What are PPAs and how do I use them?

I keep reading about Personal Package Archives ('PPAs') and people answer questions with a link to a PPA. What's the best way to use these?

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There are multiple valid answers for this question spanning over several versions of Ubuntu. For your convenience, an index of each is below.

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Before adding a PPA you should be aware of some of the risks involved:

Always remember that PPAs are provided by the community, you should be aware of the possible risks before just adding a PPA.

• First open the dash by either clicking on the Home button (On the top-left Corner) or pressing the Super Key .

  
  
  

  




• Search for 'Software Center' and launch the Ubuntu software center.

  
  
  

  




• Move the mouse to the top panel where the name of the application is written.




• Now Go to the Edit menu and select Software Sources.

  
  
  
  

  

For newer versions, right click and click Software and Updates

Then, click Other Software,

• Enter your password when prompted.

  
  
  

  




• Switch to the 'Other Software' tab.

  
  
  

  




• Now click 'Add', a box will appear.

  
  
  

  





• You have to enter the PPA in the box. It can be found in BOLD on the launchpad page.

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  




• Now click 'Add source' and close the Software Sources. The cache will be refreshed

  
  
  

  




• Now install the software from the software center.