LibreOffice

2024. New version of LibreOffice has new numbering format



A new version of the LibreOffice 24.2 office suite has been released. The Writer text editor now supports multiple comment styles, which is quite convenient. You can select a different style, apply it to the entire document, or use different styles. Multi-page floating tables, which many editors struggle with, have been optimized. A search field for the list of functions has been added to the sidebar in the Calc spreadsheet. The Impress presentation editor has significantly expanded slide show settings, including the ability to save the navigation bar display toggle. Presenter and remote control settings have also been moved from the "Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Impress" section to the slide show settings. In addition, the "Save AutoRecovery information" and "Always create backup copies" settings are enabled by default to save information for recovery and create backup copies.


2023. LibreOffice gets improved design and compatibility with MS Office



The leading open-source office suite LibreOffice has received a major update to version 7.5. It features a polished design, including a dark theme and icons. The developers have simplified migration from Microsoft Office. For example, the Writer text editor now supports content controls when filling out forms, which are fully compatible with the DOCX text document format. Exporting to PDF is also now supported. For those who rely on spell checking in text editors, the developers have integrated improved spell checking tools into Writer. The Calc spreadsheet editor now allows you to preserve tabs and line feeds in table cells. And the Impress presentation editor now features the ability to crop clips used in presentations.


2022. LibreOffice has become paid for Mac users



The Document Foundation (TDF), the organization that oversees the development of the LibreOffice suite of applications, has for the first time begun charging a fee for downloading one of its versions. Users of Apple's macOS operating system will now be able to purchase LibreOffice for €8.99. The organization explains its decision to charge for the product by its concern for "end users who want to obtain all their desktop software through Apple's proprietary sales channels." However, TDF apparently does not consider this to be software sales in the traditional sense, calling the purchase of LibreOffice a "payment for convenience." At the same time, macOS users are not deprived of an alternative. Any Apple computer owner can still download and install a build of the office suite, available on the Document Foundation website, for free.


2021. LibreOffice split into free and enterprise versions



With the release of LibreOffice 7.1, this open-source office suite was divided into two editions: LibreOffice Community and LibreOffice Enterprise. The Community edition is free and supported by a community of enthusiasts. It is recommended for personal use and small businesses. The Enterprise edition is not a specific product, but rather a platform on which partners of The Document Foundation (which oversees LibreOffice development) can develop customized versions, implement them, and support them for large organizations for a fee. The Enterprise edition will also become the basis for the server edition of LibreOffice Online, which partners can provide to companies as a cloud service.


2020. LibreOffice 7.0 improves compatibility with MS Office formats


A new version of the free, open-source office suite LibreOffice 7.0 has been released. It significantly improves the suite's compatibility with formats such as DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX. Documents can now be saved in MS Office 2013/2016/2019 mode. An issue that caused an "invalid content error" when opening exported XLSX files containing forms has been fixed. Support for the OpenDocument 1.3 (ODF) format has also been added, enabling document protection with digital signatures and content encryption using OpenPGP keys. A separate header and footer type has been added for the main page, and document change tracking has been improved. The developers have added new form galleries, which can be easily edited and styled to suit your needs.


2017. LibreOffice released online version with collaborative editing



LibreOffice, the most popular open-source office suite, has finally received an online version – LibreOffice Online. However, the developers (Document Foundation) say they lack the resources to create their own cloud service and compete with Office 365 and Google Docs, so they are only providing the code for the cloud version. Thus, large enterprises or service providers can install LibreOffice Online on their servers and provide office editors to their users as web services. The online version is also reported to include basic functionality for collaborative document editing. As a reminder, LibreOffice allows you to work with text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in ODT, ODS, and ODP formats.


2011. LibreOffice is going to the Cloud, iPad and Android



LibreOffice - is a fork of the open-source project OpenOffice, which was founded after Sun acquisition by Oracle last year. The development team, which stands behind the LibreOffice calls itself the Document Foundation and aims to develop a free and open-source alternative to commercial office suites. Google and Red Hat are also involved in the development of LibreOffice. So, this LibreOffice is quite serious in its plans and is going not only inherit the glory and the user base of the OpenOffice, but also step on the Microsoft's tail. This week, the Document Foundation announced that in 2012 it will launch the online version - LibreOffice Online, which will work on HTML5, as well as mobile versions of the office suite for iPad and Android tablets. ***