Ubuntu Wiki

Installing applications in Ubuntu

Installing software in Linux is often different from in Windows. In linux the easiest method is to use the package manager. This is a program for installing programs. It can be accessed from Applications -> Add Application in the gnome menu.

Read http://help.ubuntu.com/starterguide/C/ch02.html for more instructions

If you can't find the software you need try adding the Univeres and Multiverse Repositories, see AddingRepositoriesHowto

Installing downloaded applications

You should only do this if you the application is not avaiable through the package manager. See above.

If you have downloaded a .tar.gz source package see ConfigureMakeMakeInstall

Windows Equivalents

There are several lists of equivalent applications.

• http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=33183

• http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html

Need a new version of something

Ubuntu has a policy of freezing the version number of software in each release. If you need something newer a good place to look is UbuntuBackports.

Cannot find an application

If you can't find what you want in Synaptic Package Manager make sure you have enabled the Universe and Multiverse repositories. These contain many thousands of packages. If it is still not there do a search of the forums, to see if someone has writen a howto for installing it.