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How much do you know about LibreOffice? and what makes it different from Microsoft Office?

What do you know about LibreOffice? Where can be used? Is it useful? where can be used instead of MS Office if possible? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using LibreOffice in comparison to Microsoft Office? Many questions around this topic, and I need your help to configure it out. Thanks alot. Lubna

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Question added by Lubna Al-Sharif , Medical Laboratory Technician , Nablus Specailized Hospital
Date Posted: 2013/07/08
Mohammed Yaseen MBA  PMP®
by Mohammed Yaseen MBA PMP® , Commercial Officer , Hayat Communications

For a long time, Microsoft Office has been the reigning champ of office suites, but that doesn't mean the free alternative, LibreOffice, isn't worth considering. Let's take a look at how the two compare, and if it's finally possible to ditch the paid option for the free one.

 

the free LibreOffice and the paid Microsoft Office, but the two are a lot closer in features than you might think. For one, LibreOffice is compatible with a lot more systems, including Windows, OS X, and Linux, while Microsoft Office's newest version is restricted to just Windows7 and Windows8. Besides: it’s not about which one is “better” or “more feature filled.” It’s about whether your work requires what Microsoft has to offer, or if you can get by with something free and save a bit of money. Now, with LibreOffice reaching4.1, we've decided it's time to give it an in-depth comparison with Microsoft Office

 

When it comes to word processors, LibreOffice Writer and Microsoft Word are easily two of the best out there. If you've used Microsoft Word before, then you'll be right at home with Writer and vice-versa. In fact, in many ways, Writer even blows Word out of the water

 

 

LibreOffice's Impress is a perfectly capable program, but if you're working with people who usually use PowerPoint you might run into some compatibility issues still. If you're just making presentations for your own purposes, then Impress should work for you

 

If LibreOffice doesn't suit your needs, OpenOffice is also worth a look. Both LibreOffice and OpenOffice are built on the same foundation, and while they're relatively similar, LibreOffice has a little bit more of a mass appeal and gets updated more often. If you're sick of dealing with Microsoft or you just don't feel like paying a lot for software, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are both worthy alternatives. It's certainly taken a few years for them to really catch up, but now that they have, Microsoft has something to worry about

Ihab El Mortada
by Ihab El Mortada , Business Development Manager , Fookis Labs

IF you want a pretty good suite of office software, and don't feel like paying $299 or $599 for the recently released Microsoft Office2013, there are a number of options around that are almost as good and will cost you zilch.
Probably the best of them is LibreOffice, put together by a team of500 open-source software enthusiasts.
Yes, yes, we know open-source nutters are best avoided, unless you really enjoy listening to three-hour diatribes, backed into a corner by wild-eyed, shaggy-haired manics babbling about Linux or Unix.
But the LibreOffice team don't seem to be like that.
They have just launched version four and it runs sweetly (mostly) on Windows PCs, Mac or Linux machines.
It does most of the things Microsoft Office does, loads in a minute or two, doesn't demand any registration and generally makes you feel pretty good about life, a state rarely achieved while doling out money to Microsoft.
LibreOffice began life as StarOffice at the now defunct Sun Microsystems (bought by Larry Ellison's Oracle in2010).
Oracle made a half-hearted effort to keep it going as OpenOffice but many of the folk working on it were unhappy with the Oracle regime, and broke away to use the same open-source code as the basis of LibreOffice.
Ellison has since palmed OpenOffice off to Apache, another open-source volunteer group, but it appears to be languishing behind LibreOffice.
For version four the LibreOffice team have cleaned up their software code, improved interoperability with other suites and added an Android app for using a smartphone as a presentation controller.
It currently only works on Linux PCs but Mac and Windows support is said to be on the way.
LibreOffice four comes with five major applications: Writer (roughly equivalent to MS Word), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (a drawing and diagram tool similar to Visio), and Base (a database program similar to Microsoft Access).
There's also Math for folk who like to play with figures and equations.
All will open documents created in the equivalent Microsoft program and let you play with them to your heart's content.
Our experience on a Mac was that they're not always quite as successful at creating a document and then importing it to Microsoft Office.
When we saved LibreOffice Writer documents in the widely used Microsoft .docx format, for instance, and tried to open them in MS Word, Microsoft usually baulked, claiming the file was corrupt.
We then saved them in the .odt open-document standard devised as an alternative to Microsoft architecture and Word opened them instantly.
Documents can also be saved in the PDF format which can be read by anyone on any computer.
LibreOffice is a pretty good office suite.
Does it have all the bells and whistles of the Microsoft product? Definitely not, but it would answer most people's needs.
It's by no means the only freebie around.
If you don't mind your documents being locked away in the cloud there's also the single-user version of Google Docs and the very natty Zoho Docs (at zoho.com).
And even Microsoft these days offers a basic free online suite for individuals, dubbed Office Web Apps.
You can probably depend on it opening .docx documents but overall it lacks the punch of LibreOffice.

Deleted user
by Deleted user

 

The complete LibreOffice-4.0-versus-Microsoft-Office-2013 differences are available onhttps://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Feature_Comparison:_LibreOffice_-_Mi...

Rami El Hadi
by Rami El Hadi , IT Manager , united electronics company

as all the other answers, these information are found on libre office website.
But libre office misses some application found in Microsoft office, like mail application MS OUTLOOK, and you will have to install the free mail application like THUNDERBIRD from Mozilla Foundation.
and there are differences between the MS ACCESS and the DATABASE application found in office libre.
if your main concern is the mail application and your mail server is MS Exchange you will need more time to configure mail application in thunderbird, since it will not get the correct configuration automatically from exchange server opposite to MS Outlook.
if you have any specific need please inform me here, so i can help you get what you want.

Musharif Hussain
by Musharif Hussain , Sr. Engineer (Instrumentation &Control) , Matiari Group

LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite, developed by The Document Foundation.
It was forked from OpenOffice.org in2010.
The LibreOffice suite comprises programs to do word processing, spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams, maintain databases, and compose math formulas.
It is designed to be compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, though some Microsoft Office layout features and formatting attributes are handled differently or are unsupported.
LibreOffice is available for a variety of computing platforms including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X10.4 Tiger or newer, and Linux.
It is the default office suite of most popular Linux distributions.

Deleted user
by Deleted user

LibreOffice's name is a combination of the French word for free ("Libre") and Office.
Like OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice features a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet app (Calc), a presentation program (Impress), a database management tool (Base), a vector graphics editor (Draw), and an app for working with mathematical formulas (Math).
LibreOffice also includes a PDF creation and import tool for working with Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
LibreOffice uses the OpenDocument Format (ODF) as its native file format, and the office suite also supports reading and writing of numerous other file formats, including both older and newer Microsoft Office files (including the Office Open XML spec used by Microsoft Office2007 and Office2010), OpenOffice.org XML files, and Rich Text File (RTF) files.
Advantages : It's free – no worry about license costs or annual fees.
No language barriers – it's available in a large number of languages, with more being added continually.
LGPL public license – you can use it, customize it, hack it and copy it with free user support and developer support from our active worldwide community and our large and experienced developer team.
LibreOffice is a free software community-driven project: development is open to new talent and new ideas, and our software is tested and used daily by a large and devoted user community; you, too, can get involved and influence its future development.
LibreOffice gives you high quality: The roots of LibreOffice go back20 years.
This long history means it's a stable and functional product.
Thousands of users worldwide regularly take part in beta testing of new LibreOffice versions.
Because the development process is completely open, LibreOffice has been extensively tested by security experts, giving you security and peace of mind.
And Thats is History of A new fork of Oracle's Open Office open source office suite that was first released in September2010 by The Document Foundation.
LibreOffice has started to branch away from its Open Office (or OpenOffice.org) roots in several ways, including a reduced reliance on Java and the inclusion of an improved Windows installer.

SUBHASHISH BHATTACHARYA
by SUBHASHISH BHATTACHARYA , Asst. Manager-AutoCAD Drawing & Technical Documentation , Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

First of all my best wishes on "Happy Eid" to you! I have tried to differentiate between "Libre Office" and "Microsoft office"(in brief): Libre Office:1)complex ecosystem of valuable extensions (over180 on extensions.libreoffice.org and over700 on extensions.services.open office.org) for LibreOffice (including automatic updates).2)110 languages.3) extended support (spell-check dictionaries, hyphenation patterns, thesaurus and grammar check, specialized dictionaries as extensions.4) multiple languages, support for wide variety of languages (LibreOffice Basic, JavaScript, BeanShell and Python).5) multiple options (Additional options: detailed image settings, watermarks, HybridPDF, embedding of standard fonts, transition effects, tagged pdf, extended security and permission options, PDF forms, initial view settings, extended handling of URLs, digital signatures) Microsoft office:1)partly, no centralized extension system.2)84 languages (37 main languages for purchase,47 local Language Interface Packs for free download .58 were available for Office2010 and older).3) limited, requires additional purchase of language packs.4) single language, support for Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
Indirectly also Visual Basic or Visual C# by using automation.5) no additional options.
At last i wish to say that in Microsoft Office, you must use Word for your documents.
You may like it or not, deny it or not, but at the end of the day, people on the other end, the weakest link in your chain, will demand it, and they don't care about GPL or portability or anything else.
For casual use, any word-processing software will work.
But there will always be that one case where you must use Microsoft Office.
The same thing is quite common in other segments of the computing market, where a single brand leads the board.
PC is synonymous with Windows, Flash is always Adobe Flash, PDF is almost uniquely Adobe Acrobat Reader, search engine is Google.
You must deal with this reality with elegance, rather than ignore it.
If your relations with a second party depends on a common format, then use it you must, Yoda style.
In a battle between Microsoft Office and LibreOffice, the one that wins is the money.
Ask whoever pays what they want and then politely indulge them.
That's how it is.

taha amer
by taha amer , Finance Manager , Arabia ‎Holding

Libre Office was developed by users like you, believe in the need to live in an environment of open Libre Office was developed by users like you, believe in the need to live in an environment of open source software and free, share where everyone works and share them without restrictions, at the heart of the set of principles that we believe in is to provide high-quality products is safe and reliable and that gives you more flexibility at no cost.
Beyond this, the main factor behind the community is personal motivation and transparency in work and production of high harmonic which translates programs to make way for end users to navigate between programs and not be restricted by using a single product.
Featured in LibreOffice? LibreOffice is a mature office package and productive with a really great set of advantages * Free - No more worrying about license costs or annual costs.
* There are no language barriers - it is available in a large number of languages, and this number continues to rise * Licensed under the GPL LGPL - which enables you to use the program, modify it and copy the form and the number that you want with the free support for users and developers support via active community and a large team of experienced developers and efficiency.
* LibreOffice is an open source project: development is open to talented and owners of new ideas, and our fitter and daily by the user community a broad and in us and our principles, you also you can share and influence in the development process.
LibreOffice gives you high quality in production * LibreOffice roots date back to20 years ago.
Its long history means that the product is fixed and productive.
* Regularly thousands of users around the world are involved in piloting the experimental beta version of the new beta version of LibreOffice.
* Since the entire development mechanism open, LibreOffice has been tested extensively by experts security and protection from spayware and hack.
LibreOffice user-friendly * Interface program is a powerful and easy customizable - Microsoft Office users will find no problem in coping because of the familiar interface * Compatible with all versions of the competition, you can easily import files from Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint and many other formats, and you can ايظا conservation Microsoft Office formats and other formats when needed.
* LibreOffice is supported by the community in all parts of the world, volunteers are helping new users, professional users and developers collaborate with you to solve complex problems mind.

Alaa Abou-Elmagd
by Alaa Abou-Elmagd , Implementation & Training - Payments and Cash Management(GTS), Corporate Banking , Ahli United Bank

LibreOffice uses the OpenDocument Format (ODF) as its native file format, and the office suite also supports reading and writing of numerous other file formats, including both older and newer Microsoft Office files (including the Office Open XML spec used by Microsoft Office2007 and Office2010), OpenOffice.org XML files, and Rich Text File (RTF) files.
Advantages : It's free – no worry about license costs or annual fees.
No language barriers – it's available in a large number of languages, with more being added continually.
LGPL public license – you can use it, customize it, hack it and copy it with free user support and developer support from our active worldwide community and our large and experienced developer team.
LibreOffice is a free software community-driven project: development is open to new talent and new ideas, and our software is tested and used daily by a large and devoted user community; you, too, can get involved and influence its future development.
LibreOffice gives you high quality: The roots of LibreOffice go back20 years.
This long history means it's a stable and functional product.
Thousands of users worldwide regularly take part in beta testing of new LibreOffice versions.
Because the development process is completely open, LibreOffice has been extensively tested by security experts, giving you security and peace of mind.

OMAR ABDULWAHAB
by OMAR ABDULWAHAB , programmer , knone

libreoffice يشبه msoffice ولكنه مجاني مع اضافات وموجود نسخة للوندوز واللنكس ولا يحتاج الى configre لكنه يحتاج جافا se2 jdk وهو ايضا يشغل ملفات msoffice لكن msoffice افضل منه من ناحية البرمجة وربطه بـــvb.net الحمد لله

Ahmed Adel
by Ahmed Adel , Application Engineer , Intercom Enterprises

A new fork of Oracle's Open Office open source office suite that was first released in September2010 by The Document Foundation.
LibreOffice has started to branch away from its Open Office (or OpenOffice.org) roots in several ways, including a reduced reliance on Java and the inclusion of an improved Windows installer.
LibreOffice's name is a combination of the French word for free ("Libre") and Office.
Like OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice features a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet app (Calc), a presentation program (Impress), a database management tool (Base), a vector graphics editor (Draw), and an app for working with mathematical formulas (Math).
LibreOffice also includes a PDF creation and import tool for working with Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
LibreOffice uses the OpenDocument Format (ODF) as its native file format, and the office suite also supports reading and writing of numerous other file formats, including both older and newer Microsoft Office files (including the Office Open XML spec used by Microsoft Office2007 and Office2010), OpenOffice.org XML files, and Rich Text File (RTF) files.
Advantages : It's free – no worry about license costs or annual fees.
No language barriers – it's available in a large number of languages, with more being added continually.
LGPL public license – you can use it, customize it, hack it and copy it with free user support and developer support from our active worldwide community and our large and experienced developer team.
LibreOffice is a free software community-driven project: development is open to new talent and new ideas, and our software is tested and used daily by a large and devoted user community; you, too, can get involved and influence its future development.
LibreOffice gives you high quality: The roots of LibreOffice go back20 years.
This long history means it's a stable and functional product.
Thousands of users worldwide regularly take part in beta testing of new LibreOffice versions.
Because the development process is completely open, LibreOffice has been extensively tested by security experts, giving you security and peace of mind.

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