How to install pyqt4 in Ubuntu 24.04

Linux Support
1

Dell Latitude E5570 running Ubuntu 24.04 and Python3

When installing HPLIP it required pyqt4 and pyqt5. I could install pyqt5 successfully at the terminal but the system couldn’t find pyqt4. I get:

keith@E5570:~$ sudo apt-get install pyqt4
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree… Done
Reading state information… Done
E: Unable to locate package pyqt4
keith@E5570:~$

The result is that although the main features of HPLIP are available, its GUI, with the options to change settings , is not.

A web search reveals answers for installation on Python2, and earlier versions of Ubuntu but mostly not helpful. This link looks the most straightforward but, again, it’s very out of date. Trying it anyway, I get this after sudo apt update:
.
.

Reading package lists… Done
E: The repository ‘Index of /rock-core/qt4/ubuntu noble Release’ does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can’t be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
keith@E5570:~$

I would welcome any advice.

2

Mm, the joys of non-networked printers :wink:

HPLIP supports Qt5 from 3.16.5 and above

To enable qt5 support
You need to install the following dependencies
    PyQt5
    python-qt5-dbus
Go to source of hplip. By default its in ~/Downloads.
Run the following commands
    ./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-qt5 --disable-qt4
    make
    "make install" as root user
3

I don’t quite follow you here.
I have installed pyqt5 successfully as I mentioned, but the initial command hp-setup demanded both pyqy4 and pyqt5, so my feeling was that I still need pyqt4. Or is that not true?

Re your instructions: do you really mean
./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-qt5 --disable-qt4 some-hp-filename ?

And why disable pyqt4 if HPLIP needs it?
Sorry for my dimness.

4

Sorry, it was a cut and paste from a published solution. What it’s saying is the solution is to download the driver and build it from source. When you build it from source you can specify “no Qt4”.

i.e. on more recent versions of the software, Qt4 isn’t required, it’s optional and selectable at build-time.

This is a HP issue, they’ve not been great at maintaining drivers like this.

5

Could it be you’ve installed an old driver or maybe older packages … the current instructions seem to be;

sudo apt install hplip hplip-data hplip-gui hplip-doc
hp-setup
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6

That installed OK and works perfectly. You have no idea how long I spent looking for up-to-date instructions!
All the HP icons have appeared and the GUI displays as well.

Very many thanks.
Keith

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