The legacy and vitality of LibreOffice

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PRODUCTIVITY By Sandra Henry-Stocker If you’re a little nervous about getting started with LibreOffice, you might be asking yourself where this office
[See the full post at: The legacy and vitality of LibreOffice]

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lmacri, Patricia Grace, abbodi86

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Whilst both are open source, one thing that might be worth mentioning is the difference in licensing between Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice.

In short, due to licensing issues, LibreOffice can incorporate any improvement from Apache OpenOffice, but this can’t happen the other way around. This, combined with a much more active community and most of OpenOffice.org original developers, means that LibreOffice is evolving much faster (new features, bug fixes, etc.) than its brother Apache OpenOffice. Quora

Hope this helps…

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btc, bmeacham

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I’m very confused.

I have LibreOffice 7.2.0.4 installed.

It does NOT show any “check for update” options, anywhere in the Tools/Options menu.
So where do I look for it?

1 Desktop Win 11
1 Laptop Win 10
Both tweaked to look, behave and feel like Windows 95
(except for the marine blue desktop, rgb(0, 3, 98)

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Help > Check for updates.

From any LO screen.

cheers, Paul

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I have the 64-bit version 7.2.0.4 of LibreOffice installed and this is what it shows (below).

Image or Clone often! Backup, backup, backup, backup......
- - - - -
Home Built: Windows 10 Home 64-bit, AMD Athlon II X3 435 CPU, 16GB RAM, ASUSTeK M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3 (AM3) motherboard, 512GB SanDisk SSD, 3 TB WD HDD, 1024MB ATI AMD RADEON HD 6450 video, ASUS VE278 (1920x1080) display, ATAPI iHAS224 Optical Drive, integrated Realtek HD Audio

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E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote:

It does NOT show any “check for update” options, anywhere in the Tools/Options menu.

Portable LibreOffice 7.1.5 :

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Paul T wrote:

Help > Check for updates. From any LO screen.

Ye think?

And I have 7.2.0.4

1 Desktop Win 11
1 Laptop Win 10
Both tweaked to look, behave and feel like Windows 95
(except for the marine blue desktop, rgb(0, 3, 98)

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They must have moved it – I have 7.0.2

Have you tried Help > About?

cheers, Paul

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Paul T wrote:

Help > Check for updates. From any LO screen.

E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote:

Ye think?

And I have 7.2.0.4

I notice your menu has a British spelling of “licence”. There may be a regional difference, even for the same LibreOffice version. That would make the article not wrong, but region-dependent.  I have no further clues.

I always go to the LibreOffice Fresh (Community Edition) download page and follow the links from there to the Main Download and the Help Download. I do this for Linux and Windows. It’s faster and less error-prone than trying to get the internal LO Updater to work consistently.

-- rc primak

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Paul T wrote:

Have you tried Help > About?

Yes, makes no difference.
But my question is actually moot. I just wanted to show an inconsistancy in the article about LibreOffice.

I use “Help/About LibreOffice/Website” which leads me straight to the latest update/release.

1 Desktop Win 11
1 Laptop Win 10
Both tweaked to look, behave and feel like Windows 95
(except for the marine blue desktop, rgb(0, 3, 98)

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rc primak, DrBonzo, Alex5723

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I have to do the same thing. I’ve got version 6.0.7.3 (yes, I know, it’s outdated) running on Linux Mint 19.2 Cinnamon. Unlike other 3rd party software which offers updates through the Update Manager, Libre Office doesn’t seem to. When I go to the Libre Office website it seems that the only downloads are version downloads. If so, how do I get updates? Or is each version an update in and of itself?

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When I go to the LibreOffice website it seems that the only downloads are version downloads. If so, how do I get updates? Or is each version an update in and of itself?

Actually, at least in Linux, it’s the other way around.

The posted versions are upgrades only. (Found this out the hard way after completely removing LO from Ubuntu due to misbehavior and version-over-version conflicts.) A full, running version is necessary in Linux to get the new version to install. That existing version can be a normally installed version, a Snap or a Flatpak. But it must be there.

Windows seems to have complete versions at the site.

Upgrading is recommended to be done on Linux by removing the old version and installing the new version from scratch. (Hence my error.) In Windows, the .msi version of the installer does the removal part automatically, then installs the new version fresh.

Your mileage may vary.

Version 7.2 just went mainstream about a week ago. That may explain why some regions or some downloads don’t have an update option within the program menu. I don’t know whether LO Beta releases have that option.

-- rc primak

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DrBonzo wrote:

Or is each version an update in and of itself?

I assume so.
Anyway, it works to update my installation while keeping my settings.

1 Desktop Win 11
1 Laptop Win 10
Both tweaked to look, behave and feel like Windows 95
(except for the marine blue desktop, rgb(0, 3, 98)

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DrBonzo

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I’d like to add a tidbit to this very complete article about the history of Libre Office.  Well, maybe it isn’t about the history.  It’s about the usage.

I use Libre Office on my traveling laptops and Microsoft Office on my tower.  Even if I used only Libre Office, I would still need to be concerned with making it possible for people with the Microsoft product to read my documents, spreadsheets and presentations when I email them.

Fortunately, Libre Office caters to this possibility by allowing you to change the format in which files are saved.  So on my laptops, the defaults now are DOCX, XLSX, PPTX.  Nicely done, Libre Office!

Document compatibility between LibreOffice and Microsoft Office is not absolutely perfect, but really close.  Think of Microsoft as Lucy holding the football and Charlie Brown as The Document Foundation.

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Charlie, rc primak

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Hey Y’all,

In view of this thread I decided to test the Update feature of LibreOffice on my test rig.

Upon initiation I had version 5.1.1.3 installed with this menu.

Upon Selecting Update I got this message (note the Yellow Highlight mine)

I did the download which updated me to 7.2.0.4 x64 and the menu now looks like this.

So it looks like Updates are only available for a limited number of back versions after which you have to do a full download/uninstall/install process.

Note: In the install process LO wanted to shut down my UPS software (PowerPanel) and did so. Unfortunately I had to reinstall afterwards?????

HTH 😎

 

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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E Pericoloso Sporgersi, DrBonzo

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RetiredGeek wrote:

In view of this thread I decided to test the Update feature of LibreOffice on my test rig.

They must be pulling our legs and out loud  …

1 Desktop Win 11
1 Laptop Win 10
Both tweaked to look, behave and feel like Windows 95
(except for the marine blue desktop, rgb(0, 3, 98)

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I like to think of the Automatic Update menu item as aspirational. 🙃

I’ve used and loved LibreOffice since shortly after they forked from OpenOffice, and it has been this way for as long as I remember.

I believe in recent versions, you may receive notification that a newer version is available, but you still get to go to the website and manually download and install the newer version.

IMO, a small price to pay for free access to software that meets all my needs without all the corporate heavy-handedness. I’ve even donated a few times out of gratitude.

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Alex5723, rc primak

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Older Versions:

They are available, but not from the main LO download page.

Direct upgrading from older versions to the current version would involve a LOT of java incompatibilities, among other issues. Hence the need to do a full reinstall instead of an in-place upgrade. In Linux, it is always recommended to remove but not purge the old version and then do a clean reinstall of the new version.

Do not attempt to run an in-place upgrade of LO if your existing install is more than one full version behind. (LO 6.x or older.) You’d be in for a world of pain even if the installer would perform the upgrade.

-- rc primak

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I am going to ask a question I have asked in other threads about LibreOffice and received a remarkably silent response, or else some impractical suggestions, every time, even though this question is about a potentially serious issue:

Has anyone here ever showed a presentation created with LibreOffice at a very large meeting, in a venue where the computers used for the presentations (and the only computers allowed to be used) were all running PowerPoint?

By the way, please, no suggestions that one makes a presentation with one’s own computer at a large meeting or conference, usually with several sessions running in parallel, so people have to keep watching the time closely, to move to another room in time to be there at the start of a talk they would also like to attend, so the Session Chairs must enforce very tight presentation schedules and there is no question of switching the already installed computer during a session with another between talks, because that is how it is).

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Silent because nobody has done it?

cheers, Paul

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It is possible no one here has done that, but I would be surprised if that was the only reason. Large technical, scientific, etc. conventions, conferences, meetings. are many each year, with many attendees (since they are big) and held either “in person”, or in teleconference form, as they tend to be these days. So lots of people attend them and present their work at these conferences.

Anyways, I would definitely not use software that is not commonly used in conferences, to create a presentation for any of them. If in doubt, I would convert a presentation I have created with software X into a PDF file, if X allows it (otherwise I would not use X) as PDF tends to work well for presentations in most situations, although it is a limiting medium when it comes to including animated slides, fades, video clips, etc.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Has anyone here ever showed a presentation created with LibreOffice at a very large meeting, in a venue where the computers used for the presentations (and the only computers allowed to be used) were all running PowerPoint?

No. I’ve done the opposite, running Power Point presentations using LibreOffice. Impress sometimes has issues, but is generally competent this direction.

I see no reason Power Point cannot run Impress presentations, PROVIDED the Impress presentation is Exported from Libre Office in a Power Point compatible format. Some formatting issues will result, no doubt, but most presentations should come through OK.

Power Point does not recognize the native format of Impress, last I checked. It’s not like MS Office and Word accepting Open Document formats now, which it generally can do without incident.  Presentations are more sensitive to formatting issues.

None of these limitations disqualify LibreOffice from being run in a corporate or enterprise or academic environment where MS Office products are prevalent.

-- rc primak

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Charlie, OscarCP

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There is real hard work that goes into preparing a presentation for the kind of meetings I have described, and a lot at stake when actually presented there.

Given that, I don’t think I am going to prepare presentations for such meetings in any other format than than PPTX or PDF.

However, for smaller meetings where it matters less if things go south, I could bring two versions, one created with Libre Office and the other either with PPT (PowerPoint), or as a PDF file, as there it will be OK to switch between them, if necessary. Minimal embarrassment, good for a little laugh, at most.

I have also been thinking that, as I have Office 1916 in my home Mac and Office 365 in the NASA Mac, I could create a presentation with LibreOfice in my home computer and then test it using PPT in either, or both machines.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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rc primak

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I believe that’s Office 2016. Office 1916 would require very different hardware!

-- rc primak

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SueW

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No, actually Office 2019 for Macs works just fine with my hardware. Others I know are using 2019 in similar Macs of the same or older vintage. I have chosen to keep 2016 because I see no point in upgrading it to do what I need, as it suffices for that as it is. Doing this also relieves me from the monthly nagging messages from MS to update it. But, then again, as I have explained repeatedly at AskWoody, I like to live (somewhat) dangerously.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Did you miss your own typo? rc didn’t.  🙂

cheers, Paul

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rc primak, SueW

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Being retired, and even before that I didn’t have much need to use PowerPoint.  I do know however that my LibreOffice recognizes and saves files in current Microsoft file formats.  This includes LibreOffice Impress.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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rc primak

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Charlie, two questions:

Do you mean that with LibreOffice one can convert Impress files -> pptx files, and do you know, or does anyone here know if the converted actually work with Windows 10?

Does LibreOffice converts Impress presentations to PDF? Thanks in advance for any non overly technical answers.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Yes. It does!

* _ ... _ *

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rc primak, Charlie, OscarCP

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I don’t have or use Win 10 so I can’t answer that.  As to converting to PDF’s, I’ve never tried to do that.  I use MS Office 2010, not sure about the latest versions.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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Dedoimedo has posted a review of the newest version of LibreOffice, 7.2.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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Cybertooth,

Thanks, the Dedoimedo article does not answer the compatibility of Empress presentations with PowerPoint, but has enough of other issues mentioned to make inadvisable the use LibreOffice for presentations, at least those to be shown under the demanding conditions I have described.

So: not very promising for creating something to be taken to a crowded session in a big conference where the computers used for displaying the presentations run Windows and are expected to show PPTX or PDF files, that have several sessions running simultaneously, all in a tight schedule and no time (or the session chair’s tolerance) for waiting for things to load or for dealing with inconvenient glitches. Or for trying to swap computers without being shown the door at once.

 

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Cybertooth

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I’ve been having problems with Version 7.2, especially LO Calc, on my Windows 10 Pro PC. The 7.2 installer also had unspecified problems. All may have to do with alleged Protected RAM violations. Windows only.  LO Calc opens extremely slowly and sometimes just freezes or crashes. On Linux on 2 devices, LO 7.2 is working just fine. Tried reinstalling, even a clean LO install on Windows 10, same issues.

-- rc primak

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Charlie

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