Install Picasa 2.7 under 64 bit Ubuntu Fiesty (7.04)

my first serious contribution to the Ubuntu community: How to: install Picasa 2.7 under 64 bit Ubuntu Fiesty (7.04) It’s kind of sad that it is about a non-free app, but after flailing around with F-Spot and Digikam and gthumb, I’ve succumbed to the siren song of a well polished and easy to use UI (with a big push from my wife who needs to share the computer with me).

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1. Install official google linux picasa version, forcing architecture from 32bit to 64bit

sudo su #(or simply log in as root)
aptitude update
aptitude -y install ia32-libs ia32-libs-gtk linux32
wget http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/pool/…820-5_i386.deb
dpkg –force-architecture -i picasa_2.2.2820-5_i386.deb

Start Picasa, let it run (need to answer a few Q’s on first run), scan
a few folders. Shut Picasa down, and the media detector too.

(normal 32bit install instructions at http://www.google.com/linuxrepositories/apt.html)
(force example from http://groups.google.com/group/Googl…5805bbef?hl=en)

2. install wine (or crossover, which is what I used)

sudo apt-get install wine

3. install msttcorefonts, (important! otherwise picasa will hang at the splash screen.)

sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

(http://appdb.winehq.org/commentview….ThreadId=21197)

4. download and install windows version, which is 2.7 at the time of this writing, Copy 2.7 directory in place of 2.2.

wget http://dl.google.com/picasa/picasawe...rent-setup.exe
wine picasaweb-current-setup.exe
sudo su
cd /opt/picasa/wine/drive_c/Program\ Filesmv Picasa2 Picasa22
##
# for crossover
# cp -R home/USERNAME/.cxoffice/win98/drive_c/Program\ Files/Picasa2 Picasa2
# for wine
cp -R home/USERNAME/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Picasa2 Picasa2

(adapted from http://groups.google.com/group/Googl…e=source&hl=en)

5. Now running Picasa from Applications>Graphics>Picasa should start v2.7 (go to Help>About to confirm).

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The part that had me chasing my tail for the longest (days!) is that without the MS corefonts installed Picasa 2.7 hangs at the splash screen. I don’t know if this is the best route, it’s just the one which has worked for me. I haven’t tried uploading to webalbums or any of the other new features (the only reason I want 2.7 is so that added keywords are embedded in the actual image).

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Update 18-Aug-2007: Fixed the dpkg -force line, I’d had the parameters transposed. Thank you Apodaca for the correction.