The following tutorial will teach Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 13.10 users how to install the recently released LibreOffice 4.2 open source office suite on their operating system(s), replacing the 4.1.x version.

The Document Foundation officially announced the LibreOffice 4.2 office suite on January 30, 2014, a version that focuses on interoperability, performance, and better integration with the Microsoft Windows operating systems.

As expected, the LibreOffice Packaging Team did a great job releasing the LibreOffice 4.2 packages on the PPA repository for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) and Ubuntu 13.10 (Saucy Salamander) in such a short time.

However, in the same PPA repository, you will also be able to find LibreOffice 4.2 packages for the deprecated Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) operating system, as well as the unstable Ubuntu 14.04 Alpha (Trusty Tahr) distribution.

Step 1 - Add the LibreOffice 4.2 repository


Open the Unity Dash, search for terminal, click the "Terminal" icon, and copy/paste the following command in the newly opened terminal window:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa

Searching Terminal in the Unity Dash


Hit the Enter key, type your password when asked, and hit the Enter key again. Hit Enter again when asked if you want to add the LibreOffice repository. Don't close the terminal window, yet. Proceed to the next step.

Adding the LibreOffice 4.2 PPA

Step 2 - Install LibreOffice 4.2 on Ubuntu

With the terminal window opened, copy/paste the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y dist-upgrade

Hit Enter, wait for the installation to finish and close the terminal window. That's it! Your LibreOffice office suite has been upgraded to version 4.2.


LibreOffice 4.2 in Ubuntu 13.10

In time, your LibreOffice installation will automatically update itself to newer releases, as they are published by The Document Foundation, so make sure you run the Software Update utility from time to time. Do not hesitate to drop a comment below if you encounter any issues with this tutorial.