox/plugins

Once you’ve copied the file Flash should be functional.  You may need to restart the browser if you run into performance problems.  Also note that these same steps work for installing flash for the Epiphany browser (yes, even placing them in the firefox folder).

If you still have the flashplugin-nonfree package installed this shouldn’t immediately conflict and my guess is that once there is an update it’ll seamlessly fall into place.  I don’t forsee any conflicts, but you’re welcome to correct me if I’m wrong.

UPDATE: Install Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1.2 on Ubuntu 8.04

It was recently pointed out to me on one of our local mailing lists that my previous tutorial on installing Adobe’s Acrobat reader for Firefox no longer worked. It seems that those packages have been pulled from the repository since that writing. I wanted to take a few minutes and give an update on a different method of installing Adobe’s Acrobat reader.

Installing Adobe Acrobat

It appears now that the simplest way to install the Adobe Acrobat Reader is to get the package directly from Adobe’s website. Try following these steps to find the .deb package and install that.

1. Visit the Adobe Reader download page.
2. Select “Linux”, Select “Linux – x86 .deb”, Select your language.
3. Click the “Continue” button.
4. Click “Download Adobe Reader” to begin the download.
5. You can then “Open with…” to open it with the package installer directly, or “Save as” to be distributed to your other machines and installed manually via double-click on the package.

If you’re going to call the reader directly you’ll also need to configure two more items within the Adobe Reader preferences.  Open the reader via “Applications > Office > Adobe Reader 8″ and it should give you a message concerning a libgtkembedmoz.so.  After you click OK it’ll give you a blank window with no options.  Switch back to the previous window and select “Edit > Preferences > Internet” as suggested by the previous notification window.

In the “Select Browser” area near the bottom put in the following two paths to pacify the Adobe Reader:

/usr/bin/firefox
/usr/lib/firefox

At this point you can save and close your changes and restart the application.  This time you shouln’t see any errors and it should work as planned.  I have noticed that no errors are reported when directly opening a .pdf from the web–everything just opens.  This seems to only happen when launching the reader directly.

Personally I prefer the installed .pdf reader, Evince that already comes with my installation. I haven’t personally had any need to run the non-free Adobe version, but apparently some do. I hope these steps work for you and thanks again for reminding me that my previous steps don’t work.