OpenSource

Python Macros in LibreOffice on a Macbook

To be able to execute Python macros in LibreOffice it is necessary to configure your macOS to be able to execute the code. First of all, you need to install LibreOffice.

There are several ways to store Macros in LibreOffice:

1. Macros could be used by all users of the device
2. Macros could only be executed by the current user
3. Macros could be executed by the user of a document or template

The macros must be stored in different paths if you want one of those three options.

For all users

Macros that should be used by all users of an Apple device must be stored in

/Applications/LibreOffice.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/python/

 Store your macros as usual in a file with the filename <fileName>.py, After that you will be able to see the file inside the macro list in LibreOffice

For the current user only

Macros that should be used by all users of an Apple device must be stored in

–/Library/Application Support/LibreOffice/4/user/Scripts/python

 In my case, the subpath Scrips/python did not exist so I had to create the path.

mkdir -p –/Library/Application Support/LibreOffice/4/user/Scripts/python

If you store your python files here they will be visible in LibreOffice.

For the user of the current document or template

In this case Script/python folder must be created inside the document itself. Each LibreOffice file, whether it is an ods, odt or odp file, is some kind of a zip file. If go to the filesystem and unzip the file

unzip <myFile>.<odt|ods|odp>

A structure of subdirectories will be created containing several kinds of files. It may look like this:

To add a Python macro to your document you need to create two subdirectories inside this directory structure. If you work with some kind of unix-like OS execute

mkdir -p Scripts/python

and copy your macro into the python directory. Last but not least you need to zip the structure again into an ods, odt or odp file.

cd directly to the top-level folder of your unzipped file like you see in the picture and execute the zip command

zip -r - . |dd of=~/<yourTargetDirectory>/<yourFileName>.<ods|odt|odp>

This command may look strange to you.  The parameter -r includes all subdirectories, and the dash - sends the output to the standard output (the screen). This will be used by dd (disk dump) to create a new file.

If you open the file in LibreOffice it will be recognized as a non-regular file because you added some files to the file structure. LibreOffice can repair this and give you the ability to open the document. The macro will be visible but cannot be executed because of the macro security in LibreOffice. You can adjust this behavior in the settings menu.

The next article will explain how to create a macro that adds some text and tables to your document.

have fun!

Downloading M32 Updates automatically

We recently created a python application to automatically download software, firmware and other components from the differnet company websites of Music Tribe (c). 

The python script is downloadable from this website or from github. The python script needs to be configured using an ini-file. If it will be configured correctly and the script will be called eg. once a day using crontab or some other regular mechanism the script will check all configured Music Tribe (c) sites to download the newest versions of the software. 

The script will read the downloadPath variable from ini-file and create subdirectories for each brand name, category, product, type and subtype. The script allways check whether a file is available in your download path and will only download files that are currently not available. No old files will be deleted. 

The email  notification subprocess will inform you when a new file has been downloaded. If there are several files you will only receive one email containing all new filenames.

Configuration of INI-File

The ini-file contains three main sections:

1. [Global]: 
   1. There is only one entry here: downloadPath. Specify the full path to the targetdirectory where all files should be stored.
2. [Mail]
   1. In this section are several adjustments necessary:
      1. fromaddr: Defines the email-address that sends you a notification about newly downloaded files.
      2. toaddr: Defines the email-address that should receive updates about newly downloaded files.
      3. SMTPserver: specifies the name of the smtpserver which should receive the email. Currently there is no authentication implemented. We will update the software to enable authentication.
3. [URL]
   1. This section contains all url of Music Tribe (c) brands to contacted and scanned for new updates. Each line contains defineable name (eg: M32C) and an rest-api url to be queried.
   2. The example urls on github and this site will be updated from time to time. Music Tribe (c) adjusts the parameters, brandnames, categories or model codes this and then so the urls need to be adjusted as well. 

This script has been works for us since four or five years. You are free to use the script. We are not responsible for any issues or defects that might ocure if you use this software. 

Releasing mouse pointer in virt-manager on macOs

If you are using virt-manager on macOs with XQuartz you might know the problem to release the mouse once you have entered a virtual machine. You can solve this issue by creating an additional file in your profile directory ~/.Xmodmap. This file must contain the necessary keyboard mappings to be able to release the mouse pointer.

clear Mod1
keycode 66 = Alt_L
keycode 69 = Alt_R
add Mod1 = Alt_L
add Mod1 = Alt_R

Save the file and execute chmod 700 .Xmodmap . Than restart XQuartz and open virt-manager again. Using your left Control and left Option key will now release the mousepointer.

Have fun!

How to solve several issues in Linux after Cloning a VM in KVM

This will solve the issue that you have no network connection.If you run your virtual environment using KVM you will recognize some issues after cloning a virutal machine (eg Ubuntu 10.04 Server).

1. No network connection could be established
2. ssh-keys on all clones are identical
3. hostnames are identical
4. static ip-addresses are identical and lead to trouble in your network

This

To solve most of these issues follow the very nice instructions of

mikko's log

After I recognized that the blog is currently unavailable follow the following instructions to resolve this issue after cloning.

1. sudo rm /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
2. sudo reboot -h now
3. sudo nano /etc/hosts
   1. Change the hostname and ip-address
4. sudo nano /etc/hostname
   1. Change the hostname of the VM
5. If you work with static ip-addresses you have to adjust your network configuration
   1. sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
      1. Change ip-addresses and other network settings.
6. sudo reboot -h now
7. check whether your network is running and your machine is available

Have fun!