What is LibreOffice?

LibreOffice is a suite of programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, and vector drawings. It is free to download, use, and distribute. It is available in many languages and runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows.

LibreOffice’s native file formats are OpenDocument (*.ODT, *.ODS, *.ODP, etc.), but it can open and save to many other formats, including Microsoft Office formats (*.DOC, *.XLS, *.PPT, etc.).

To download LibreOffice, go to the LibreOffice website.

LibreOffice is a project of the not-for-profit organization, The Document Foundation.

Print editions of new user guides

Recent user guides from the LibreOffice Documentation team are available for free download (PDF, ODT) from the Documentation page on the LibreOffice website, and low-cost printed copies can be purchased from Lulu.com.

Cover of LibreOffice 7.4 Draw GuideCover of LibreOffice 7.5 Writer GuideCover of LibreOffice 7.5 Calc Guide

LibreOffice 7.4 Draw Guide
LibreOffice 7.5 Writer Guide
LibreOffice 7.5 Calc Guide

Second edition of Designing with LibreOffice available for free download

Designing with LibreOffice coverBruce Byfield and Jean Hollis Weber announce the second edition of Designing with LibreOffice. The book is available as an .ODT or .PDF file under the Creative Commons Attribution/Sharealike License version 4.0 or later from https://designingwithlibreoffice.com/

The first edition was published in 2016, and was downloaded over thirty-five thousand times. Michael Meeks, one of the co-founders of LibreOffice, described the first edition as “an outstanding contribution to help people bring the full power of LibreOffice into their document.” Similarly, free software author and journalist Carla Schroder wrote, “Designing With LibreOffice teaches everything you need to know about document production…. suitable for beginners to wizened old pros, who will probably discover things about LibreOffice that they didn’t know.”

The second edition updates the original, removing outdated information and adding updated screenshots and new information about topics such as Harfbuzz font shaping codes, export to EPUB formats for ereaders, the Zotero extension for bibliographies, and Angry Reviewer, a Grammarly-like extension for editing diction. In the future, the writers plan to release other editions as necessary to keep Designing with LibreOffice current.

For more information or interviews, contact Bruce Byfield at bbyfield@axion.net.

LibreOffice on the Microsoft Store

LibreOffice is now available for download from the Microsoft Store, for those users who choose or are required to get their desktop software from that channel. A small fee is charged. Here is the link.

This follows the recent release of LibreOffice through Apple’s App Store.

LibreOffice for Windows, macOS, and Linux continues to be free of charge from the LibreOffice website.

Blog post is here.

LibreOffice Community on Mac app store

On September 19, The Document Foundation (TDF) announced the release of LibreOffice on Apple’s Mac App Store, to support end users who want to get all of their desktop software from Apple’s sales channel. TDF will continue to provide LibreOffice for macOS free from the LibreOffice website, which is the recommended source for all users.

LibreOffice packaged for the Mac App Store is based on the same source code, but does not include Java – because external dependencies are not allowed on the store – and therefore limits the functionalities of LibreOffice Base.

The full TDF blog post is here.

LibreOffice 7.4 Calc Guide published

Cover of Calc Guide 7.4The LibreOffice documentation team published a new user guide in August: LibreOffice 7.4 Calc Guide, available in free PDF and ODT. Low-cost printed copies are available from Lulu.com.

Visit the Documentation page on the LibreOffice website for links.