Using AppImages in Puppy...

[Mike Walsh]

Evening, all. Just a quick couple of AppImages for you tonight - both graphics apps.

XnViewMP - full-featured image viewer/editor/'processor'. 64-bit only, I'm afraid. Plays videos, too..!!

https://download.xnview.com/XnView_MP.g ... 4.AppImage

------------------------------------

SynfigStudio - 2D vector animation app. Lets you turn comic-strip stuff into GIFs, for example.....and much, much more.

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=117227

Enjoy.


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Another one for y'all. jplt3's discovery of an AppImage for Kodi 18.4 'Leia'.

As with so many AppImages, it's 64-bit only, I'm afraid.....but it fires straight up, and runs as sweet as a nut, in Xenialpup64 7.5. I'll be trying it out in Bionic64 later on; will report back.

DO be aware it's quite large; 280 MB. Best to stick it in /mnt/home, or even an external drive of some sort.....and run it from there when you want it. Remember to make it executable; rt-clk->Properties->Tick all 3 'Exec' check-boxes->Refresh->OK.

Sweet!


Mike.

[jplt3]

Thanks Mike Walsh

I confirm , tihs kodi appimage work very well on bionicpup64
My post to the appimage

[Mike Walsh]

Thanks Mike Walsh

I confirm , tihs kodi appimage work very well on bionicpup64
My post to the appimage

Nice one. Well, there's your answer.....which I will confirm, having tried it myself around an hour ago. Personally, I simply use it for viewing 'local' videos.....of which I have a lot..!


Mike.

[enrique]

I switch to puppy as I like the Idea of carrying with us the full OS. Never the less I will accept this AppImages may have its use for someone else.

Thank you all for providing this info. To be honest I had read about AppImages but ignore them as I did not understood what was for. But 1rst page is quite helpful now I have a better understanding. Thanks

[paulh177]

Just dropping in to say that LMMS 1.2.1 AppImage from the LMMS home site works perfectly (for me) in both xenial64 & bionic64.

You'll probably need Jack to get it working most effectively, but it'll make noises even with ALSA.

When it moans about running as root, you can either spot it, or - much easier - run it with the --allowroot argument:

Code: Select all

lmms-1.2.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage --allowroot

[Mike Walsh]

Thanks for that, Paul; much appreciated.

Should be of interest to a fair number of Puppians. Keep 'em coming.

Cheers!


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Here's another one for y'all.

Leonflix

p310don came across this one a while back. It searches for, finds, and will play back movies, music, etc. Again, only 64-bit I'm afraid, but that's the way the wind's blowing nowadays.

Like LMMS above, it needs something similar to permit running as root; in this case, the

Code: Select all

--no-sandbox

....argument, because many of these AppImages are written using parts of the Electron 'framework', which itself is based around a 'stripped-down' version of the Chromium browser. Hence why the '--no-sandbox' argument, or 'switch', often works for us here in Puppyland.

I've published a small launcher script for it HERE.

Enjoy!


Mike.

[jplt3]

hi all,

for some of you who love to code and use VScode Visual Studio Code is a source-code editor developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux and macOS.

Here is the Appimage in their github repo of vscodium : binary release of VS Code without MICROSOFT branding/telemetry/licensing .

Enjoy.

[Mike Walsh]

Just a quick one for y'all.

Mikeslr has referenced links for the most recent versions of LibreOffice (64-bit only, I'm afraid) which have been packed as AppImages. I'm currently running the latest 'Still' release of this - v6.3.4.2 - which functions fine in both Bionicpup64 and Xenialpup64.

It's a good way to 'portabilize' this humungous application (as we all know, in the 'unpacked' format newer releases can often exceed 600 MB+!), by keeping it on an external partition, or anywhere outside of 'Puppy-space', then just running it as and when you need it. It runs in /tmp for the duration, so a reasonable amount of RAM is required nowadays.....and it's even simpler than needing to load/unload an SFS. Fewer 'clicks'!

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/appimage/

These have been built 'properly', and just work, OOTB.


Mike.

[davids45]

G'day,

Running an AppImage of LibreOffice-6.4 in BionicPup64s (various kernels) has been successful.

Is there a way to import, or better link the profile in /root/.config from a 'normal' LibreOffice?

This would keep my list of recent files and templates up-to-date regardless of which Pup and LibreOffice type is used.

This seems a difference between Portables and AppImages? I can easily find the "PROFILE" in a Portable but not in an AppImage.

Thanks for any guidance.

David S.

[mikeslr]

In Puppies the listings on the Start Menu are derived from the contents of desktop files at /usr/share/applications/. The arguments of each desktop file will reference two other files: (1) the executable; and (2) an icon. Sometimes it is sufficient to use for the executable argument the /full path to the executable/exact name of executable . But for the sake of consistency [making it easier to change while testing] and occasionally because some argument may be necessary* I find it more convenient to create an executable bash-script to call the executable; and to place it in /root/my-applications/bin. my-applications/bin is a folder 'on the path' unique to Puppies. Consequently, I don't have to search far and wide to locate such script if a modification is appropriate.

0. AppImages frequently have long descriptive names, such as spelling out which glibc libraries are included. I suggest that you truncate such name to something simpler, e.g. LibreOffice.AppImage. If you feel it necessary, you can record the removed details in one or the other of two files discussed below. At any rate, wherever following it says to change the name, the name changed to should be the exact name of the AppImage.

I've attached a template whose contents you can quickly modify to create a menu entry for an AppImage. Download and extract it. If you use UExtract, within the extraction folder will be one simply named "AppImageMenu_Template.
1. Change that name to the name of your AppImage.
2. File browse into /RENAMED_FOLDER/root/my-applications/bin and change the name "my-AppImage" to the name of your AppImage.
3. Open that renamed file in a text editor. Edit the part following "exec" to provide the actual full path to your AppImage, followed by its exact name, including its file ending "appimage" or "AppImage". Do not delete the ending "$@". [After this line, you can add an # followed by the descriptors you removed from the name. "# " tells bash, 'what follows is a comment only for humans'].
4. Download or create an appropriate icon. File-browse to /RENAMED_FOLDER/usr/share/pixmaps and move/copy the icon there. Note it's file ending.
5. File-browse to /RENAMED_FOLDER/usr/share/applications. Change the name of the desktop file to that of your AppImage.
6. Open /RENAMED_FOLDER/usr/share/APPIMAGE.desktop in a text editor. You'll see instructions following "#'s" as to what is to follow the five ='s above such comments.

Once you've completed the above, file-browse so that you can see the folder you renamed in Step 1. Open a terminal and type dir2pet "name of your AppImage". A pet will be created. You can install it; and store a copy to reuse in other Puppies, or decompress and modify for use with other AppImages.

* See, http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 84#1048884 where Mike Walsh found that a 'wrapper' including the argument --no-sandbox was required.

[Mike Walsh]

Just to add to Mike's point about the naming convention, you can re-name an AppImage to absolutely anything you want, and it will still fire up.

You don't even need to keep the .AppImage extension at the end of the name; this is always part of what gets removed when I rename them.


Mike.

[mikeslr]

Hi Mike,

I knew AppImages were amenable. But I didn't know that were that amenable.

Hi Dave,

You may have to extract the AppImage in order to include the profile within it. TecnoGuy458 provided the 'how to' here, http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 240#983240. But I'm not sure how to put 'humpty-dumpty' back together again without a full working version of the AppImage creation program. Two possibilities suggest themselves.

1. Don't. See the above post.
2. Use fredx181's Create Portable AppImage, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 14#1011814

[Mike Walsh]

@ Mike/David:-

Re: the Libre Office 'profile'.

I believe you'll find that this is the one item that is not inherently 'portable' with the AppImages. Yes, the properly-built ones will have everything contained within to just 'work; however, unlike the portable browser builds I've been doing (inspired by Fred, of course!), they do not contain the profile inside.

Libre Office, or the GIMP, will still create their profile, as normal, somewhere in /root.....although in some cases, it's named a wee bit differently.

The GIMP normally creates its config files directly within /root.....in the case of the still widely-used 2.8, it's called .gimp-2.8. In the case of the current stable 2.10 AppImage, it creates this in .root/.config, shown as below:-

[Click to enlarge:-]





Probably so that you can have multiple versions on the system without any conflicts. Libre Office, on the other hand, merely creates its config files directly within /root/.config as usual; if more than one version is present on the system, it'll create numbered sub-directories on the next level inside that. I know this must be the case here in Xenialpup64, since the AppImage is what I used right from the start.....I didn't, this time, bother with the SFS packages.

So, David, you'll need to use a combination of the old & the new; run the AppImages instead of the SFSs by all means, but you'll still need to keep the .config stuff externally, and sym-link it into each Puppy where you intend to run the AppImage.

Hope that 'clarifies' things a bit.....at least, so far as my personal understanding & experience have shown to be the case.

EDIT:- This is my personal AppImage direcory, from where I run all my AppImages.....either via sym-links, or via custom Menu entries.....showing the way I've renamed them. Those with icons are where I'm running them via desktop sym-links:-

[Click to enlarge:-]





Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Afternoon, all.

Just found a very neat streaming radio app on AppImageHub.

It's called "Odio", and is very professionally-presented and finished. For most people who are 'RAM-conscious', and need to keep an eye on what Pup's using at all times, Fred's DogRadio is probably better, from the point of view of size; 4 and a bit MB, as opposed to around 57 MB for Odio. This is more for folks with fairly modern set-ups, where memory is not an issue.

Even so, there is a 32-bit version available.

Main website:- https://odio.io

Developer website:- https://github.com/odioapp/odio

This is an Electron-based app, even though it's been re-packed as an AppImage. From experience, I know for a fact that the majority of Electron-based apps are very 'Puppy-friendly' - even in the older 32-bit Pups - and run more often than not.

With over 20,000 radio station URLs 'onboard', and just about every country in the world represented, it's highly unlikely you'll ever want to add any more, but the facility to do so is explained on the 'About' page. You can find the AppImage here:-

https://www.appimagehub.com/p/1282377

(The main site only links you to a Snap package.)

Have fun.


Mike.

[fredx181]

I believe you'll find that this is the one item that is not inherently 'portable' with the AppImages. Yes, the properly-built ones will have everything contained within to just 'work; however, unlike the portable browser builds I've been doing (inspired by Fred, of course!), they do not contain the profile inside.

Probably not a well known option of Appimages is that you can create a directory for the profile/settings in the same folder as the appimage itself.
It should have the same name as the appimage with extension .home
So for example the odio program (thanks Mike, very nice ) appimage is "odio-1.4.0-i386.AppImage" then create "odio-1.4.0-i386.AppImage.home" folder next to it and the setings will be inside that folder.
Or simplified: rename appimage to odio and create folder odio.home next to it.

Fred

[Mike Walsh]

Hiya, Fred.

Thanks for that info, mate. Sounds like one way to create fully 'portable' packages with AppImages.

Ya got me thinking now.....


Mike.

[davids45]

G'day Mikes & Fred,

Thanks for the replies to my query about LibreOffice.

I'll try suggestions as I can understand them .

Minor breakthrough from Mike W.'s info about the numbered profiles in /root/config/:

if more than one version is present on the system, it'll create numbered sub-directories on the next level inside that. I know this must be the case here in Xenialpup64, since the AppImage is what I used right from the start.....I didn't, this time, bother with the SFS packages.

I found tracking back through my symlinks for these libreoffice configs to my data partition, I found profiles numbered '4' and '6.4.0'.
My many-Pups history of my LibreOffice docs. etc., are in '4' while in '6.4.0' I find a couple of files I'd opened in the AppImage version, vainly trying to fix it so what's in the '4' version is accessible in the AppImage.

I deleted the '6.4.0' folder and made a new symlink folder called '6.4.0' from the '4'.
And it looks like this works .

Need to try LibreOffice in more 64-bit Pups and also in 32-bit Pups as I think the libreoffice profile is fine for both? Will 'Recent' files include every recently used file in every Pup's LibreOffice?

My templates (e.g. setting page size to A4, spreadsheet column and row sizes to please my 'eye') may or may not be there now as well. More to try.

Thanks again.

David S.

[jplt3]

Find this project as

a Universal application store

https://app-outlet.github.io/