Simple package management with Synaptic
A package management GUI for Debian-based distributions
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- 2006-05-03
- User space | Easy
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If you don’t like using the command line, and you want to manage your program installations without typing a command, then read on: this article is for you!
Ladies and Gentlemen: Synaptic!
Synaptic is a graphical user interface (GUI) for managing software packages on Debian-based distributions. If you are using Debian or Ubuntu you will easily find Synaptic in the System Tools menu or in the Administration menu. Synaptic uses the GTK graphic libraries (GNOME’s ones) . So, if you are using GNOME on your debian-based distro you will probably have Synaptic installed as well.
Synaptic is a graphical user interface for managing software packages on Debian-based distributions

Figure 1: Depending on your GNOME version, you will find Synaptic in the Administration menu or in the System Tools menu
To manage package installations you need administration privileges; so you need to either be root or to authenticate as such. Normally, you will see a window like the one in figure 2 where you can type in the root’s password.
Exploring Synaptic
Once Synaptic has started, you will see an interface like the one shown in figure 3.
You have a menu on top, then a panel with a few buttons, whose functionality will become clear as you read further into the article.
On the left, there are four buttons at the bottom that will determine what is shown in the menu above them. In figure 3, the “Status” button is pressed; so, you can select the packages you see in the list by status. If you select “All” (like in the figure) you’ll have a complete list of available and installed packages. “Installed” shows just the installed ones and so on. The right side of the window is divided into an upper and a lower portion; there is a packages list in the upper part and when you select a package in the list, you get a description of it in the lower part.
Packages can also be grouped by functionality (e.g. text editors, documentation, tools for managing images, etc.). Just press the “sections” button and you can select the packages you like among a number of different sections.
Let’s work!
Now that you have a basic idea of the tool you have in your hands, it’s time to go deeper and see how to use it. The first thing you probably want to do is install something. However, it’s better to use a little patience and do first things first.
As you may know, programs are made by human beings, and human beings aren’t perfect; therefore, a number of bugs are found every day in computer programs, and free software is no exception. The difference with free software is that very often patches are out a few hours or days after a security problem is spotted, and you’d better apply them.
Keeping the system safe
So, the thing you should always do as soon as you launch Synaptic for the first time in a day is update the package information from your repositories and see if there are any packages that need a security upgrade. On the command line that would mean issuing a couple of commands; in Synaptic it’s just a matter of a few clicks. First, you have to click the “Reload” button, which updates the information of the available packages. Then, pressing “Mark All Upgrades” will automatically select all the packages that need an upgrade. Finally, press “Apply” and confirm you really want to upgrade the selected packages. After a while you’ll see all the security patches applied and you can safely do all other package management operations.
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This article is made available under the "Attribution-NonCommercial" Creative Commons License 3.0 available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.
Biography
Marco Marongiu: Born in 1971, Marongiu graduated in applied mathematics in 1997; he's now a full-time system administrator for a company funded by the Local Government of Sardinia, Italy. He's also a Perl programmer and technical writer and lecturer by passion, and is interested in web and XML related technologies. Marongiu has been a Debian User since version 1.1.10 and he helped found the GULCh Linux Users Group (Gruppo Utenti Linux Cagliari), the first one in Sardinia. A few years ago he became a father to his first son Andrea, and he's been trying to reorganise his life since, so that he can start writing technical articles again and holding seminars.
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I really like your article,
Submitted by Anonymous visitor on Sun, 2006-12-31 11:43.
Vote!I really like your article, and the down-to-earth and simplified language.
Keep up the good work, the world needs more people like you to explain the simple things to Linux newbies, if Linux is to make any further infestation in the Desktop market :)
Good work, keep the language simple and write simple articles for simple people, because in the end, there are more of simple people around than Einstien-haired nerds :)
Thank you for the article,
Have a nice day!