how to install stuff on Linux Mint?

Question

I have this tar.gz package, which contains just some files, no explaination to install or so. How can i install it, so i have like shortcuts, and it is in my Menu, etc.

Answer 1

Linux Mint is an Ubuntu derivative, so you should be able to use Synaptic to search if the program you're trying to install is already packaged for it. If you can't find it, try to search PPAs for a development repository for it.

What is the program actually? Does it need to be compiled, or is it just files to copy?

Answer 2

It is recommended that you install the programs from the package manager. Nevertheless to install it, first extract the files

tar xvfz package-name.tar.gz (for gzipped files) 
tar xvfj package-name.tar.bz2 (for bzipped files)

Examine the contents, if there's a .sh or a .bin file then its probably an installer, so assign Execute rights

chmod u+x name-of-file.extension

& run it

./name-of-file.extension

If it contains sources, then you need to compile them. Follow the INSTALL or README file, for more info, Generally, the steps involve:

cd /path/to/directory/of/source

and then cofigure,

./configure

Next, run the make file,

make

Follow it up by switch to root & install

su root
make install

A more detailed look, including possible error messages that you might encounter is mentioned here.

Answer 3

I'm guessing the tar.gz file is the source of the application you want to install. First check if the program already available as a Linux Mint package using the Application Installer (Synaptic). Perhaps these tips might help for Linux Mint.

If you would like to install the source tar.gz archives, they usually have a file called INSTALL or README that contains instructions for installation.