21 Jun, 2011
What is LibreOffice and why should I care?
The LibreOffice Start Center
LibreOffice is a free, open-source alternative to Microsoft Office. Or, as they say on their website:
LibreOffice is a comprehensive, professional-quality productivity suite that you can download and install for free. There is a large base of satisfied LibreOffice users worldwide, and it is available in more than 30 languages and for all major operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, Suse, …).
Why LibreOffice?
Before I go into more detail about LibreOffice, you may be wondering: what’s the point? Why should I use LibreOffice? Here are a few reasons to add LibreOffice to your arsenal:
- LibreOffice is 100% free, always. No more licensing issues or expensive upgrades.
- Your students may already be using it. Many students/families cannot afford to purchase Microsoft Office, and will instead use whatever came with their computer – often Microsoft Works. LibreOffice can open MS Works files, which is nice, but you could also let your students know about LibreOffice, which is far more powerful than Works.
- LibreOffice is compatible with Microsoft Office (and other applications), so you can open existing documents and even share documents with MS Office users. And since it’s closer in feel to the MS Office many people are used to, there’s less re-training involved.
- LibreOffice runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, so all users can be using the same software, regardless of what computer they’re using.
- Using LibreOffice will make you a better computer user. While it’s very similar to MS Office, so it’s familiar, it’s just different enough that you’ll train your brain. Learn concepts (cut, paste, etc.) not specific applications.
LibreOffice is OpenOffice…but not
Before we go any further, I should explain the relationship between LibreOffice (which you’ve likely never heard of) and OpenOffice (which you may have heard of). OpenOffice was an open-source application suite originally released as the open-source version of Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice. Sun was later purchased by Oracle, and in April 2011 Oracle announced they would no longer be supporting development of OpenOffice. Prior to the announcement, many of the former major contributors left the project to work on LibreOffice, a direct fork of OpenOffice not controlled by Oracle. Since then, LibreOffice has seen far more activity and updates than OpenOffice.
So, in a nutshell: LibreOffice is the new OpenOffice. Got it? Good. Let’s move on.
Compatibility
The first thing people ask when I start talking about an alternative to Microsoft Office is: “Is it compatible?” The answer is: yes.
LibreOffice uses an industry standard document format called OpenDocument Format (ODF). By default, word processing files have a .odt (OpenDocument Text) file extension, spreadsheet files have a .ods (OpenDocument Spreadsheet) file extention, and presentations have a .odp (OpenDocument Presentation) file extension.
As of Microsoft Office 2007 (Service Pack 2), MS Office has also supported ODF and can read and write documents created in this format. In fact, you can now set MS Office to use this file format by default, instead of Microsoft’s proprietary (but de-facto standard) formats (.doc, .docx, .xls, etc.). Conversely, LibreOffice has the ability to read and write documents using various Microsoft formats, including the new .docx/.xlsx/.pptx and older .doc/.xls/.ppt. You can save documents in MS formats one at a time, or set those formats as the default file format.
In addition, LibreOffice can handle some file types that Microsoft Office often has trouble opening, namely Microsoft Works (.wps) and WordPerfect (.wpd).
I’ve been using LibreOffice (or OpenOffice, previously) for over three years, and have had no problems with compatibility. Most people I send files to have no idea that I’m not using Microsoft Office. Every now and then I experience minor formatting issues when opening an MS Office doc, particularly an older one, and the same can sometimes be true when opening an ODF document in MS Office. In fact, this is the exact same issue you may encounter when going from one version of MS Office to another, so really this isn’t any different at all. This isn’t really an issue if you’re not collaborating on a document – simply save the document as a PDF before sending it to someone. LibreOffice has the ability to save as PDF built right in. Also, if you’re collaborating, you may want to look at Google Docs.
Features
LibreOffice is a productivity suite comprised of the following applications:
- Writer is the word processor. The layout is very similar to the pre-ribbon versions of Microsoft Word. It has many features, including while-you-type auto-completion, auto-formatting, automatic spell-checking, and more.
- Calc is the spreadsheet program. Calc includes a full suite of charting and analysis tools, a fully-integrated help system for entering formulas, can connect to external databases, and more.
- Impress is the presentation program, similar to PowerPoint or Apple Keynote. Impress includes some built-in templates, but you can also download and install additional templates, or create your own.
- Draw helps you build diagrams and sketches from scratch, including dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects.
- Base is a database front-end for the LibreOffice suite. You can use imported and linked tables and queries from MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access and many other data sources, or design your own data source with Base.
- Math is an equation editor that lets you lay-out and display mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation.
Extensions
LibreOffice supports the installation of extensions, which you can find at the LibrePlanet web. Additionally, several popular extensions have now been included as standard features:
- PDF Import: Import and modify PDF documents, then re-save as PDF.
- Presentation Minimizer: Reduces the file-size of presentations.
- Presenter Console: Allows you (the presenter) to see a different view on your laptop than what the audience sees on the projector. You can see the upcoming slide, your slide notes, and a presentation timer.
- ReportBuilder: Build good-looking database reports.
- Non-Linear Solver: Allows Calc to do non-linear programming.
- Wiki Publisher: Create Wiki articles on MediaWiki servers without having to know MediaWiki markup language.
Who else is using LibreOffice or OpenOffice?
Here’s a sample of sites using LibreOffice or OpenOffice. (Note: since the switch from OpenOffice to LibreOffice is still so new, this list makes reference to existing OpenOffice installations.)
- Morris Brandon Elementary in Atlanta Georgia has 250 desktops running OpenOffice.
- DeWitt Public Schools in Michigan saved over $48,000 in licensing fees by switching the entire district to OpenOffice.
- All of Portland Oregon’s middle schools and most of its elementary schools have Linux workstations and are using OpenOffice.
- Glenwood School for Boys and Girls uses OpenOffice exclusively for all students, including 200 desktops on campus, and have distributed installation CDs to students to install on home computers.
- Windsor Unified School District in California: 5,200 students and 250 teachers all using Linux computers with OpenOffice.
- Every middle school student in the state of Maine uses OpenOffice.
- San Diego Unified (8th largest in the US) has 100,000 student laptops running Linux and OpenOffice.
- Denmark – all government agencies.
- All Visions Charter School EDGE students are using OpenOffice (soon to be LibreOffice).
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