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SynapticHowto
Synaptic is a graphical front-end to apt, the package
management system in Ubuntu. It combines the pointand-click simplicity of the graphical user interface with
the power of the apt-get command line tool. You can
install, remove, configure, or upgrade software packages,
browse, sort and search the list of available software
packages, manage repositories, or upgrade the whole
system. You can queue up a number of actions before
you execute them. Synaptic will inform you about
dependencies (additional packages required by the
software package you have chosen) as well as conflicts
with other packages that are already installed on your
system.
Synaptic's sibling on the Kubuntu desktop is Adept.
If you prefer to use the command line instead of a
graphical user interface, apt-get and aptitude are
available. For information on these alternatives see
InstallingSoftware.

Note for 11.10 release and

above
Synaptic is no longer installed by default in Ubuntu
11.10, however it is still useful in some situations.

Installing with software-center

You can install it by searching in the software-center for
synaptic and clicking on Synaptic Package Manager

Contents
1. Note for 11.10 release and above
1. Installing with software-center
2. Installing with CLI
2. Getting Started
3. Browsing the package database
4. How to apply filters
5. Repositories
1. Managing Repositories
2. Updating the Package List
6. Adding or Removing Software
7. Adding Packages
1. Mark the Chosen Packages
2. Installing Packages
3. How to force the installation of a
package version
4. How to Install, but not every
recommended package
8. Remove or Uninstall Packages
9. To Upgrade a Package
10. How to keep your system up-to-date,
including the Kernel
11. Information Gathering
1. Locating software on your system
2. View the Changelog of a Package
3. View History
12. Status Icons
13. Keyboard shortcuts for Synaptic
14. Troubleshooting
1. How to fix broken packages
2. How to free disk space
3. Broken Upgrade or Installation
4. Browser works, Synaptic will not
15. See also
16. Other Languages

Installing with CLI

Or, alternatively, open a terminal, and enter:

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sudo apt-get install synaptic

Getting Started
To launch Synaptic, choose
System > Administration > "Synaptic Package Manager"
Or if you are using the Unity interface, open the dash and search for synaptic.
The main window is divided into three sections: a package browser on the left, the package list on the upper
right, and package details on the lower right. The status bar shows you the system state at a glance.

And if you would like to see more details about a package, use a mouse right-click on a package and choose
Properties

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Browsing the package database

To browse the (very large) list of available packages by category, section, package status, custom filters, or
recent searches. Click on the corresponding button at the bottom of the left window pane. You can also
create your own filters. See the Filters section for details.
To search for packages by name or description, click on the Search button in the toolbar:

or use the "Quick search" field in the toolbar:

You can examine a number of package details in the lower right window pane such as its size, its
dependencies, recommended or suggested additional packages, and a short description.

How to apply filters

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To be added

Repositories
Repositories are like shops (currently almost always free), warehouses or archives full of almost all the
software, drivers, codecs, libraries and other packages that are available for the release of Ubuntu (or
whichever distro) you are using.
It is up to the package project's team to get their package into the repositories for the various releases of the
various distros. Also it is up to the team developing a release to make sure that the repositories have plenty
of the right sort of packages to meet people's needs. Think of a shop. Companies need to get their product
onto shelves and shops need to show they have plenty to sell. This saves individual users from having to
identify the 'correct' website for a product and assess whether or not the site has been compromised and
whether they are getting a genuine product or something stuffed full of malware.
The standard repositories are all free as are the Medibuntu repositories and most others that are easily found
and added. Theoretically there is nothing stopping a games manufacturer (for example) setting up a one-off
or monthly charge for accessing a specialist repository. The ethics and licensing agreements would have to
be looked into if people or companies chose this route.
Adding or removing repositories is fairly easy.

Managing Repositories
Either from the top taskbar
System - Administrator - "Software Sources"
or from inside Synaptic using the Settings menu, select Repositories
The first tab of the pop-up is where Cd/Dvds can be added (or removed) as repositories to search. Usually
the various online "repos" are already included so you might be installing a more recent version of
something that is listed on the Cd/dvd and also in the online repos. The package manager will automatically
choose the most recent by default although one of the other tabs in the pop-up can change the priorities, or in
the Preferences pop-up from the Setttings menu.
As a front-end to apt, Synaptic uses the system-wide list of software repositories file located at
/etc/apt/sources.list

For more on managing software repositories, see the Repositories wiki page.

Updating the Package List

Click Reload or press Ctrl + R to make Synaptic aware of the latest updates and any changes to the list of
repositories.
Although this is done automatically when you open Synaptic it can be a good idea to update the database
from time to time while running Synaptic. The database is a list of packages on your system to keep track of
installed software. All the package managers share the same list and the same list of repositories but each
one presents the information slightly differently. The main time you will need to update the lists is when/if
you have made changes to the list of software channels or if you have made changes to Synaptic's
configuration.

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Adding or Removing Software

Adding Packages
Mark the Chosen Packages
Right-click on each chosen package and choose Mark for Installation from the context menu, or
press Ctrl + I. If the package requires the installation of another package, a dialog box appears:

Synaptic will warn you if your choices conflict with packages that are already installed on your
system. If this is the case, the dialog box will show you any packages that need to be removed. If you
are not sure you don't need the package(s) that will be removed, make sure you look up its function
and use before you apply the changes you've made.
Click Mark to allow the installation of the additional package(s).

Installing Packages
Without an Internet Connection
Search for and "Mark" all the applications that you want to install/upgrade in the usual way but don't click
the "Apply" button. Instead use the File menu to "Generate a download Script".
With no internet connection at all of course you wont be able to Update the Package List and so packages
may be older versions. An intermittent, occasional or slow connection could usefully update the list and then
use the Script method to get updates via a 2nd machine which would not have to be running Ubuntu. The
Script is designed to work on Windows or Mac machines too.
There are a few guides
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Synaptic/PackageDownloadScript
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Synaptic/Offline
or use apt-get instead of Synaptic
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AptGet/Offline

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or an alternative approach, 'simply' download the entire repository!

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AptGet/Offline/Repository

With a Broadband Connection

Once you are satisfied with your choices, click on Apply in the toolbar or press Ctrl + P.
A dialog box appears with a summary of changes that will be made.

Confirm the changes by clicking on Apply.

How to force the installation of a package version

To be added: Why you would (and would not) want to force a specific version
To force the installation of a package different from the one chosen by Synaptic, do the following:
Click Reload or press Ctrl + R to make Synaptic aware of the latest updates.
Select the package. Choose Force Version from the Package menu.
Select the version you would like to use. To confirm your decision, click Force.
Click Apply on the toolbar or press Ctrl + P. A dialog appears with a summary of the changes
that will be made to your system. To confirm, press Apply.

How to Install, but not every recommended package

Open Preferences from the menu
On the General tab, unmark "Consider recommended packages as dependencies"
Restart Synaptic, and Install the package normally.

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Remove or Uninstall Packages

To remove or 'completely remove' a package
Right-click on the package and choose Mark for Removal from the context menu
Once you're satisfied with your choices, click on Apply in the toolbar or press Ctrl + P.
A dialog box appears with a summary of changes that will be made. Confirm the changes by
clicking on Apply.
The Mark for Complete Removal option instructs Synaptic to remove any configuration files
associated with the package as well.

To Upgrade a Package
Click Reload or press Ctrl + R to make Synaptic aware of the latest updates.
Right-click on the package and choose Mark for Upgrade from the context menu, or press Ctrl + U.
Once you're satisfied with your choices, click on Apply in the toolbar or press Ctrl + P. If the
machine has no internet access then generate a download script instead of using "Apply"
A dialog box appears with a summary of changes that will be made. Confirm the changes by clicking
on Apply.

How to keep your system up-to-date, including the

Kernel
Synaptic provides two methods for upgrading your system:
Smart Upgrade (Dist-Upgrade) -- recommended
The smart upgrade method tries to resolve package conflicts. This includes installing additional
dependencies (required packages) if needed and preferring packages with higher priority. Smart
Upgrade has the same effect as the apt-get dist-upgrade tool on the command line.
Default Upgrade
The default upgrade method marks upgrades of installed packages only. If the new version of a
package depends on not installed packages or coflicts with an already installed package, it will not be
upgraded.
Dist-upgrade is the default upgrade method used by Synaptic. To change the upgrade method,
choose Preferences from the Settings menu, then click on the General tab and adjust the System
upgrade entry.
To upgrade your system with Synaptic:
Click Reload or press Ctrl + R to make Synaptic aware of the latest updates.
Click Mark all Upgrades or press Ctrl + G.
Click Apply on the toolbar or press Ctrl + P. A dialog appears with a summary of the changes
that will be made to your system.

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Click Apply to confirm the changes and go ahead with the upgrade.
Synaptic works hand-in-hand with Update-Notifier and Update-Manager to inform you about updates
to the software installed on your system.
Update-Notifier displays an icon in the notification area when updates are available. It will display a pop-up
message and an icon in the notification area on your GNOME desktop.

If you right click on the icon you see all the functions available, including what I think is a sensible default,
Show Updates. This option runs another new program, Upgrade-Manager. The upgrade manager shows
what packages the system wants to upgrade, which you can deselect from being upgraded if you wish.
To update your system, click on the notification icon, enter your password and click OK.
Once all the packages are downloaded, the dpkg system installs the packages in the hidden terminal.
Questions that previously required interaction with the terminal now provide a Debconf interface using the
GNOME frontend. The upgrade process never requires the user to access a terminal, which helps new users
become comfortable with upgrading their system.
Ubuntu also makes basic APT configuration much easier for new users. It offers an interface to add or edit
the entries in /etc/apt/sources.list which can be accessed through Synaptic or the preferences menu of the
update-notifier. It shows the repositories that are currently listed, and provides an interface to edit them or
add new repositories.
You can change the frequency of update checks in the Software Preferences panel. Choose
Repositories from the Settings menu, then click on the Internet Updates tab and adjust the Check for
updates entry.

The only function that is somewhat lacking with the new Synaptic frontend is application installation. There
is a new program called gnome-app-install that shows a simple list of common GNOME programs with a
checkbox for installation or removal. gnome-app-install will list every package that provides a .desktop icon
in the GNOME application menu. In other words, basically every major gui program will be listed.

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Information Gathering
Locating software on your system
Synaptic can tell you about every file that belongs to a software package it knows about and show you where
it is located on your system. Search the database for the software package you are interested in and select it
in Synaptic's main window. Next, click on the Installed Files tab to see a list of all files and where they are.

View the Changelog of a Package

Applies to native Debian (.deb) packages only
You can view the changelog of a package with Synaptic. Select a package, then choose Download
Changelog from the Package menu.

View History
You can easily keep track of all changes made to your system's software configuration. To view the history
log file, choose History from the File menu.
The history log only shows changes made with Synaptic.

Status Icons
The following icons are used to indicate the status of a package in the package list:

Keyboard shortcuts for Synaptic

Command

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Update the list of available packages

Ctrl + R

Open the package search dialog

Ctrl + F

Show the Properties window for the selected package

Ctrl + O

Mark the selected package(s) for installation

Ctrl + I

Mark the selected package(s) for upgrade

Ctrl + U

Mark the selected package(s) for removal

Delete

Mark the selected package(s) for complete removal

Shift + Delete

Unmark any changes to packages

Ctrl + N

Mark all possible upgrades

Ctrl + G

Force the installation of a specific version of the package

Ctrl + E

Undo the last change

Ctrl + Z

Redo the last change

Ctrl + Shift + Z

Apply all marked changes

Ctrl + P

Quit Synaptic

Ctrl + Q

Troubleshooting
How to fix broken packages
'Broken packages' are packages that have unsatisfied dependencies. If broken packages are detected,
Synaptic will not allow any further changes to the system until all broken packages have been fixed.
To fix broken packages
Choose Edit > Fix Broken Packages from the menu.
Choose Apply Marked Changes from the Edit menu or press Ctrl + P.
Confirm the summary of changes and click Apply.
If that does not help, then please follow this procedure:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PackageManagerTroubleshootingProcedure

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How to free disk space

Settings -> Preferences -> Files -> Delete downloaded packages after installation then click Delete Cached
Package Files.

Broken Upgrade or Installation

What to do if an installation process fails and you find it is no longer possible to install or remove
packages:
Open a Terminal and type the following commands, pressing the Return or Enter key after each
(you may have to type in your password):
sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get install -f

Browser works, Synaptic will not

(note: probably inaccurate or outdated)
If the router is set to auto discover DNS then Synaptic will fail. Resolve this by setting up a static ip address
and manually set DNS ip in router. Now Ubuntu (system-administration-networking) config static ip and
enter your ISP dns ip and delete router DNS ip which will look something like 192.168.1.1

See also
General: SoftwareManagement and InstallingSoftware .
Synaptic/PackageDownloadScript
Synaptic/Offline
Complete Detailed Step By Step Guide how to Use Synaptic Package Manager with Screenshots
Basics of the Debian Package Management System
Debian Apt User Manual
Apt-Get Web Protocol
Synaptic home page
A Synaptic tutorial based on Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)
Point-n-Click Software Management with Synaptic (Debian Universe)
The apt-get wiki page
Managing Repositories in Ubuntu
An introduction to SecureApt on the Debian Wiki

Other Languages
ComoSynaptic

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Persian
CategoryPackageManagement
SynapticHowto (last edited 2013-12-14 10:27:06 by knome @ nblzone227-162.nblnetworks.fi[83.145.227.162]:knome)

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