Using Umbrello on Windows
Some of you might already know that some KDE Applications have been supported on Windows and MacOS after version 4.0.
I wanted to install Umbrello on my Windows XP Machine and I consulted the documentation to learn more about the installation process. KDE is nice enough to provide an installer for Windows but it’s terribly slow since all the packages are downloaded using a single thread which will take you at least 3 times longer than if you had download the individual packages manually with a download manager application.
I tried searching for help online, but there isn’t any useful information on how to go about doing this, so I’ve decided to write one.
Anyway, I decided to download all the packages manually and use the installer to unpack them into a single directory. Unfortunately, the KDE Website doesn’t mention which packages Umbrello needs so I had to use the installer and its log dumps to figure out which URLs it was drawing the packages from.
To use umbrello on Windows, you can either download the KDE libraries and source code and compile it yourself using Visual C++ 2005 or MinGW, or you can download the precompiled binaries and libraries and use them directly. To be honest, there’s no point in compiling KDE yourself since the source code files are as large as the precompiled binaries so you’re better off downloading the binaries.
Umbrello is present in the kdesdk package which is about 5.3MB and you need to download additional libraries as well along with the kdesdk package. The installer only mentions 32 packages in the package dependencies list but there are actually 35 of them (don’t worry though, the installer installs all 35 if you choose to download the packages automatically)
The installer needs the MD5 hash of every package you want to install so make sure you have them too. After you have downloaded all the package files, place them in a temporary directory and start the Installer. Then choose to Download and Install from the Internet. (Although the install from Local Directory option exists, it didn’t work for me)
After that choose the directory where you placed all your packages in the temporary directory selection screen and choose the kdesdk Package for download. Click past the package dependencies page to install KDE.
If you downloaded all the 35 packages correctly (1 package = binary + binary.md5 + libraryArchive + libraryArchive.md5) then the installer will skip directly to installation and it will install KDE on your computer. If not, it will download the missing packages and install it once it is complete.
That’s it! KDE is installed and you can run Umbrello from the Start Menu Shortcuts or from the bin folder in the KDE directory (C:Program FilesKDE by default)
That was the gist of what you need to do to be able to run Umbrello on Windows. Now for step-by-step instructions.
1) Download the KDE Mirror List from here. If the link is dead you can choose one of the mirror sites from here:
ftp at ftp://gd.tuwien.ac.at/kde/ http at http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/kde/ ftp be ftp://ftp.scarlet.be/pub/kde/ ftp@scarlet.be http be http://ftp.scarlet.be/pub/kde/ ftp@scarlet.be ftp de ftp://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ http de http://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/Mirrors/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ ftp dk ftp://mirrors.dotsrc.org/kde/ mirror@dotsrc.org http dk http://mirrors.dotsrc.org/kde/ mirror@dotsrc.org ftp es ftp://ftp.caliu.cat/pub/mirrors/kde/ francesc@genove.info http es http://ftp.caliu.cat/pub/mirrors/kde/ francesc@genove.info ftp nl ftp://ftp.tiscali.nl/pub/mirrors/kde/ http nl http://ftp.tiscali.nl/kde/ ftp tw ftp://ftp.twaren.net/Unix/X/KDE/ ftpadmin@twaren.net http tw http://ftp.twaren.net/Unix/X/KDE/ ftpadmin@twaren.net ftp us ftp://kde.mirrors.tds.net/pub/kde/ mirrors@tds.net http us http://kde.mirrors.hoobly.com/ pgrigor@hoobly.com http us http://kde.mirrors.tds.net/pub/kde/ mirrors@tds.net http us http://mirrors.isc.org/pub/kde/ mirrors@isc.org http ca http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/kde/ dtbartle@uwaterloo.ca http cn http://www.qtopia.org.cn/ftp/mirror/ftp.kde.org/ ftp de ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/x11/kde/ http de http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/x11/kde/ http ro http://mirrors.evolva.ro/kdeftp/ ftp ro http://mirrors.evolva.ro/kdeftp/ ftp cz ftp://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/kde/ http cz http://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/kde/ ftp pl ftp://ftp.tuniv.szczecin.pl/pub/kde/ http pl http://ftp.tuniv.szczecin.pl/pub/kde/ ftp pl ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/unix/kde/ http pl http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/unix/kde/ ftp se ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/kde/ http se http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/kde/ ftp gr ftp://ftp.duth.gr/pub/kde/ http gr http://ftp.duth.gr/pub/kde/ ftp it ftp://ftp.unina.it/pub/Linux/kde/ http it http://ftp.unina.it/pub/Linux/kde/ ftp be ftp://ftp.belnet.be/packages/kde/ http be http://ftp.belnet.be/packages/kde/ ftp is ftp://ftp.rhnet.is/pub/kde/ http is http://ftp.rhnet.is/pub/kde/ ftp ie ftp://ftp.esat.net/mirrors/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ http ie http://ftp.esat.net/mirrors/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ ftp jp ftp://ftp.ring.gr.jp/pub/X/kde/ http jp http://ftp.ring.gr.jp/pub/X/kde/ ftp gr ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/X11/kde/ http gr http://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/X11/kde/ ftp ie ftp://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/ftp.kde.org/ http ie http://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/ftp.kde.org/ http it http://mi.mirror.garr.it/mirrors/KDE/ ftp fi ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/mirrors/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ http fi http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/mirrors/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ http au http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/kde/ ftp us ftp://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/pub/kde/ http us http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/kde/ ftp au ftp://mirror.pacific.net.au/kde/ http au http://mirror.pacific.net.au/kde/ ftp kr ftp://ftp.sayclub.com/pub/X/KDE/ http kr http://ftp.sayclub.com/pub/X/KDE/ ftp us ftp://chernabog.cc.vt.edu/pub/projects/kde/ http us http://chernabog.cc.vt.edu/pub/projects/kde/ ftp us http://mirror.cc.columbia.edu/pub/software/kde/ http us http://mirror.cc.columbia.edu/pub/software/kde/ http fr http://kde-mirror.freenux.org/ ftp ru ftp://ftp.chg.ru/pub/kde/ http ru http://ftp.chg.ru/pub/kde/ http uk http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/ http de http://www.winkde.org/pub/kde/ports/win32/releases/stable/latest
Choose any of the websites given above although you should preferably choose a website which is closer to your location for faster download speeds. Most of these websites allow directory listings, so you should be able to see a list of directories on the website.
2) Navigate to stable -> 4.2.1 -> win32.You will now be able to see all the KDE packages in this directory. You don’t need all of them so don’t download them all. You need to download 143 files which are listed below:
aspell-0.60.5-bin.zip aspell-0.60.5-bin.zip.md5 aspell-0.60.5-lib.zip aspell-0.60.5-lib.zip.zip astyle-1.22-bin.zip astyle-1.22-bin.zip.md5 astyle-1.22-bin.zip.zip boost-msvc-1.37.0-1-bin.tar.bz2 boost-msvc-1.37.0-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 boost-msvc-1.37.0-1-lib.tar.bz2 boost-msvc-1.37.0-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 cyrus-sasl-2.1.22-bin.tar.bz2 cyrus-sasl-2.1.22-bin.tar.bz2.md5 cyrus-sasl-2.1.22-lib.tar.bz2 cyrus-sasl-2.1.22-lib.tar.bz2.md5 dbus-msvc-1.2.4-1-bin.tar.bz2 dbus-msvc-1.2.4-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 dbus-msvc-1.2.4-1-lib.tar.bz2 dbus-msvc-1.2.4-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 diffutils-2.8.7-1-bin.zip diffutils-2.8.7-1-bin.zip.md5 diffutils-2.8.7-1-bin.zip.zip exiv2-msvc-0.18-bin.tar.bz2 exiv2-msvc-0.18-bin.tar.bz2.md5 exiv2-msvc-0.18-lib.tar.bz2 exiv2-msvc-0.18-lib.tar.bz2.md5 expat-2.0.1-bin.zip expat-2.0.1-bin.zip.md5 expat-2.0.1-bin.zip.zip expat-2.0.1-lib.zip expat-2.0.1-lib.zip.zip gettext-0.17-1-bin.tar.bz2 gettext-0.17-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 gettext-0.17-1-lib.tar.bz2 gettext-0.17-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 giflib-4.1.4-1-bin.zip giflib-4.1.4-1-bin.zip.md5 giflib-4.1.4-1-bin.zip.zip giflib-4.1.4-1-lib.zip giflib-4.1.4-1-lib.zip.zip iconv-1.12-1-bin.tar.bz2 iconv-1.12-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 iconv-1.12-1-lib.tar.bz2 iconv-1.12-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 jasper-1.900.1-2-bin.zip jasper-1.900.1-2-bin.zip.md5 jasper-1.900.1-2-bin.zip.zip jasper-1.900.1-2-lib.zip jasper-1.900.1-2-lib.zip.zip jpeg-6.b-5-bin.zip jpeg-6.b-5-bin.zip.md5 jpeg-6.b-5-bin.zip.zip jpeg-6.b-5-lib.zip jpeg-6.b-5-lib.zip.zip kdebase-apps-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2 kdebase-apps-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 kdebase-runtime-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2 kdebase-runtime-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 kdebase-runtime-msvc-4.2.1-lib.tar.bz2 kdebase-runtime-msvc-4.2.1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 kdelibs-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2 kdelibs-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 kdelibs-msvc-4.2.1-lib.tar.bz2 kdelibs-msvc-4.2.1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 kdepimlibs-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2 kdepimlibs-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 kdepimlibs-msvc-4.2.1-lib.tar.bz2 kdepimlibs-msvc-4.2.1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 kdesdk-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2 kdesdk-msvc-4.2.1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 kdewin32-msvc-0.3.8-1-bin.tar.bz2 kdewin32-msvc-0.3.8-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 kdewin32-msvc-0.3.8-1-lib.tar.bz2 kdewin32-msvc-0.3.8-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 libbzip2-1.0.5-1-bin.tar.bz2 libbzip2-1.0.5-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 libbzip2-1.0.5-1-lib.tar.bz2 libbzip2-1.0.5-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 libical-0.43-bin.tar.bz2 libical-0.43-bin.tar.bz2.md5 libical-0.43-lib.tar.bz2 libical-0.43-lib.tar.bz2.md5 libpng-1.2.35-bin.tar.bz2 libpng-1.2.35-bin.tar.bz2.md5 libpng-1.2.35-lib.tar.bz2 libpng-1.2.35-lib.tar.bz2.md5 libxml2-2.6.32-1-bin.tar.bz2 libxml2-2.6.32-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 libxslt-1.1.23-3-bin.tar.bz2 libxslt-1.1.23-3-bin.tar.bz2.md5 libxslt-1.1.23-3-lib.tar.bz2 libxslt-1.1.23-3-lib.tar.bz2.md5 openssl-0.9.8j-1-bin.tar.bz2 openssl-0.9.8j-1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 openssl-0.9.8j-1-lib.tar.bz2 openssl-0.9.8j-1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 pcre-msvc-7.8-2-bin.tar.bz2 pcre-msvc-7.8-2-bin.tar.bz2.md5 pcre-msvc-7.8-2-lib.tar.bz2 pcre-msvc-7.8-2-lib.tar.bz2.md5 phonon-msvc-4.3.0-bin.tar.bz2 phonon-msvc-4.3.0-bin.tar.bz2.md5 phonon-msvc-4.3.0-lib.tar.bz2 phonon-msvc-4.3.0-lib.tar.bz2.md5 qca-msvc-2.0.1-2-bin.tar.bz2 qca-msvc-2.0.1-2-bin.tar.bz2.md5 qca-msvc-2.0.1-2-lib.tar.bz2 qca-msvc-2.0.1-2-lib.tar.bz2.md5 qimageblitz-msvc-0.0.5-bin.tar.bz2 qimageblitz-msvc-0.0.5-bin.tar.bz2.md5 qimageblitz-msvc-0.0.5-lib.tar.bz2 qimageblitz-msvc-0.0.5-lib.tar.bz2.md5 qt-msvc-4.4.3-2-bin.tar.bz2 qt-msvc-4.4.3-2-bin.tar.bz2.md5 qt-msvc-4.4.3-2-lib.tar.bz2 qt-msvc-4.4.3-2-lib.tar.bz2.md5 shared-mime-info-0.60-bin.tar.bz2 shared-mime-info-0.60-bin.tar.bz2.md5 soprano-msvc-2.2.1-bin.tar.bz2 soprano-msvc-2.2.1-bin.tar.bz2.md5 soprano-msvc-2.2.1-lib.tar.bz2 soprano-msvc-2.2.1-lib.tar.bz2.md5 strigi-msvc-0.6.4-bin.tar.bz2 strigi-msvc-0.6.4-bin.tar.bz2.md5 strigi-msvc-0.6.4-lib.tar.bz2 strigi-msvc-0.6.4-lib.tar.bz2.md5 taglib-msvc-1.5.0-bin.tar.bz2 taglib-msvc-1.5.0-bin.tar.bz2.md5 taglib-msvc-1.5.0-lib.tar.bz2 taglib-msvc-1.5.0-lib.tar.bz2.md5 tiff-3.8.2-2-bin.zip tiff-3.8.2-2-bin.zip.md5 tiff-3.8.2-2-bin.zip.zip tiff-3.8.2-2-lib.zip tiff-3.8.2-2-lib.zip.zip zlib-1.2.3-2-bin.zip zlib-1.2.3-2-bin.zip.md5 zlib-1.2.3-2-bin.zip.zip zlib-1.2.3-2-lib.zip zlib-1.2.3-2-lib.zip.zip
The total file size should be about 154MB.
Note: You will also need to download the Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistribution Package if you don’t already have it.
3) Place all these files in a single directory. Now start the Installer and choose Install From Internet.
4) Click Next and choose the End User Install Mode.
5) In the next screen you will need to enter a Download Path. Choose the directory where you stored all the downloaded packages and click Next.
6) The next screen displays all the KDE releases which are available for download. As of writing, the latest KDE version is 4.2.1 stable but choose a newer version if it is available. If a newer version is available, ensure that you are downloading the correct packages.
7) In the next screen you will need to select KDE packages which you wish to install. Since we only want Umbrello, check the kdesdk-msvc Package but you can add any other package that catches your fancy but keep in mind that the extra packages that you’ve selected might need other packages as well. To be honest, you don’t need to worry so much. The installer will automatically download the required packages, although it will take a lot longer than if you do it manually. Click Next.
8) If you’ve done everything correctly, the installer should jump directly to the installation part and the installer window should look something like this:
If not, there’s no need to worry. The installer will download the other packages for you and then start the installation process.
9) You’ve successfully installed KDE on your computer. If the installation is successful you should see a screen like this:
Now all you have to do is navigate to KDE 2.4.1 Release -> Development from the Start Menu and click on Umbrello. Alternatively, double-click on the Umbrello icon in the <KDE_Install_Directory>bin folder.
Umbrello should now start. 🙂
Enjoy!
Note: Umbrello on Windows has many bugs and crashes when you right click and select the export to image option. If you use the Main Menu, you can export the diagrams as images and it wont crash. It might also crash while closing Umbrello. KDE for Windows is still a work in progress and they’ll fix these bugs in future versions so keep checking for newer, stable releases.