Plant Base 2 for Linux

The Plant Base edition for Linux is now Freeware (from version 2.1.16). There is no trial-period and no time limit, unlike the Windows and MacOS editions which still require a licence code to enable permanent use.

Installations may be registered as before, but that's entirely optional. We are happy to issue free Linux only codes on request by email. Please let us know the type of distro and desktop envonment you are using as that is helpful information for future development. You can also register the Linux edition with the paid all-OS licence code.

For this free edition there are absolutely no special conditions, no adverts, no unwanted emails or anything else unpleasant! We respect and admire the tradition of free and open source software, most notably on the GNU/Linux platform. This application is offered in the spirit of fairness and support for a free choice of excellent operating systems.

Also from version 2.1.16 the Beta test designation has been removed. We have been using the Linux edition as our main personal system for a considerable time with no issues. However, due to the incredible variety of Linux distributions and desktop environments it is impossible to guarantee that the Plant Base program and its database will execute correctly on every Linux installation. We have tested on a number of different distributions, but cannot test on them all!

Like the other editions, the Linux program is an efficient native application and uses exactly the same database files as the others. It also has the same features - much of the program code is common between all editions.

Installation

Usually straightforward - download the tar archive (.tar.gz) then extract it using either an Archive Manager application or by command-line. We recommend the folder and its files are installed under the user's home directory, but any alternative location can be chosen if preferred.

After extracting the files simply run "plantbase2prog". You may wish to add a desktop icon or menu entry for the application. An example ".desktop" launcher template is provided, to be edited as appropriate for your system.

For the latest release, two versions are included in the install file. The primary one is 2.2.0 but if your OS is quite old then you might need version 2.1.16. Also if installing on a 32-bit system you will need to use an alternative 32-bit executable. You can rename any of the executable files if you wish and also delete those that are not used.

To update an existing installation the smaller download file for "program only update" can be used to replace the program version without changing the database. Please read the general guides for installing and updating.

Files

The application file layout is very simple:-

The "data" folder can be located anywhere provided the database files have read/write access. In fact the four database files do not need to be grouped together as once opened in the program the locations are recorded.

The executable program may also be moved to a preferred location.

There is just one essential run-time file, a settings file (PlantBase.prefs) which will be created if not found. The settings file is normally in the same directory as the program, but if not writable then it's placed in a hidden folder ".plantbase" under the user's Home directory.

The program additionally expects the "language" and "helptxt" folders in the same directory, but will run without them. The "help" folder has HTML copies of the help and is not used directly by the program - view in your browser or delete if you don't want them.

Requirements

Nothing special here - please see the system requirements page.

We are generally targeting distro versions that are currently supported or are at least fairly recent. That is the reason we are providing an alternative version with the current release, to support the very latest plus slightly older Linux versions.

The program uses GTK2 for the user interface, pre-installed on almost all popular Linux distros or easily added for the few that need it. Please bear in mind that the appearance of the user interface may be strongly affected by the Desktop Environment and theme settings. Generally speaking the "traditional" style desktops look perfect, whereas the more "modern" styles can give unexpected visual effects.