I presently have a copy of Mozilla Firefox Quantum 58.0.2 (32-bit) running from a Directory named Firefox, in the Downloads folder of my Knoppix (a Debian fork running from its own image) system.
I had downloaded an older version nearly three years back and unpacked it in the Downloads directory.
I did not have to install it in my system.
The browser doesn’t know about my system. It is a stand-alone application that regularly updates itself via the internet connection, and has no other connection with my system.
My submission is:
Can’t we have a similar Standalone Version of Blender that can be downloaded, unpacked and then run from its own folder, without it having any further connection with the Linux system upon which it runs?
It will be a Killer Application then.
I truly wish to use Blender. But can’t risk changing my system.
I always just extract and run it from the folder. No installation ever. So what is the exact problem?
Unless your system is broken by default (Knoppix usually is… at least for me) just download the linux package from blender.org, extract and run. Still requires mesa from Knoppix if you’re using INTEL/AMD video card or the propietary driver from NVIDIA if you’re using such a video card.
I am always downloading it, extracting and using like that …
A-yup 10 years ago when I used linux that’s the way I used blender, downloaded - extracted to /opt/blender/version-number-here/ and executed from there.
How could I thank you enough, vilvei, stargeizer, SreckoMicic and Felix_Kütt?
My fault was that the first time, last four years back, I had installed from Debian Package Repository, https://packages.debian.org/Lenny/blender, now in Archive. It did not occur to me to post the query here, four years back.
Which is why I missed out on this simple truth.
I still can’t believe that the application package has been stand-alone since 10 years back.
Wow!
I usually unpack to the opt folder and use alacarte to create a shortcut for it, I never use the installer!
bkpsusmitaa you need to do a bit of research.
This would be a good place to start - https://www.blender.org/download/
If you are new to Linux, you can use a friendly and widely used distro: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, OpenSuse, Fedora
If the Blender tar.bz2 file you downloaded from the official website does not work by simply running “blender” file in there after unpacking it, maybe some dependency is missing in your distro. You can enter the folder where you unpacked tar.bz2 file and open terminal there. Then from terminal open Blender with the following command and share the error message here:
./blender
In addition to what’s already been said how to run Blender from the tarball from blender.org, you can also control where its configs get written to.
On Linux Blender 2.79 would write its config to ~/.config/blender/2.79. If you want Blender to be totally standalone and not writing to your home directory, you can make a directory “config” like this:<blender-extract-directory>/2.79/config, alongside the already present datafiles, python and scripts. If Blender finds a config directory there, it won’t write to your home directory.
That way you can have several Blender versions all with their own configuration files, for example.
Dear vilvei, SreckoMicic, Felix_Kütt, GCharb, Organic, YAFU & Sanne,
I have already posted my reply, but the moderators are perhaps busy in some other work. So they perhaps did not notice my post waiting for their approval.
Thank you all, mods, for approving my submitted posts. So this thread could now be closed. It has served its purpose.