Translations by fukid

How to install and remove software in Ubuntu.

What is Ubuntu Software Center?

You can find software by category or by searching, and you can install an item with the click of a button.

The Center also lets you examine the software installed on the computer already, and remove anything you no longer need.

To install something with Ubuntu Software Center, you need administrator access and a working Internet connection. (If you set up Ubuntu on this computer yourself, you have administrator access automatically.)

In the <guilabel>Get Software</guilabel> section, find the thing you want to install. If you already know its name, try typing the name in the search field. Or try searching for the type of program you want (like &#8220;spreadsheet&#8221;). Otherwise, browse the list of departments.

Choose <guilabel>Install</guilabel>. You may need to enter your Ubuntu password before the installation can begin.

How long something takes to install depends on how large it is, and the speed of your computer and Internet connection.

When the screen changes to say &#8220;Installed&#8221;, the software is ready to use.

If you are using Ubuntu Netbook Edition, an application appears in its category on the home screen.

To remove software, you need administrator access. (If you set up Ubuntu on this computer yourself, you have administrator access automatically.)

In the <guilabel>Installed Software</guilabel> section, find the item you want to remove.

Select the item in the list, and choose <guilabel>Remove</guilabel>. You may need to enter your Ubuntu password.

If a program is open when you remove it, usually it will stay open even after it is removed. As soon as you close it, it will no longer be available.

Sometimes if you try to remove one item, the Software Center will warn you that other items will be removed too. There are two main reasons this happens.

Multiple applications are sometimes provided as a single package. If any of them are installed, all of them are installed. And if any of them are removed, all of them are removed. Ubuntu Software Center cannot remove them individually, because it has no instructions on how to separate them.

You can use the <guilabel>Main Menu</guilabel> settings to hide unwanted items without removing them from the computer. In Ubuntu, you can find <guilabel>Main Menu</guilabel> inside <menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu> <guisubmenu>Preferences</guisubmenu></menuchoice>. In Ubuntu Netbook Edition, it is in <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu> <guisubmenu>Preferences</guisubmenu></menuchoice>.

You can install this software in the same way as any other software in Ubuntu Software Center.

Currently, all software in Ubuntu Software Center is free of charge.

In a future version of Ubuntu, the Center will also allow software purchases.

First, check that <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu> <guimenuitem>All Software</guimenuitem></menuchoice> is selected.

If the software you want still isn&#8217;t there, but you know that it runs on Ubuntu, try contacting the original developers of the program to ask if they can help make it available.

Otherwise, look through the Center for another program to do what you want.