HowTo find applications

From Knowledge76

OK, you're wanting to find a program to do "xxxxx". There's literally thousands of programs for linux - how do I find something that will do what I need?

Firstly, check its not already installed. A basic Ubuntu installation comes with a lot of software that the average desktop user will want already installed. For example, office applications including a word processor, spreadsheet etc. is included as Openoffice (under Applications->Openoffice).

Software packages that can readily be installed on Ubuntu are available from the Ubuntu repositories. To see what's available have a look at Add/Remove or Synaptic. Both of these group software by category and have a description of the programs. They also have a search tool so you can search on say 'spreadsheet'.

Work in Progress - links to follow