This may be a stupid question, but...

[soixante-deux]

...is there any way to turn off whatever it is that brings you to the "LOL DONATE" page whenever you open NeoOffice? It's awfully annoying, and since I have neither the will, the way, nor the resources to donate, the most it's going to do is get me to stop using the program in favor of standard OpenOffice under X11.

[OPENSTEP]

This is the patch checking mechanism which is enabled by default for all non-final builds. We patch frequently, and this mechanism is used to inform people if newer patches are available. Applying these patches is important to get all recent bug fixes, including those which may lead to application crashes and data loss.

The patch check is performed every 10 days during our Alpha and Beta testing periods (not on every launch). It is our experience that without this automated patch check, most users will not even be aware that bugfix patches exist. If there are no patches available, it will display the donation page by default. As we have been busy fixing bugs and travelling, there have been no patches for a while, but a new one will be on the way soon.

If you can't donate or help in another fashion, you could at least try to be polite.

ed

[andymadigan]

I can certainly understand the need to update, and that the developers need donations, but opening a web browser when you open a word processor isn't very polite. If I don't have firefox open i don't bloody well want it open. I'm happy to make a donation, but nothing on the donation page says how much it costs to disable the nag. Is there any way to disable the donation nag, other than switching to v1.x or X11?

[rays]

Those who do not wish to participate in the development phase of the next full-release version of NeoOffice (or any other software, for that matter) should exercise their right to choice and download the currently available full-release version. In the case of NeoOffice, that would be 1.2.2 and its available for free on the downloads page. As Ed says, the full version does not display periodic polite advisories about pre-release development patches.

Of course, you will not enjoy the benefit of the latest, greatest additional features available in NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua BETA Patch 10 version, but if you're not prepared to support that development in return for the minor inconvenience of having your browser launch occasionally (and as advertised), the choice is still yours - the end user.

A donation is a donation. "I'm happy to make a donation, but nothing on the donation page says how much it costs to disable the nag", is not in the spirit of donation but that of purchasing a service. Let's not confuse the two. Even if you were prepared to pay for such an opt-out service, the cost to the project of operating such an option would be far outweighed by the benefits to the project from exposing the software to the widest willing audience of end-users for free.

As it is an open source development project, nothing prevents you from "rolling your own" advisory-notification-free version from source. (Unless, like me, you do not have the pre-requisite skills and knowledge which that would involve. I suppose you could always hire a software developer to do that for you but don't you think that might cost rather more than it was worth to you?)

"It's awfully annoying, and since I have neither the will, the way, nor the resources to donate, the most it's going to do is get me to stop using the program in favor of standard OpenOffice under X11", writes soixante-deux.

I suppose it must be awfully annoying to the developers when users take this attitude yet do nothing about it. Please go use OpenOffice under X11 and enjoy it. Please help that project to grow into a mature, feature-rich office software that runs in Aqua... one day?

But before you go, and IF AND ONLY IF NeoOffice is causing your browser to open on every launch and you use it on a daily basis and this occurs with every launch, then maybe you've discovered a bug that Ed is not aware of when he says, "The patch check is performed every 10 days during our Alpha and Beta testing periods (not on every launch)"? That being the case, either choose to join-in the community effort to support the developers by opening a bug on the project's Neo Bugzilla (link available in left-hand menu on this page) or quietly disappear. It may be specific to your language version or operating system. If you don't file a bug, we'll never know if it is a bug or not. Once again, the choice is yours.

[Samwise]

[andymadigan]

It might not happen every time I open neooffice, but it is still annoying that it does it at all. I don't like a program doing something as system-intensive as opening firefox, especially if I'm not expecting it. I suppose I will end up rebuilding neooffice tonight. I think I read it takes 4 or 5 hours, but I guess it's worth it.

If neooffice wants to check for updates, that can easily be done with a properly setup server and about 10 lines of Java, just put a file on the server containing the current patch number, then download it as neooffice starts (do it on a separate thread in case the server can't be found). If the patch number is different from the installed number, let the user know they need to update (by popping up a dialog).

Opening the user's web browser is not polite, opening a dialog if and only if there is an update available is fine, especially in beta software. If this was really telling the person to update, it would open to the patch page, and the patch page would have a version number so that the user can check whether they need to update.

[Samwise]

FWIW, OpenOffice.org can take as little as 2 hours to build ... on a Mac Pro, and then you have to add the NeoOffice code, and of course the initial checkout of the OpenOffice.org sources (which mostly depends on your internet connection speed, but takes several hours on a standard DSL line).

If you have a slow Mac such as a G4, expect between 36 and 48 hours for a full build.

[pluby]

Sicne NeoOffice/J 1.1, disabling the patch checking and/or donation pages can be done by the simple process:

Create a /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/.noshowdonationpage file to disable both the patch checking and donation pages.

Create a /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/.nocheckforpatches file to disable only the patch checking page.

Sorry you don't like that we hawk for donations, but that's how we make a meager living so I have no plans on removing it. Without donations, NeoOffice would not exist as NeoOffice isn't a "part-time" hobby, it is a full-time enterprise. You are free to disable the messages if you like, but we will continue to solicit donations as things like liability insurance, bandwidth, and our own living expenses require real cash.

I wish we had some big trust fund to pay for NeoOffice so we wouldn't have to ask for donations. Unfortunatley, we don't so the "cost" of using NeoOffice is to get a web page to open in your default browser.

Edit: if you still plan on building NeoOffice, be aware that I've never been able to get all of NeoOffice to build faster than 20 hours even on an Intel-based Mac and 36 hours on my G5 PowerMac. Also note that during the build the C++ compiler will be using 80% or more of your CPU so running other apps will likely be painful during that time.

Patrick

[Bernd66]

[quote="pluby"]Sicne NeoOffice/J 1.1, disabling the patch checking and/or donation pages can be done by the simple process:

Create a /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/.noshowdonationpage file to disable both the patch checking and donation pages.

Create a /Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/.nocheckforpatches file to disable only the patch checking page.
Patrick[/quote]


This is great. I just wanted to ask the same question but luckily I was searching first :-)
I already donated to the project (and likely will do so again in the future), but openig the browser from time to time is just not good for what I am trying to do.
I would like to replace Word with NeoOffice in our company. But can you imagine how someone not "computer savvy" feels if he wants to do some word processing and the browser opens? Huh, what's happening?
It is OK if that happens on my own computer so that I know when to update the office computers and I am glad that there is a way to switch it off.
Thanks for the good work.

Greetings from Germany,
Bernd Fröhlich

[Samwise]

BTW OpenOffice.org 2.1 now features automatic notification of updates. I wonder whether we could adapt the code to check for NeoOffice updates & patches ?

[Guest]

I understand the need for donations and patches for beta software, but there are legitimate reasons why some people might not want the "nag" screen (as one poster called it) to appear when NeoOffice is started.

I wanted (desperately) to get away from MS Office, so looked to OpenOffice initally. Unfortunately I can't use OO because X11 won't install - my installer disc claims I have a newer version of the OS already installed and stops. This leaves me with no option but to use NeoOffice. The first version I came to when browsing was the Beta (v1.2.2. doesn't jump out to novices or time pressed). Being wary of Beta software but wishing to get close to the functionality of MS Office for compatibility etc, I placed my faith in the community and downloaded and installed the latest beta version. The "nag" screen merely frustrated me at first but it is an anathema to my Wife who is the primary (and non-technical) user of this computer. NeoOffice is not used daily by either of us, so the net effect is a "nag" screen almost every time NeoOffice is opened - despite the ten-day schedule referred to in an earlier post.

An earlier poster was correct that it is rather bad form to pop-up a browser (particularly troublesome if you are not connected to a network) when one is expecting another app. Please find a different way of doing the "nag".

Am I correct in thinking that the workaround mentioned by pluby disables patch checking for ALL users on the machine? I still wish to make sure I have the latest recommended version installed, so may have to put up with it but would like to disable it for my Wife. Is this possible?

I question rays's comment that opening the browser is an "as advertised" feature? I read and re-read the Homepage and download pages (I confess the only ones I've read in detail) but haven't spotted that particular erudition...

I do hope you don't think that I too am being impolite or threatening your means of existence. Nor do I question the obvious effort and dilligence of the community of developers. Far from it, I applaud you. It just seems that sometimes developers lose sight of what users want in the maelstrom of progress.

Thanks for some good software. Please just make it a little more polite/thoughtful.

Many thanks

[MacRat]

[Samwise]

You can find an X11 howto on the OpenOffice.org porting website :

http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/support.html#howto

[Guest]

Thanks for the X11 install tips. It's been a while since I tried this and I think I've done these but I'll have another go and report back. That said, unless I swap to OpenOffice I have no need of X11.

Thanks

[Guest]

Donations are good, prompting for them okay... opening web pages are just bad.

I was about to buy MS Office because even though it's not a problem for me to handle the web page, it's a problem for my wife's parents, and makes it hard for me to even consider putting NeoOffice on their machine.

My company also creates Open Source Freeware products... we had a Sourceforge Project of the month as well as a two page article in Linux Magazine once. All this and still not nagging for money. Granted you have the right to do whatever you feel like, but I am just giving good advice as not to alienate prospective clients.

Good thing I found this page before I dropped the product.