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What does Force Version... do in Synaptic Package Manager

Asked by tony lauro

So far, I like using Syanptic to manage my installed packages, but I needed to install a previous version of a package and had a real hard time finding information about how to do this via Synaptic. Eventually, I simply downloaded the older version of the package and used dpkg to install it, and I came across a post that mentioned Force Version... What does this menu item do? I would have simply tried it out, but it won't enable. So how can I activate this menu item?

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Allen Chemist
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Best Allen Chemist (alchemist) said : 		#1

Force version is usually used to lock a version against future 'automatic' upgrades. I have used it in the past to prevent the linux kernel from appearing as an 'upgrade', because I had a number of self-compiled drivers which broke every kernel update.

In order for "Force Version" to become active, Synaptic needs to be aware of two different versions of the package. This most commonly occurs during an upgrade (when the old installed version is known, as well as the new updated version from the updates repositories).

I have never done this with a self-installed package, only with packages found in the original archives and the -updates archives. Give this a try, and see if it locks the version for you:
1. "Mark all upgrades" (but do NOT hit "apply marked changes"!)
2. Search for your package and it should be highlighted in yellow (marked for upgrade).
3. Select it now and have a look at "Force Version" in the menu. You should be able to choose which version you would like it to force-hold.

Hope this helps

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tony lauro (champagnetony-deactivatedaccount) said : 		#2

Thanks Allen Chemist, that solved my question.