Type the name or a part of it into the find field located in the toolbar. Synaptic Package Manager will automatically jump to the next matching package in the list.
To find the next matching package press the the forward button next to the find field.
To begin the search again from the beginning of the package list click on the upward button.
Open the search dialog Ctrl-F.
-> from the menu or pressType the search expression into the find field, e.g. "mp3 ogg player".
Select the fields that you want to search in, e.g. name and description.
Click on
to start the search. In our example only music players and related packages will be listed.
You can create more complex searches with the filter editor.
To install one or more packages perform the following steps:
Refresh the package list to be aware of the latest available version:
Choose
-> from the menu.Click on
in the toolbar.Press the key combination Ctrl-R.
Select the package that you wish to install in the package list with a left mouse click. To select further packages hold down the Ctrl key while left clicking on the additional packages.
Mark the selected packages for installation:
Click on package control area.
in theChoose
-> from the menu.Right click on the package and choose
from the context menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-I.
Apply the marked changes to actually install the package(s):
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-P.
Configuration files and user created data (e.g. a website in /var/www) are not removed from the system by default.
Debian only: This behavior can be changed in the preferences.
Debian only: To remove all files related to the package choose instead of .
Debian only: To also remove packages that are only installed as dependency of the to be removed package(s) and that would be no longer needed (orphaned) afterwards, choose instead of .
To remove one or more packages follow these steps:
Select the package that you wish to remove in the package list with a left click. To select further packages hold down the Ctrl key while left clicking on additional packages.
Mark the selected package(s) for removal:
Click on package control area.
in theChoose
-> from the menu.Right click on the package and choose
from the context menu.Press the key Delete.
Apply the marked changes to actually remove the package(s):
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-P.
To upgrade one or more packages follow these steps:
Refresh the package list, to get aware of the latest available version:
Choose
-> from the menu.Click on
in the toolbar.Press the key combination Ctrl-R.
Select the package that you wish to upgrade in the package list. To select further packages hold down the Ctrl key while left clicking on additional packages.
Mark the selected packages for upgrade:
Click on package control area.
in theChoose
-> from the menu.Right click on the package and choose
from the context menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-U.
Apply the marked changes to actually upgrade the package(s):
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-P.
To perform all available upgrade at once, see the section called “ To Upgrade the Whole System ”.
The system upgrade enables you to upgrade your system to the latest version without having to mark each package upgrade manually.
Synaptic Package Manager provides two system upgrade methods:
The default upgrade method marks upgrades of installed packages only. If the upgrade would depend on not installed packages or conflict with an already installed package, the upgrade will not be marked.
The smart upgrade method tries to resolve package conflicts intelligently. This includes installing additional required packages and prefering packages with higher priority.
Upgrades to a later major release of the operating system have to be done with the dist-upgrade method, e.g. from Conectiva 9 to Conectiva 10 or from Debian Woody 3.0 to Debian Sarge 4.0.
To upgrade your system follow these steps:
Refresh the package list to be aware of the latest available package versions:
Choose
-> from the menu.Click on
in the toolbar.Press the key combination Ctrl-R.
Mark all available upgrades:
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-G.
Choose the upgrade method. Smart upgrade (dist-upgrade) is recommended.
Apply the marked changes to actually upgrade the system:
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-P.
You can change the default upgrade method in the preferences.
This may render your package system unusable!
Downgrading packages is a broken feature, since apt and Synaptic Package Manager can only handle conflicts and dependency resolution of upgrades. You may find this feature helpful in some rare circumstances, but it is not recommended to use.
To downgrade a package you have to select a specific version of the package:
Select the package that you wish to downgrade in the package list.
Open the
tab in the details area.Choose the version to be installed from the list.
Apply the marked changes to actually downgrade the package(s):
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-P.
To apply all marked changes perform one of the following instructions:
Click on
in the toolbar.Choose
-> from the menu.Press the key combination Ctrl-P.
To list only marked packages apply the "Queued Changes" filter.
The following ways allow you to unmark changes:
Right click on the package and choose
from the context menu.Select the package with a left mouse click and choose Ctrl key while left clicking on the additional package.
from the package control. To select further packages hold down theSelect the package(s) and press Ctrl-N.
Choose
-> from the menu.Choose
-> from the menu.
Debian only: This feature requires the installation of libgnome2-perl.
Debian provides a unified method, called debconf, to configure software packages. This feature is not supported by all packages. If a package supports this feautre, the configuration can be done through an assistant.
To configure a supported package:
Select the package that you wish to configure in the package list.
Click on
in the package control.
To list only configurable packages apply the Configurable Packages filter.
Debian only: This feature requires the installation of dwww.
To view all available documentation related to a package in a web browser you have to:
Select the package in the package list.
Click on
in the package control.
Misleading dependency properties or errors during the installation of packages can break the dependency structure.
Synaptic Package Manager will not allow any further changes to the system untill all broken packages are fixed.
To correct the broken packages choose
-> from the menu.To list only broken packages apply the Broken filter.