Ubuntu
software-center package

software-center: reload package list after adding new software source

Asked by Ben Burton

Hi. I am packaging third-party software for ubuntu (specifically, new upstream versions of regina-normal), and I am finding it difficult to install software via the GUI.

I am using oneiric (both i386 and amd64). I start the Ubuntu Software Center, select Edit -> Software Sources, import my signing key (http://people.debian.org/~bab/regina-key.txt), then select Other Software and add the apt-line:

deb http://people.debian.org/~bab/regina oneiric/

I close Software Sources, and back in the Ubuntu Software Center I search for regina-normal. It only finds the old version (4.6-4, as shipped with oneiric), not the new version from the new repository that I just added (4.90-1ubuntu1~oneiric1).

In older versions of ubuntu (natty and prior), as soon as I added the new software source I would see the software center reload the list of available packages automatically, and the new version would then appear. In oneiric I see no indication that the package listing is being reloaded, the new version does not appear, and I cannot find any button or menu item to force a reload manually.

Since I am putting together instructions for users, I would prefer a "natural" GUI solution (i.e., I don't want to tell them to fire up a terminal and run apt-get update). Am I doing something wrong here? Is there a "right" way of doing this in the GUI that I'm not seeing? Or is this an oversight in oneiric where the Software Center does not communicate with the Software Sources config utility?

(For reference, you can see my user instructions for natty at http://regina.sourceforge.net/install/ubuntu-natty.html ; this works fine, and the reload happens automatically as expected.)

Thanks - Ben.

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Ben Burton (bab) said : 		#1

Oh, btw: if I apt-get update at a terminal and then restart the Software Center, the new version does show up. That is, the repository itself works fine. My problem is convincing the GUI to see the new version after I add a new apt-line.

- Ben.

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marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said : 		#2

Please try from terminal:

sudo apt-get update

and retry to use software-center

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Ben Burton (bab) said : 		#3

Hi Marco,

As mentioned above, apt-get update works fine, but I'm looking for a GUI solution. This is for user installation instructions, and I'd rather talk them through a GUI, not have them open up a terminal and use apt-get at the command line.

Thanks - Ben.

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Ben Burton (bab) said : 		#4

More precisely, I'm looking for a "natural" GUI solution. I don't want a sequence of complex / hackish steps (open this, close this, open Update Manager, reload that, see if this works) -- this is not for me personally, but for the end user "how to install" instructions, which should be clean and simple (as they were for natty and before).

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marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said : 		#5

i think this method will works http://askubuntu.com/questions/4983/what-are-ppas-and-how-do-i-use-them

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Ben Burton (bab) said : 		#6

I'm doing pretty much exactly what that page says.

On that page you will see: "Now we can close Software Sources and Software Center will automatically update so that you can access the new packages from the PPA."

This is what used to happen for me on natty and before, but no longer happens on oneiric. For the record, all the screenshots on that page appear to be from natty and before also, so perhaps the authors haven't observed that the update is no longer automatic on oneiric.

- Ben.

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Sam_ (and-sam) said : 		#7

If it's expected to reload the cache automatically and it doesn't I'd say add #804 to open bugs.

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Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said : 		#8

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.

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Alkis Georgopoulos (alkisg) said : 		#9

Sounds like a duplicate of LP bug #782953, linking it...