2016-05-30

How to install Hungarian spell checking and hyphenation for LibreOffice and OpenOffice on Linux

This blog post explains how to install Hungarian spell checking and hyphenation for LibreOffice and OpenOffice on Linux. The instructions were tested on Ubuntu Trusty, but they should work well on other Linux distributions as well with small modifications.

  1. The installation consists of downloading the right files, copying them to the right location, and restarting the LibreOffice and/or OpenOffice.
  2. Install LibreOffice or OpenOffice with your favorite package manager if not already installed.
  3. Download the files from http://magyarispell.sf.net/ (no need to click now) by running this commands (without the leading $) in a terminal window:
    $ wget -O /tmp/hu_HU-1.6.1.tar.gz https://sourceforge.net/projects/magyarispell/files/Magyar%20Ispell/1.6.1/hu_HU-1.6.1.tar.gz/download #
    $ wget -O /tmp/huhyphn_v20110815_LibO.tar.gz https://sourceforge.net/projects/magyarispell/files/OOo%20Huhyphn/v20110815-0.1/huhyphn_v20110815_LibO.tar.gz/download #
    

    The commands are long, please make sure to copy-paste the entire line (both ending with #),

    Be patient, you may have to wait for 30 seconds for each download.

  4. Run these commands to copy the files to the right location:
    $ (cd /tmp && tar xzvf ~/Downloads/hu_HU-1.6.1.tar.gz)
    $ (cd /tmp/hu_HU-1.6.1 && sudo cp hu_HU.aff hu_HU.dic /usr/share/hunspell/)
    $ (cd /tmp/ && tar xzvf ~/Downloads/huhyphn_v20110815_LibO.tar.gz)
    $ (cd huhyphn_v20110815_LibO && sudo cp hyph_hu_HU.dic /usr/share/hyphen/)
  5. If it's already running, exit from LibreOffice and OpenOffice.
  6. Start LibreOffice or OpenOffice, type asztall, select it, change the language to Hungarian in Format / Character. Now the text should be underlined with read, and when you right-click, the suggestion asztal should be offered.