Installing applications in Linux

Is it the MS Windows app if so it won't run with out an application like Crossover office
www.codeweavers.com

You may already have programs that make PDF files installed on your Linux box
Open Office as the ability to create PDFs
If KDE is installed it creates a Pseudo printer to print to PDFs

you have to run that install scriot in a command line shell


open up a terminal   xterm etc will do

go to the directory having the install file and type

./install

Since it won't run by itself, perhaps it is not executable.  The first step would be to open an x-windows shell tool such
as xterm or konsole, move to the appropriate directory, and type in "file install".  This will tell you what type of file it
is.  Since it is most likely a Bourne shell script, you could just try "sh install" right from the start.

or you can also make it executable first

i.e

chmod +x install
and then
./install

Often (from what I've seen at least), when you download a tarball for installing a program, the file INSTALL is just a readme file with instructions to install the program.

As skewray said, run "file install" in xterm.  If it is a text file, type in "less install" to read the file.  It will probably tell you the commands to run are:

./configure
make
make install

Again seconding skewray (in which case, give the points to him), it could also be a shell script file, in which case "sh install" should work.

Right bout the configire/ make /make install thing

but if its the acorbat reader downloaded from acrobat.com site then INSTALL is a shell script file

which you can run either by
sh install or

./INSTALL    /* if its already executable */

else by doing

chmod +x INSTALL
and then
./INSTALL

avizit - I wasn't sure at first, but now I do remember that Acrobat does download like that.  In that case, me1191, there's your correct answer.

I typed chmod +x INSTALL and got.. chmod: cannnot access 'INSTALL': no such file or directory. I really dont understand Linux at all:( Why not just have executables to install programs and why not just have drivers you install by double clicking on them:( Linux will never catch on, because you just need far far too much free time to learn how do the most basic things. Anyway any ideas why im getting this error?

Linux is also case sensitive
so it maybe
./install    
OR
./Install

Also make sure you're in the correct directory.  The command to view your current directory is

pwd

dont worry ..its just confusing at first .. it gets easier :)

anyway go to the directory where the INSTALL file is located and
type

./INSTALL    
or

sh INSTALL

as skewray  and  JohnK813  
either way should be fine

also this might be helpful http://cmisip.home.insightbb.com/newbie.htm 

Then thats my problem, im not going to the directory. The file is on a cd that I made in windows. I could drag it onto the desktop if that would make it easier. Can anyone tell me what to type in order to change directory? I have a basic knowledge of dos and the new command prompt so please be gentle. I would doubt that its "cd" and even so I dont even know anything at all about the Linux directory structure or filing system, and as such have no idea what the path for either cdrom or desktop is. Im gonna double the points on this because it seems much harder than I first thought.

It is indeed "cd"
if logged in as root it would most likely be in
/mnt/cdrom probably

thus
cd /mnt/cdrom

Im now getting to the directory but I cant get into the linux-509.tar.gz file, which contains Acrobat. Ive moved the file to my desktop for handyness. I tried a few different things but I can only get as far as cd mnt/home/chris/Desktop and can do nothing at all with the Adobe file. Like I said im kinda new to all this and have very little experience with dos and the like. What commands do I need now? I tried ./INSTALL etc but nothing happens. I just wish I could get my modem working then I could stay in Linux instead of going back and fourth:(