CS 281 – Downloading and Installing LibreOffice Base

We are going to use LibreOffice Base in the labs and for the project. This guide explains the installation process of LibreOffice Base for Windows ; however, the steps are also applicable to other operating systems such as and MacOS.

LibreOffice Base requires JDK to function, we also cover the installation process of Oracle JDK in this document, starting from Step 21.

1. Go to the website of LibreOffice using the following link: https://www.libreoffice.org/

2. Click on “Download” tab and select “Download LibreOffice”.

3. We are going to use version 6.4.6 (Long-Term Support), choose your operating system and click on “Download”.

4. When the download is complete, run the installer, and click on “Next”. (Note that the installer will use the system language, therefore screenshots are in Turkish.)

5. We are going to use the English version of LibreOffice. If your operating system’s language is already in English you may continue with “Typical” setup. Otherwise, choose “Custom” (“Özel”) setup and then click on “Next”.

6. Expand the second item to list the available languages.

7. Find English and click on the button next to it.

8. Choose the first option on the pop-up menu to enable it.

9. Find your operating system’s language (in the case, Turkish), and click on the button next to it.

10. Choose the last option on the pop-up menu to disable it.

11. Click on “Next” to continue.

12. In this window you associate different file type to LibreOffice. You may clear all the checkboxes if you are not going to use other LibreOffice products, then click on “Next”.

13. In this window you may allow to create a desktop shortcut, then click on “Next”.

14. During the installation the system may ask for additional permission, allow them. After the installation, click on “Finish”.

15. Now LibreOffice is installed on your system. You may use the shortcut of LibreOffice Base on your start menu, or use the search option on the start menu and type “base” to find the shortcut. Run LibreOffice Base using the shortcut. We are going to check whether the JDK is functional or not, if you know that JDK is not installed you may go to Step 21.

16. Click on “Next” to create a database with the default settings.

17. Click on “Finish” to proceed.

18. Choose a folder and a write a file name, then click on “Save”.

19. LibreOffice Base will load the new database file, if you do not get any error messages then you are done with the installation and you do not need to continue with the following steps. However, if you get an error message with the title “JRE Required”, this means you need to install JDK following the remaining steps. Although the message indicates JRE, we need JDK for all the features. Click on “OK” to close the message.

20. Click on “OK”, and then close “LibreOffice Base”. If LibreOffice Base is still running, you may get errors during JDK installation.

21. Go to the website of Oracle JDK using the following link: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase-downloads.html

22. Click on “JDK Download” for the latest release of Java SE.

23. Find the version that is compatible with your operating system and click on the download link for that version.

24. Accept the agreement and download the installation file for JDK.

25. Click on “Next”.

26. Use the default folder for installation, click on “Next”.

27. After the installation is complete click on “Close”.

28. Now run LibreOffice Base again.

29. This time let’s choose “Open an existing database file”, assuming you saved your database in Step 18. Otherwise, you may also create a new one following Steps 16-18. Then click on “Finish”.

30. If there are no error messages we are done. For some systems, setting JDK may require additional steps, in this case please refer to the following link: https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/201635/libreoffice-requires-oracles-jdk-on-mac-os-x/