How to install Scribus on Debian or Ubuntu GNU/Linux Distributions

Introduction

This document is about using Scribus Team repositories to obtain up-to-date Scribus packages for Debian GNU/Linux (unstable/testing/stable also known as sid/squeeze/lenny for stable Scribus version 1.3.3.x - package scribus - or testing/unstable for 1.3.5 developmental version - package scribus-ng) and on Ubuntu (Karmic/Jaunty/Intrepid/Hardy for stable Scribus version 1.3.3.x or Karmic/Jaunty for 1.3.5 developmental version). We have two identical archives - debian.tagancha.org and debian.scribus.net - that provide bandwidth redundancy and failover capability, so you can use either one or both of them. Instructions are the same whether you run a 32-bit or a 64-bit distribution. This repository also known as the Scribus Archive also contains fontmatrix packages for the listed Ubuntu releases.

Keywords: Debian, Ubuntu, .deb, packages, repository, archive, step-by-step guide, 42.

I. Short instructions for the impatient and experienced

Stable Scribus (1.3.3.xx) is provided by the "scribus" package available for all releases. Developmental Scribus (1.3.5svn) is provided by the "scribus-ng" package for Debian unstable/testing/stable or Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex and Jaunty only. We have both i386 and amd64 packages in our archive. Both scribus and scribus-ng packages can be installed on your system at the same time.

1. Add the repositories to package manager software

Scribus archive's source lines can be simply added to /etc/apt/sources.list:

Debian stable (Lenny):
 deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ stable main non-free contrib
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ stable main non-free contrib
Debian testing (Squeeze):
 deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ testing main non-free contrib
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ testing main non-free contrib
Debian unstable (Sid):
 deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ unstable main non-free contrib
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ unstable main non-free contrib
Ubuntu Hardy Heron (hardy or 8.04):
 deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ hardy main non-free
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ hardy main non-free
Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex (intrepid or 8.10):
 deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ intrepid main non-free
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ intrepid main non-free
Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope (jaunty or 9.04):
 deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ jaunty main non-free
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ jaunty main non-free
Ubuntu Karmic Koala (karmic or 9.10):

deb http://debian.scribus.net/debian/ karmic  main non-free
deb http://debian.tagancha.org/debian/ karmic main non-free

2. Add the Scribus Archive signature

Our repositories are cryptographically signed for added security. Add EEF818CF key from any major keyserver to apt-key to be able to verify that our packages have not been tampered with by a third party and to silence apt warnings about untrusted packages being installed.

$ gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net --recv-keys EEF818CF
$ gpg --armor --export EEF818CF | sudo apt-key add -

3. Report bugs to the Scribus Bug Tracker not Debian or Ubuntu BTS

Do not file bug reports about the packages from the Scribus archive in the Debian or Ubuntu Bug Tracking Systems (BTS). Use distribution BTS only for the package versions currently present in that distribution. You are encouraged to contact the maintainer directly if you have package installation questions or for comments and suggestions about this document. If you have a Scribus issue unrelated to packaging you should use the scribus BTS.

II. Step-by-step instructions for the patient and new users

We will be using Synaptic package manager for this as an example. If it is not installed on your system then please install the package "synaptic" before continuing.

1. Add the Scribus Archive gpg key to your package manager using a terminal

  • Start a terminal (Gnome Menu > Accessories > Terminal). "$" below represents the terminal prompt.
  • Fetch Scribus archive key:
$ gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net --recv-keys EEF818CF
  • Import Scribus archive key into apt-key:
$ gpg --armor --export EEF818CF | sudo apt-key add -
  • Show installed keys to verify the key installation:
$ sudo apt-key list

Output must contain

pub 1024D/EEF818CF 2007-02-28
uid Scribus Debian Archive Signing Key

as one of the keys.

2. Add the Scribus Archive as a new Repository in Synaptic

  • Start Synaptic package manager (later "Synaptic").
  • Click on "Settings" > "Repositories" (Figure 1).

Synaptic Settings Menu

Figure 1. Settings > Repositories menu.

  • Click on "New" and type or paste in the "URI", "Distribution", and "Section(s)" and click on "OK" (Figure 2).

Add a repository

Figure 2. Adding a repository.

  • click on the "Reload" button in the toolbar and wait for the package database update to complete.
  • Click on the "Search" toolbar button. A "Find" dialog window will open. Type "scribus" in the "Search" field and click on the "Search" button (Figure 3).

Search dialog
Figure 3. Searching.

  • The search should produce results similar to the following (Figure 4).

Search results
Figure 4. Search results.

  • Right-click on the package you'd like to install in the search results or click on the small square in the leftmost "S" column and select "Mark for Installation" (Figure 5).

Mark for installation
Figure 5. Mark package for installation.

  • You should see your chosen package marked for installation in the main synaptic window as indicated by a yellow arrow in the "S" column (Figure 6).

Marked for installation
Figure 6. Package is marked for installation.

  • Click on the "Apply" button in the toolbar. You should see the following dialog window (Figure 7).
  • Apply changes
    Figure 7. Apply changes summary.

    • Click on the "Apply" button in the above dialog window. You should see a succession of messages indicating that the package is being downloaded and installed (Figures 8-9).

    Installing software
    Figure 8. Package being downloaded.

    Installed software
    Figure 9. Package being installed.

    • Depending on your synaptic preferences you might have to click on the "Close" button or the installation progress window might close by itself. At the end you should see a green square in the column "S" in front of your chosen package in the main synaptic window (Figure 10).

    Finished
    Figure 10. Main window after package installation.

    2a. Use an alternative GUI Installer to install a Scribus package

    For an alternative method using the "Adept" package manager found in Kubuntu see Getting Scribus on Ubuntu/Kubuntu up and running.



    About the Scribus Archive

    There are following Scribus related packages in Debian and Ubuntu:

    Scribus applications and documentation:

    • scribus (Scribus 1.3.3.x) - Stable branch. This is the recommended version to use at this time.
    • scribus-doc Scribus 1.3.3.x documentation.
    • scribus-ng (Scribus 1.3.5svn) - Developmental branch with new features and capabilities. Use if you really need the new features in development, but save your work often and report bugs when you encounter them.
    • scribus-ng-doc Scribus 1.3.5svn documentation.

    Additional data, color profiles, templates, and auxillary applications:

    • scribus-template - Additional document templates.
    • icc-profiles - A collection of common ICC profiles to use with Scribus and other color profile-aware software. You must Install this package if you want to enable color management.
    • lprof Hardware color profiler tool for creating ICC profiles to be used with Scribus.
    • qt3-qtconfig allows users to configure the look and behavior of any Qt3 application - necessary to overcome some Ubuntu problems.
    • podofo is a library to work with the PDF file format. All our scribus-ng packages in the Scribus Archive are podofo-enabled.

    Instructions on rebuilding the source packages are also applicable to other Debian derivatives and custom distributions not covered here. Oleksandr Moskalenko maintains a Scribus Team's Debiain/Ubuntu repository (Scribus Archive) that contains the newest "scribus", "scribus-doc", "scribus-ng", and "scribus-ng-doc" packages. Note that the only way to run latest Scribus versions on Debian/Stable and Ubuntu Gutsy/Hardy/Intrepid is to use Scribus Archive. Unfortunately, Ubuntu has a number of qt3 related problems (see Getting Scribus on Ubuntu/Kubuntu up and running), so we recommend using Debian to run Scribus. Only Debian/Unstable and Ubuntu/Intrepid have the newest 1.3.5svn based scribus-ng packages as other branches have too old Qt4 libraries.

    About this document

    This how-to has been originally created for Scribus Wiki page by the following Scribus Wiki users: malex, mhanski, Zero0w, JureCuhalev, Cbradney, and Joolsr. This page is licensed under CC BY-SA.