Can LibreOffice successfully complete to replace Microsoft Office ?

    Today I write an article about libreoffice and whether libreoffice can replace microsoft office after the latest update in version 7.0. Previously, I will introduce the details of this software first.

Both advantages and disadvantages are based on personal experience.

What is LibreOffice?

        Libre office is a free open source office software package consisting of a word processor (writer), spreadsheet number processor (calc), database (base), image (draw), percentage (Impress) and mathematics (math). Libre office itself is created with the aim of fulfilling the function of creating office documents and other jobs.

        Libre office has dual LGPL v3 (or latest) / MPL 2.0 licenses for new contributors to allow the license to be upgraded. The most amazing part is that this software is free to use and is among the most friendly about system requirements.

At least until now Libreoffice is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux.
A Brief History of the Libre office

        Libre office is a development of the previous open office project which I adhere to has been acquired by Oracle. Developed by The Document Foundation (RDF). The name libre office is a combination of the word libre which comes from Spanish and French which means free and also the word office which means office in English.

        Libre office is a derivative of OpenOffice.org in 2010, which is an open source version of staroffice which is its predecessor. I quoted this data from wikipedia.

 

Packages available in libre office

1. Writer

    Is a word processing software that is used to create documents or correspondence activities. If you compare it with other offices, you will find Writer to be similar to Microsoft Word or WPS writer.

Writer has a default extension with the ODF format. But it can also read other office extensions such as doc or docx.

For compatibility with common formats like doc I think Writer is pretty good at reading these files.

Screenshot: 

2. Calc

    Is a number processing software that is used to create spreadsheets or calculation activities. If you compare it, Libre calc has the same function as Microsoft Excel and also WPS Spreadsheet.

Calc has a default extension with the ODS (ODF Spreadsheet) format. But it can also read other office extensions such as xls or xlsx.

The compatibility is still quite good with the xls or xlsx format which incidentally comes from Microsoft Office.

Screenshot:

3. Impress

    Is a percentage processing software that is used to create presentation slideshows. If compared, Libre Impress has the same function as Microsoft Powerpoint and WPS Presentation.

 Impress has a default extension with the ODP (ODF Presentation) format. But it can also read other office extensions such as ppt and pptx

On the compatibility basis I was quite surprised by Impress because it can open ppt files from Microsoft PowerPoint without breaking the theme. But there will be a little problem in the animation and transition system where Libre Impress doesn't have the exact same type of transition as PowerPoint which looks more sophisticated and smooth.

4. Libre Base

    Is a database processing software that is used for database management. In this case it functions the same as Microsoft Access.

I don't know much about the base library because I don't use it myself. To run it, it must even be supported by the Java Runtime Environment. However, from my friend's experience who is a Libre Base programmer is quite good in its function as an alternative to Microsoft Access.

Screenshot:

5. Libre Math

    Is a formula processing software that is used to type mathematical formulas or formulas in detail. And the math library can be used in text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and images. Math allows you to enter mathematical and scientific formulas that are formatted in detail. And the formulas used can cover a variety of elements ranging from fractions, terms with exponents, indices, integrals, mathematical functions, systems of equations and inequalities to matrices.

As far as I know this is software that has no comparisons in Microsoft Office (please correct me if I'm wrong). And it has the default ODF extension.

Screenshot:

6. Libre Draw

    Is a simple image processing software that is used to create and manipulate 2-dimensional digital image data. Both from standard vector shapes such as lines, squares, circles to other geometric shapes. Draw is very suitable for making flowcharts or a structure with derivatives connected by lines such as a position structure.

    At a glance the draw function is like a combination of Microsoft Visio, paint and some small parts of vector design software such as Corel, Illustrator or Inkscape and Photoshop. draw works with common image formats such as BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF and WMF.

Draw has a default ODG Extension (ODF Drawing). But Draw can also open files with common image formats like the one I demonstrated earlier. And the surprising thing about Libre draw is that it can open files with CDR, AI, SVG and PSD Extensions although they are not very accurate.

And one of the other surprising things is in Libre Draw we can edit pdf files easily and for free, of course. Where features like this do not exist in MS Office and WPS has to pay premium features for editing over a certain page.

 Screenshot:

How good is LibreOffice compatibility with Microsoft Office?

    Well, before I explained it above, I will show the illustration through the image below which I took from LibreOffice and the Live web version of Microsoft Office. And in this case I took files from DOCX, XLSX and PPTX formats.

From the results of the illustration above, I did not find significant differences from the layout and others. Which means LibreOffice has good compatibility, especially in version 7.0.
What's new with LibreOffice version 7.0

Recently, Libre Office released its newest version, which is version 7.0 which was official around the beginning of August 2020. And here are the things that are new or improved in the latest version.

    Improved compatibility for Microsoft Office files
    The default format of the office library OpenDocument Format (ODF) was upgraded to version 1.3
    New defaukt icon on MacOS: Sukapura
    Many new objects from the shape menu such as arrows, diagrams, icons and others
    Glow and soft edge effects for objects
    Using Skia Engine for better performance
    And many other new features that you can check here

LibreOffice advantages

• Open source license which is free to use by anyone
• Has fairly good compatibility with the more general office
• Having a complete office package according to your needs is a plus point when compared to other free offices such as WPS, Softmaker FreeOffice and OnlyOffice.
• The interface is simple and can be changed with the ribbon tab to make it easier for users to move from other offices like MS Office
  
• Low usage with computer specification
  

Lack of LibreOffice

• User Interface or display that is quite simple when compared to other offices
• Transition problems from ppt files in Impress
• Less tutorials and troubleshooting on the internet, especially those in Indonesian, sometimes make it difficult for users who have problems with spreadsheet formulas and document arrangement.
• Sometimes there are some bugs. This is very reasonable because there are also bugs in the paid office. And keep in mind that libre is made by the community, not a large developer company

 

Conclusion

    Previously, I was more active in using wps office. But lately when Libre office 7 was released. I am very interested in using libre office as a daily software. Plus recently I found libre draw which is quite easy to use for editing pdf files. In addition, I found quite a lot of libreoffice communities in Indonesia on social media. As an alternative Libre office, including the best in the free office.

For those of you who want to download and use libre office, please check via the official below

https://www.libreoffice.org/

I take this post from my other website in indonenia lenguange Experienceware.blogspot.com
Thank you