How to Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras Package

ByContributor

Ubuntu Restricted Extras is a software bundle for the Ubuntu operating system that allows users to install software that isn’t currently included for ethical or copyright reasons, such as regularly used media codecs and fonts.

The Ubuntu Restricted Extras is a metapackage that has the following dependencies:

  • flashplugin-installer
  • gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg
  • gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3
  • gstreamer0.10-pitfdll
  • gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad
  • gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly
  • gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse
  • gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse
  • icedtea6-plugin
  • libavcodec-extra-52
  • libmp4v2-0
  • ttf-mscorefonts-installer
  • unrar

Important: Before you proceed to install Ubuntu-restricted extras on your system, take note of the following:

  • All software provided by the Ubuntu restricted extras meta-package is not free, which implies that the licensing requirements of such software do not meet the Ubuntu main component license policy.
  • Also, ensure that you verify your rights to use any of the non-free software and adhere to the licensing terms of the copyright holder.
  • Additionally, non-free software is usually not supported and can’t be fixed or updated, therefore, use it at your own risk.

Enable Multiverse Repository in Ubuntu

To install the restricted extras on Ubuntu, you need to enable the Multiverse Repository (which provides non-open-source software to users) on your Ubuntu system.

Run the following command to enable the multiverse repository: if you are prompted for a password, enter a valid one to proceed:

$ sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
Install Multiverse Repository in Ubuntu
Install Multiverse Repository in Ubuntu

[ You might also like: How to Add a Package Repository to Debian, Ubuntu and Mint ]

If you prefer GUI, you can enable Multiverse Repository by clicking on Activities, then search for Software & Updates and open it.

The first or default tab, “Ubuntu Software” displays a list of repositories, or “channels“. Look for the option Multiverse (software restricted by copyright or legal issues) in the list and check it as highlighted in the next screenshot.

Install Multiverse Repository from Software and Updates
Install Multiverse Repository from Software and Updates

The system will prompt you to enter your user password to continue. Enter a valid password and click “Authenticate” to proceed.

Next, the system might also prompt you to choose a download server. Select a server in your location or nearby. Alternatively, you can click “Select Best Server” so that the system performs a few tests to select the best server. Then, to proceed, click “Choose Server” and input your password.

Choose a Download Server
Choose a Download Server

Once you try to close the Software & Updates application, the system will prompt you to refresh the package cache (similar to running the “sudo apt update” or “sudo apt-get update” command).

This step will add information about packages in the just-enabled repository to the local package index. Click Reload to proceed.

Refresh Ubuntu Package Cache
Refresh Ubuntu Package Cache

Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras Package

Before you proceed to install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package, you can view information about it, such as version, priority, description, and more, by running the following apt command:

$ sudo apt info ubuntu-restricted-extras
Ubuntu Restricted Extras Package Info
Ubuntu Restricted Extras Package Info

Then install ubuntu-restricted-extras package as shown:

$ sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras Package
Install Ubuntu Restricted Extras Package

During the installation process, you will be prompted to agree to certain package licenses before they can be installed on your system. The first is the Microsoft end-user license agreement (EULA). Click OK to agree and continue.

Accept EULA Agreement
Accept EULA Agreement

Next, you also have to accept the TrueType core fonts package’s Web EULA before the package can be installed. Select “Yes” to agree and proceed.

Accept TrueType Core Fonts
Accept TrueType Core Fonts

Verify Ubuntu Restricted Extras Installation

To ensure that the Ubuntu Restricted Extras have been successfully installed on your system, look for the unrar command and run it without any options or arguments, for example:

$ which unrar
$ unrar
Confirm Ubuntu Restricted Extras
Confirm Ubuntu Restricted Extras

Remove Ubuntu Restricted Extras

To remove the Ubuntu Restricted Extras meta-package, run the following command:

$ sudo apt autoremove --purge ubuntu-restricted-extras

That’s all. In this guide, we have shown how to install Ubuntu Restricted Extras. Use the comments section to ask any questions or share your thoughts about this guide.

Similar Posts

The Power of the Select Command to Automate Tasks in Bash

The Power of the Select Command to Automate Tasks in Bash
by George Whittaker

Introduction

The select command in Linux is a versatile tool primarily used for menu creation in bash scripts. The command retrieves data from a specified list, which can be an array or other data source, and generates a menu from this data. Depending on the complexity of your task, you can create various types of menus such as a menu based on directory list or even a menu derived from file content.

Basic Syntax

The basic syntax of the select command is as follows:

select v in data_list

do

statement1

statement2

statement3

done

Here, each menu item is created from the data_list. The data retrieved from this list is stored in a variable to create the menu. You can also use the select command with the case command to create more complex menus.

Creating a Simple Menu

In a simple scenario, you might want to create a menu of mobile brands. You can easily achieve this by creating a bash file with the select command. After executing the script, the user will see a menu of brands and be asked to choose one. The name of the selected brand will then be printed on the screen​.

Using Select Command with a Case Statement

To create a bash menu with a case statement, you can use the select command in conjunction with a case statement. After running the script, the user selects any menu item, and the case statement will match the selected value with its cases. If none of the case values matches the selected menu item, the script will print an “Invalid entry” message and terminate​.

Creating Nested Bash Menus

The select command can also be used to create nested menus. This involves creating a menu under another menu. You can implement nested menus using two or more select and case statements. In this case, the parent menu contains multiple items and a sub-menu contains additional items. When a user selects an item, the script will display the corresponding message or submenu​.

Creating a Bash Menu with an Array

Arrays in bash can store multiple data points, making them an excellent data source for creating bash menus. You can use an array with the select statement to create a menu. In this scenario, a bash subroutine is used to create a menu from the array. The script will check if the selected menu item number is within the appropriate range. If it’s not, the script will prompt the user to select a number within the valid range​.

Go to Full Article

What is Technical SEO? 11 Best Practices

What is Technical SEO? 11 Best Practices

Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website to help search engines like Google find, understand, and index your pages. Although modern search engines like Google are relatively good at discovering and understanding content, they’re far from perfect. Technical issues can easily prevent them from crawling, indexing, and showing web pages in the search results….

How to Install Chrony to Synchronize Time in RHEL Systems

How to Install Chrony to Synchronize Time in RHEL Systems

The post How to Install and Configure NTP in RHEL Systems first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides .

NTP (Network Time Protocol) is a protocol that runs over port 123 UDP at the transport layer and allows computers to synchronize time over networks

The post How to Install and Configure NTP in RHEL Systems first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides.

10 Useful Chaining Operators in Linux with Examples

10 Useful Chaining Operators in Linux with Examples

The post 10 Useful Chaining Operators in Linux with Practical Examples first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides .

Chaining of Linux commands means, combining several commands and making them execute based upon the behavior of the operator used in between them. Chaining of

The post 10 Useful Chaining Operators in Linux with Practical Examples first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides.