Ubuntu: Up and Running

The Synaptic Package Manager

The predecessor to the Ubuntu Software Center is the Synaptic Package Manager, which you can call up by selecting System → Administration → Synaptic Package Manager. After entering your password, you’ll see a new window similar to Figure 8-14.

Figure 8-14. The Synaptic Package Manager main screen

You might need to use Synaptic because the Software Center is actually more of a work in progress that’s transitioning from Synaptic to a more user-friendly experience. I say “work in progress” because not all possible Ubuntu programs have made it into the Software Center yet, and it may be some time before they do. Therefore, when you can’t find the program you want in the Software Center, the next best place to look is the Synaptic Package Manager.

To ensure you are shown all the latest packages, it’s always a good idea to click on the Reload button when you first run Synaptic. Then, in a similar way to using the Software Center, you can browse through the various departments listed in the lefthand pane to change the contents of the top-righthand one. For example, if you select Editors, then the top-righthand pane will list all the editors Synaptic knows about, including program editors and word processors, as shown in Figure 8-15.

Figure 8-15. Viewing the Editors ...