How can I install a tar.bz2 file?

Question

In Ubuntu 10.04, how can one install a tar.bz2 file? I do not know how to do it so are there any one can help me?

ex: package name is : Manager-0.8.3.998.tar.bz2

Answer 1

Did you mean network-manager-applet-0.8.3.998.tar.bz2? That is a source package which needs to be extracted and compiled. Unless you really, really need the latest version, I recommend you installing the network-manager-gnome from the package manager. It integrates better and will be updated automatically.

To extract the package, you need to open a terminal and:

1. Change the directory to the directory containing the .tar.bz file: cd /path/to/dir
2. Extract the bzip2-compressed tarball: tar xjf Manager-0.8.3.998.tar.bz2
3. Change the directory to the newly created directory (use ls to get the directory listing). cd network-manager-applet-0.8.3.998
4. Run ./configure. If you need to have a package installed, you'll be informed here.
5. Run make to start compiling
6. Run sudo make install to instal

Again, it's recommended to use the package from the package manager, not to compile it yourself unless you really need to.

Answer 2

There is no standard way to install .tar.bz2 files. They are not even installer files, just a type of archive file like .zip files.

Software, normally as source code is often distributed this way though but the file should contain information telling you how to install. Look for a README or INSTALL file in the archive and follow the instructions you are given.