How do I force the reinstall of a specific app?

A few days ago, I had to (literally) pull the plug (remove the usb drive) on a LibreOffice update (it had passed the three hour mark, and I had to leave and take the flash drive with me). Side question - why does no way exist to more smoothly abort an install? Anyway, I fell almost certain that the update did not complete (even though LibreOffice doesn't appear on the list of updates now), and I want to force the update program to to try again (i will allocate a time where I can let it run overnight). Does some way exist to change the version that the updater sees as installed so it will attempt the update again? Or maybe some way so that the update program doesn't the installation as complete? Yes, I know I could just delete the directory and reinstall, but I have the flash drive heavily optimized as far as app placement goes, and I don't want to risk the installer placing a new installation in another location (or multiple locations) on the media.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

NP