Installing flatpack

[Arran]

Hello

I would like to install the brand new Gimp 2.10.6. It is recomemded to use Flatpack to install. But when I had it installed, nothing works. Is it possible that 14.04.5 is not able to use this new way to install apps?

Why, by the way, is in the usual Repos Gimp still the stone age version 2.8.22?

I would not mind to install now the new version as several of my friends have testet and think Gimp 2.10.6 is now totally reliable.

[GreyGeek]

GIMP 2.9.3 version is available as an AppImage. (2.10 isn't ready for prime time yet)
Just download it from here:
https://bintray.com/probono/AppImage...86_64.AppImage
and save it in a folder under your home account, say, GIMP, and mark it with the execute permission. Edit the Application Launcher and add the appimage as the executable. You don't need to extract GIMP from the appimage. Just double click on the appimage while running Dolphin or click on the AppLauncher item if you added it to the menu system. When you are ready to delete it just delete the appimage and it's gone. No putzing with the repository. I run about 15 or so of my go to apps using appimage: Etcher, LibreOffice, etc...

PS: The feature I like about AppImages is that it doesn't require a "driver" or "process" in order to install or run, like flatpak and snap do. Worried about security? Run it in a sandbox using firejail.
https://appimage.org/

[claydoh]

I am not sure 14.04 supports flatpack, but I am checking....

Nope, the flatpak folks don't/can't support it
https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/956

Ubuntu does have snap support in 14.04, you just have to install the package snapd

https://snapcraft.io/gimp provides 2.10.0 and 2.10.2

You may have to install it via the command line as shown, as none of the package managers from that era would have support for these kind of packages.

[Arran]

Thanks you both.

To GreyGeek: does that mean that several apps would no more have to be first downloaded and then installed. And what is with, say Scribus, where I have set up about 90 templates for 20 regular jobs? I have the whole Scribus block in one special partition with Gimp, Digikam and other graphic applications.

To claydoh.thanks especially for the trouble you had. I will try it tomorrow.

In the German version of Pro-Linux was on Monday a longish article that 2.10.6 is now out and recommended to be upgraded.

[GreyGeek]

...

To GreyGeek: does that mean that several apps would no more have to be first downloaded and then installed. And what is with, say Scribus, where I have set up about 90 templates for 20 regular jobs? I have the whole Scribus block in one special partition with Gimp, Digikam and other graphic applications.

That's what it means. An AppImage contains everything it needs, in the correct versions, to run, without needing to install extra libraries or utilities.

Download the Scribus AppImage below and move it to your special location, mark it as executable. Do NOT unzip it. Double click on it to run it (if you don't add an item to your App Launcher menu). Once opened you can click Files-->Preferences-->Path-->Document Templates and point to the location of the templates you have.

https://bintray.com/probono/AppImage...86_64.AppImage

AppImages can be made to update automatically:
https://docs.appimage.org/packaging-guide/updates.html