Dr. Deb wrote:

> I downloaded the SO file NOT OpenOffice, but Sun's StarOffice 8. Ran
> the "sh xxxxxxxxx.sh" command and things proceeded as they should.

Have you seen these docs?

http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/817-7351/eobzp?a=view Chapter 1
Installing StarOffice 8 - Installing StarOffice 8 on Linux or Solaris
Operating Systems -

Steps
Open a shell or terminal window.
Enable graphics display for the superuser.
As a normal user, enter the following command:
xhost +
Become superuser.
Enter su - to become superuser.
Set the DISPLAY variable to point to your machine.
Enter the following command:
export DISPLAY=your_machine_name:0.0
or enter the equivalent commands for your shell environment.
Change to the directory that contains the StarOffice 8 installation
program.
Start the setup script.
Enter the following command:
../setup
Follow the instructions.


--
Mike Easter