Compare LibreOffice and OpenOffice

Anyone who has watched all the news related to the Office suite development over the years knows that LibreOffice has essentially risen from the ashes of OpenOffice, when LibreOffice developers decided to catch at the beginning of their own project (though still using open source from what was done on OpenOffice until that time).

For a while, it seemed that OpenOffice had been destroyed, with Apache announcing that their development team was shrinking and unable to continue making updates that helped solve everything, from UI improvements. to the current security holes.

But after hitting a record low number of downloads in 2017, OpenOffice seems to have recovered a bit, with a major update that got everyone back. In this article, TipsMake.com will compare the two Office suites to find out which is the better option.

Community and support

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Open source software such as LibreOffice is greatly supported by its community. LibreOffice has an active subreddit (reference link: https://www.reddit.com/r/libreoffice/ ), as well as a constantly monitored Ask page (reference link: https: //ask.libreoffice). .org / en / questions / ) . There is a Wiki page (reference link: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Main_Page ) dedicated to the latest updates and changes to the software, as well as comprehensive instructions for each update. Main release for LibreOffice.

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Although most of it has been discontinued, you can still find support for OpenOffice if you get to the right place. Subreddit OpenOffice (link: https://www.reddit.com/r/openoffice/ ) is quite poor, but you can find answers to your questions on the official OpenOffice forum, currently still working (reference link: https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/ ) . In addition, many other sources of support - such as 8daysaweek and the unofficial OpenOffice forum - are closed due to inactivity.

So it's no surprise here, with LibreOffice, you can find more help.

Compatibility

One of the first things you might want to know about LibreOffice and OpenOffice is which is easier to handle your existing files, which can be in all formats from proprietary Microsoft formats to many. More confusing formats like the '.wp' extension of WordPerfect.

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Both OpenOffice and LibreOffice have the ability to open a very large range of file formats, although in fact OpenOffice is able to open documents in a wider format range than LibreOffice (103, compared to 73 of LibreOffice). ).

But there is a catch. Just because these Office suites can open a certain file format does not mean they can be saved in that file format. When it comes to which file formats you can save, LibreOffice is 'more modern', most notably capable of saving files in Microsoft's latest proprietary formats (.docx, .xlsx, etc.). ).

So, OpenOffice can win on the large number of compatible formats, but LibreOffice can beat OpenOffice, by allowing you to save in the most popular formats available.

Features, characteristics

Both OpenOffice and LibreOffice at first glance look quite similar, with classic-style interfaces (as opposed to Microsoft's tab-based interface). Looking a little closer, you will see the difference between these two applications. LibreOffice keeps track of word and character fluctuations as you write, which is very helpful for people who do word-related tasks. (In OpenOffice, you need to click Tools> Word Count ).

OpenOffice launches with a sidebar for different font and paragraph options, which is theoretically useful, except that many of the options repeat what was in the toolbar at the top of the window. You can also enable this sidebar in LibreOffice, but it seems that is not necessary.

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Font embedding is also a good addition in LibreOffice, ensuring that every font you use in your document will be displayed correctly when you open the document in other word processing software. In a related note, LibreOffice allows you to save in .docx format, while OpenOffice does not. (Both allow you to save in OpenDocument format and most of Microsoft proprietary formats.)

Both LibreOffice and OpenOffice use open source document formats and have the same programs with the exact same names in them. Detail:

1. Writer - Word processing software
2. Calc - Spreadsheet software (equivalent to Microsoft Excel)
3. Impress - Presentation software (Microsoft Powerpoint)
4. Draw - A vector program (suitable replacement for Microsoft Visio)
5. Math - Math formula software
6. Base - Database management software (equivalent to Microsoft Access)

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In short, they look very similar, but LibreOffice has more quality features, due to the more stable development of software.

Security and stability

LibreOffice is more updated than OpenOffice, thanks to a large team and more resources.

The rarity of updates with OpenOffice also means that the two tools are not exactly the same in terms of security, and the OpenOffice development team often takes a long time to resolve new security holes and bugs. Best. A major bug in the macOS version that causes problems when creating diagrams in Calc has not been fixed, while Apache seems to be constantly addressing security issues.

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OpenOffice still exists, but users have a feeling that it is struggling to survive.

LibreOffice has all the advantages, although some users have reported bugs in the features of this software, but they work well in OpenOffice. In other words, having a backup Office suite is a wise choice and there are better options than OpenOffice out there. Check out TipsMake.com's list of free alternatives for Microsoft Office for a few ideas!

Wish you find yourself a suitable choice!