If you do any kind of computer work at all, you will be familiar with the Microsoft Office Suite of programs. There are some other word processing packages out there, including most notably Apple Pages, Coral. But now there is now a relatively new kid on the word processing block, called LibreOffice Writer. LibreOffice Writer is one program in an entire suite of programs called LibreOffice, with other applications comparable to Microsoft Office and Open Office. LibreOffice was created by former users from the Open Office community and includes Writer as its word processing program. LibreOffice also includes Libre office word for spreadsheets, Impress for Presentations, and Base for database functions. LibreOffice Writer is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with on the word processing scene. LibreOffice Writer has gone through multiple revisions over the last several years at the hands of volunteers in the community and it is now one of the fastest and most powerful programs of its type. Users report that the export and import features of LibreOffice Writer have been vastly improved in the newest version as well. This provides tremendous customization options. libre office word And if you have been looking for a program that could open those ancient documents on your hard-drive created in Word-perfect or previous versions of Ms-word, LibreOffice Writer is the answer. Writer also has its own open source default document format that it uses to save documents. The default save format can be altered to default save in Ms Office format if you share documents frequently with others. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, is part of the proprietary suite of Microsoft Office. On the upside this means that bug fixes may come a libre office word quicker and more organized for new versions and security issues are handled more efficiently. Users have also reported some compatibility issues when using files that were created or saved in previous versions. This can make document sharing confusing and sometimes tricky, depending on which versions libre office word used by parties involved. Spelling and Grammar Check The spell check feature in Microsoft Word and LibreOffice Writer work very similarly in that mistakes are underlined with a wavy red line. While Microsoft Word comes with spell check built-in, you will have to download the dictionary, thesaurus, etc. Once the spell check extensions are installed, however, there is little difference in this feature. For me, it was simply easier to format titles, headings, and paragraphs manually in most cases than it was to try and set up a saved Style that I could use with the click of a button. From my brief review of the Styles feature in Writer, it appears to be somewhat less complicated to use. The Styles menu is located in a sidebar and includes preset formatting for things such as page numbers, internet links, quotation, emphasis, etc. Templates are designed to make life easier when it comes to formatting and polishing a document. Once you find a template you like, you can add your text and the result is a professional looking document complete with consistent formatting, color scheme, and everything else you desire. Both Word and LibreOffice Writer offer the use of templates. This is perhaps the one drawback for LibreOffice Writer. In order to use a template, you must first find the one you want, download it, open it and give it a new name, and then save it to the My Templates folder. Although there are libre office word 300 templates available for LibreOffice, they are all listed libre office word without distinction as to which are for Writer, Calc, Draw, etc. Usability Although some users report that the LibreOffice Writer Interface is clunky and that the menu options can be confusing, I find it easier to navigate than the ribbon menus. Buttons are right there on the toolbar, represented by icons. But with a little know-how, you can customize your toolbar and reduce some of the clutter. I was able to open and manipulate the original Word file without any difficulty whatsoever and I truly saw no substantial difference in how I interacted with the two interfaces. The only drawback for LibreOffice Writer is that there is not currently a tablet or cloud-based version of the software. Price After looking at the pros and cons of LibreOffice Writer and Microsoft Word as far as features, the price is where LibreOffice Writer takes the trophy. Although Microsoft Word offers a 30-day free trial version, you must pay for the full version and pay fees to upgrade to any future versions. To use Word on more than the allowed number of devices, you must pay additional licensing fees. Additional language packs involve more fees. Even their cloud-based applications hit you in the wallet, charging a recurring monthly fee. If you cannot make your payment for whatever reason, you would then risk losing access to all your documents. LibreOffice, on the other hand, is completely free to use. Simply go to the LibreOffice site and download the latest version of the software. It takes a matter of minutes and you are up and running. Extensions and Templates can be installed at no additional charge. Other Features With LibreOffice, macro scripting languages are supported for multiple languages including JavaScript, Python, LibreOffice Basic, and Beanshell. Power users may have to install extensions and make use of templates in order to get close to the feature packed Word experience they are used to. But in my experience, LibreOffice Writer will work as well as Word for most users libre office word much modification at all. The trade-off, of course, is that LibreOffice Writer may be slower to develop components for integration with other technologies such as mobile and cloud applications. Because developments and bug fixes are developed and implemented by volunteer users rather than paid dedicated staff at Microsoft, they take a bit longer but in the end are more user focused. So while LibreOffice is open source and therefore easy to modify and customize, it may take a little more effort on the user end to make those modifications. There is no worry that non-payment of renewal fees will restrict future access to documents. Users will no longer be forced to pay licensing fees for new and only slightly revised versions of Word or for permission to use the software on additional devices. It would seem the LibreOffice Writer would be a tremendous cost savings venture for libre office word governments and public entities including schools, emergency personnel, public boards, etc. There is absolutely no cost involved with this software, so money currently being allocated for Microsoft Office software licensing, renewal fees, and multiple users fees could be allocated for more important things. So after an initial review of LibreOffice Writer in comparison to Microsoft Word, I would have to recommend that everyone download a copy of LibreOffice today and start using LibreOffice Writer for their daily projects. Use LibreOffice Writer for a few months to make sure it will do what you specifically need it to do. And then bid Microsoft Office and their licensing fees farewell for good. I think for most people, making the switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice will save them substantial money and be enough adventure for this year at least. To learn more about the best writing software and to discover the essential programs that all writers should have, read my article on the.
