Which is better Libreoffice or Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office vs LibreOffice. Comparative review
U office packages the two named companies have a lot in common, although there are significant differences
For a long time, it was considered a recognized leader among manufacturers of office suites. Microsoft company with its Office, but now it has another opponent that deserves attention - LibreOffice.
It’s safe to say that the office suites of the two companies mentioned have a lot in common, although there are also significant differences. LibreOffice's package is compatible with big amount operating systems including Windows, OS X and Linux, while a new version Microsoft Office suitable only for Windows 7 and Windows 8. The question is not whose office suite is “better” or which package has “more features”. The question is what suits you best, what do you really need. Now that it has appeared LibreOffice version 4.1, it makes sense to compare the office packages of the two companies.
Working with texts: Word vs Writer
It's safe to say that LibreOffice Writer and Microsoft Word are among the best text editors. If you have used Microsoft Word before, it will be easy for you to switch to Writer, and vice versa. And in many ways, Writer will even give Word a few points ahead.
Editors are incredibly similar in terms of the functions they perform. Writer duplicates all the main ones Word functions: Features include an amazing grammar editor, reliable system automatic saving, support for a huge variety of formats and much more. Changing one editor to another will not be any problem, they work and look the same. And if you are just learning to use text editor, it will be easier for you to learn how to use Writer, it is easier to learn and use.
For years, Word's unrivaled strengths included rich editing and tracking. changes made. However, today Writer has the same functionality. With the help of the latter you can track changes, edits and everything like that.
Tables: Excel vs Calc
Creating tables is one of the main functions of the office suite. Microsoft Excel, and company for a long time was a recognized leader in this area. However, most users may well be satisfied with the features offered LibreOffice Calc. However, if you work with tables at a professional level or if you are already used to using Excel, Calc is not quite suitable.
Basically Calc and Excel work the same way. If you are a novice user, then most likely you will not notice much difference between them. Both Calc and Excel perform basic calculations that are not complicated mathematical calculations and form tables different formats. However, if you use a lot of macros and multitask in Excel, then you will have problems when switching to Calc.
The thing is that Calc has own language macros, and it is not always compatible with the format VBA Excel. This means that if you try to switch from Excel to Calc, you will have to redo a lot of your macros. However, Calc macros are easy to read Excel language(not vice versa): if you forward tables to your friends or colleagues, you can be sure that the LibreOffice Calc office suite will be sufficient for these purposes.
Presentation Software: PowerPoint vs Impress
Even the word “PowerPoint” itself has long been considered almost synonymous with the word “presentation”, and for good reason: it is high-quality software that allows you to create presentations that are superior to any other visual representations. The presentation software from LibreOffice is called Impress; it has quite a lot of functions, but the company's employees did not set out to convince users of other programs of their superiority - it is a simple and convenient thing.
To date the main problem for Impress users is that sometimes problems arise when working with presentations created in PowerPoint. When working with such presentations, some fonts may disappear and other rendering problems may arise. However, if you're creating presentations from scratch, Impress will help you make them very well, albeit without all the "conveniences" that PowerPoint offers. Although, according to by and large, the only “inconveniences” of Impress include the lack of some slide animation capabilities and support for the video export function. Impress also lacks the ability to create animated charts and does not allow group collaboration on presentations.
However, Impress also has its advantages. This software is capable of exporting presentations in the most various formats, which makes life much easier for the user, since there is no need to look for a person who prefers PowerPoint. Despite the great similarity software Impress and PowerPoint, and remembering that none of them will magically bring us an Oscar for the presentation we create, it should be noted that both programs are quite easy to learn how to work with.
Database Software: Access vs Base
The last major piece of software in both office suites is the database management system. Database Management Application Microsoft Access has long been installed on computers by default, but the LibreOffice Base application today is a worthy competitor to it.
The main difference between Base and Access is their compatibility with operating systems. Access app is compatible with Windows only, while Base is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux. Otherwise, the applications are very similar: when connected to external bases data, they both create the necessary documentation, reports, structured query language and tables. Base is designed to work with small databases and doesn't run any processes on its own, so again, use Access for more advanced multi-level work.
Both application packages have "smart" and intuitive interface, and they are very similar in use. As you can see, the majority LibreOffice programs created by analogy with programs from Microsoft. Only, perhaps, there is nothing similar to Outlook in the LibreOffice package. But LibreOffice is always free. The rest is up to you.
By default, applications in the LibreOffice office suite are configured to save in the OpenOffice format - ODF and similar ones, which may make them inaccessible to users of older Microsoft Office office suites (versions released before version 2007).
To force LibreOffice to save in the format you need (for example, Microsoft Word 2003), you need to do the following:
1. Open Options; to do this, in any program from the LibreOffice package, select the “Tools” menu item, and in it the “Options” sub-item.
3. Now we have to select for each LibreOffice application the format in which we need to save documents.
For backward compatibility with older versions of Microsoft Office 97, 2000, XP, 2003, you should select:
Editing a Configuration File
If you need to install LibreOffice on large quantities computers (for example, in an enterprise), then this approach to configuration can be tedious. In this case, there is the following way:
1. Create text file, and copy the following there:
And save it under the name registrymodifications.xcu.
2. Copy this file at the following address: %appdata%\LibreOffice\4\user(for the third version of LibreOffice the address will be different - %appdata%\LibreOffice\3\user). Now current user will save documents in Microsoft Office format by default.
3. In order for this to apply to all new users, do the following: go to the directory " %HomeDrive%\Documents and Settings\Default User\Application Data", and create a folder there " LibreOffice", in it the directory " 4 "(for the third version of LibreOffice we create a directory " 3 "), and in it we create a directory " user". Move your file there registrymodifications.xcu.
As a result, the path to the file should look something like this: " C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Application Data\LibreOffice\4\user\registrymodifications.xcu".
Your file saving settings will now be applied to all new users.
Configuration via group policies
You can also configure the format of saved files via group policies. About how to do it.
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The office suites of the two named companies have a lot in common, although there are significant differences
For a long time, Microsoft with its Office was considered the recognized leader among office suite manufacturers, but now it has another opponent that deserves attention - LibreOffice. So, which is better - Microsoft Office or LibreOffice, we tried to figure it out on the Lifehacker website.
It’s safe to say that the office suites of the two companies mentioned have a lot in common, although there are also significant differences. The company's LibreOffice suite is compatible with a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, OS X and Linux, while the new version of Microsoft Office is only suitable for Windows 7 and Windows 8. The question is not whose office suite is "better" or which suite "more possibilities". The question is what suits you best, what do you really need. Now that LibreOffice 4.1 has appeared, it makes sense to compare the office suites of the two companies.
Working with texts: Word vs Writer
It's safe to say that LibreOffice Writer and Microsoft Word are among the best text editors. If you have used Microsoft Word before, it will be easy for you to switch to Writer, and vice versa. And in many ways, Writer will even give Word a few points ahead.
Editors are incredibly similar in terms of the functions they perform. Writer duplicates all of Word's major features, including a stunning grammar editor, a robust auto-save system, support for a huge variety of formats, and much more. Changing one editor to another will not be any problem, they work and look the same. And if you are just learning to use a text editor, it will be easier for you to learn how to use Writer, it is easier to learn and use.
For many years, Word's unrivaled strengths included multi-option editing and change tracking. However, today Writer has the same functionality. With the help of the latter you can track changes, edits and everything like that.
Tables: Excel vs Calc
Creating tables is one of the main functions of an office Microsoft package Excel, and the company has long been a recognized leader in this field. However, for most users, the features offered by LibreOffice Calc may well be sufficient. However, if you work with tables at a professional level or if you are already used to using Excel, Calc is not quite suitable.
Basically Calc and Excel work the same way. If you are a novice user, then most likely you will not notice much difference between them. Both Calc and Excel perform basic calculations, simple math calculations, and produce tables in a variety of formats. However, if you use a lot of macros and multitask in Excel, then you will have problems when switching to Calc.
The fact is that Calc has its own macro language, and it is not always compatible with Excel's VBA format. This means that if you try to switch from Excel to Calc, you will have to redo a lot of your macros. However, Calc macros are well read in Excel (not vice versa): if you send tables to your friends or colleagues, you can be sure that the LibreOffice Calc office suite will be sufficient for these purposes.
Presentation Software: PowerPoint vs Impress
Even the word "PowerPoint" has long been considered almost synonymous with the word "presentation", and for good reason: it is quality software that allows you to create presentations that are superior to any other visual presentation. The presentation software from LibreOffice is called Impress, it has quite a lot of functions, but the company's employees did not set themselves the goal of convincing users of other programs of their superiority - it is a simple and convenient thing.
The main problem for Impress users today is that they sometimes experience problems when working with presentations created in PowerPoint. When working with such presentations, some fonts may disappear and other rendering problems may arise. However, if you're creating presentations from scratch, Impress will help you make them very well, albeit without all the "conveniences" that PowerPoint offers. Although, by and large, the only “inconveniences” of Impress include the lack of some slide animation capabilities and support for the video export function. Impress also lacks the ability to create animated charts and does not allow group collaboration on presentations.
However, Impress also has its advantages. This software is capable of exporting presentations in a variety of formats, which makes life much easier for the user, since there is no need to look for a person who prefers PowerPoint. Despite the great similarity between Impress and PowerPoint software, and remembering that neither of them will magically bring us an Oscar for the presentation we create, it should be noted that both programs are quite easy to learn how to work with.
Database Software: Access vs Base
The last major piece of software in both office suites is the database management system. Database management application Microsoft data Access has been installed on computers by default for a long time, but the LibreOffice Base application today is a worthy competitor to it.
The main difference between Base and Access is their compatibility with operating systems. Access is only compatible with Windows, while Base is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux. Otherwise, the applications are very similar: when connected to external databases, they both generate the necessary documentation, reports, structured query language and tables. Base is designed to work with small databases and doesn't run any processes on its own, so again, use Access for more advanced multi-level work.
Both app packages have a smart and intuitive interface and are very similar in use. As you can see, most LibreOffice programs are created by analogy with programs from Microsoft. Only, perhaps, there is nothing similar to Outlook in the LibreOffice package. But LibreOffice is always free. The rest is up to you.
Define compatibility settings for text documents. Using these settings, you can fine-tune LibreOffice for importing Microsoft Word documents.
Open a text document and select from the menu Tools - Options - LibreOffice Writer - Compatibility
Contents
Use printer settings when formatting a document
Specifies that printer settings are used for printing and formatting screen output. If this check box is not selected, printer-independent markup will be used for displaying and printing data.
Add spacing between paragraphs and tables (for current document)
LibreOffice Writer defines paragraph spacing differently than it does in MS Word documents. If a spacing is defined between two paragraphs or tables, the spacing is also added to the corresponding MS Word documents.
Indicates whether MS compatible should be added Word spacing between paragraphs and tables in LibreOffice Writer text documents.
Add spacing between paragraphs and tables. at the beginning of the page (for the current document)
Indicates whether paragraph spacing is used at the beginning of a page or column if the paragraph is on the first page of the document. The same applies to page breaks.
Use OpenOffice.org 1.1 tab stop formatting
Specifies how text is aligned at tab stops beyond the right margin and how decimal tab stops and tab stops near line breaks are treated. If this check box is not selected, tab stops are treated the same as in other Office applications.
IN text documents, created in your current version of Writer, uses the new tab stop handling by default. In text documents created in versions of Writer before StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0, the old tab stop handling applies.
Don't add extra space between lines of text
Specifies that extra spacing is not added between lines of text, even if the font used contains the extra spacing attribute.
Text documents created with your current version of Writer use extra indentation by default. Text documents created in versions of Writer prior to StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0 do not use additional indentation.
Use OpenOffice.org 1.1 line spacing
If this option is disabled, it will apply new process to format lines of text with proportional line spacing. When enabled, the previous method of formatting lines of text with proportional line spacing will be applied.
In text documents created in your current version of Writer and in documents latest versions Microsoft Word, a new process is used. Text documents created in versions of Writer prior to StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0 use the previous process.
Add spacing for paragraphs and tables at the bottom of table cells
Specifies that a bottom spacing is added to a paragraph, even if it is the last paragraph in a table cell.
If this option is disabled, table cells will be formatted as in versions of Writer prior to StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0. If this option is enabled, a different way of formatting table cells will be applied. This option is enabled by default for new documents created in LibreOffice %PRODUCTVERSION and for documents imported from Microsoft format Word.
Use OpenOffice.org 1.1 object positioning
Specifies how the position of loose objects anchored to a character or paragraph is calculated relative to the top and bottom spacing of the paragraph.
If this option is enabled, loose objects are laid out as in versions of Writer prior to StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0. When this option is turned off, loose objects are placed using a different method, similar to the method used in Microsoft Word.
This option will be disabled for new documents. For Writer documents created in more than earlier versions than LibreOffice %PRODUCTVERSION, this option is enabled.
Use OpenOffice.org 1.1 text wrapping around objects
MS Word and Writer have different approaches to wrapping text around floating screen objects. Floating display objects are Writer frames and drawing objects, as well as text box objects, " graphic object", "frame", "drawing", etc. in MS Word.
In MS Word and current versions Writer page header/footer content and footnote/footer content do not wrap around loose display objects. Content text field wraps around loose screen objects anchored to header pages.
In versions of Writer prior to StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0, the opposite is true.
If this option is disabled, which is the default setting, new method text wrapping. If this option is enabled, it will apply old method text wrapping.
Consider the wrap style when determining the position of objects
Specifies work complex process Determine the position of loose objects anchored to a character or paragraph. Versions of Writer prior to StarOffice 8 or OpenOffice.org 2.0 used an iterative process, while current versions use a direct process similar to the process in Microsoft Word.
If this option is disabled, LibreOffice's old iterative object placement process is used. When enabled, the new direct process is used, ensuring compatibility with Microsoft documents Word.
Increase word spacing for justified paragraphs when manually inserting new lines
If this option is active, Writer adds empty space between words in lines that end with Shift+Enter, in justified paragraphs. If the option is disabled, word spacing to align lines in width is not performed.
This setting is the default for .odt text documents. It is saved and loaded with the document in the text document .odt format. This setting is not retained in older .sxw text documents, so it is disabled for .sxw text documents.
Default
Click to use current parameters on this tab as the default settings for subsequent sessions with LibreOffice.
The factory default settings are as follows. The following options are enabled and all others are disabled.
- Add spacing between paragraphs and tables (for current document)
- Add spacing between paragraphs and tables. at the beginning of the page (for the current document)
- Add spacing for paragraphs and tables at the bottom of table cells
- Increase word spacing for justified paragraphs when manually inserting new lines
Hello, reader! Have you ever switched your office/school/institute/friends to Linux? Do you remember how long and persistently you proved that this is the path of good and light? Do you remember the first problem, because of which you had to return everything back? Let me guess. The first document created in LibreOffice or OpenOffice refused to open correctly in MS Office? Tears, snot and pleas to leave Linux led to nothing? Wipe your nose, reader! Below the cut is how to make connections between LibreOffice 3.5 and MS Office 2010 so that everything opens the same everywhere.
The root of all evil
I, if not right away, very quickly reached the point that working with well-structured documents allows you to avoid many problems with their use in the future. All those heaps of spaces to move text to the right and using the Bold button instead of using styles was foreign to me. Unlike many of my colleagues, I spent more time preparing the structure of the document than on its content, but all my documents were neat and a pleasure to change.When that wonderful day came when I switched from MS Office to LibreOffice, I noticed that the contents of many of my documents remained intact and neatly formatted. Even then, I knew that documents should be distorted and broken during transition, but this only applied to some of my documents (usually those with vector graphics inside). My inner programmer demanded that I explore this successful experience. It turned out that if you follow some rules when formatting a document, it will be completely portable between LibreOffice and MS Office.
Unit tests
To find out exactly which formatting elements “fly off” when transferred, I divided everything into minimal parts and groups. So, first we had to look at formatting entire pages, then paragraphs, then letters, tables, lists, images, and so on. There were 10 groups in total, namely:- Pages
- Headers and footers
- Columns
- Paragraphs
- Symbols
- Lists
- Images
- Tables
- Review
Testing took place as follows. For each component, a separate file in LibreOffice 3.5, in which this component is set to some known value. For example, to test page formats, four files were created with the values of this component: A6, A5, A4, A3 - for testing width, one file with a width value of 10 cm. Each file had unique name- numeric identifier. A testing log was also created - spreadsheet listing all tested components, their identifiers (it is this identifier that is written as the file name) and flags: passed testing or not in LibreOffice and MS Office. Next, each file was opened first in LibreOffice, then transferred to a Windows machine and opened in MS Office. All changes in component values were studied and recorded.
Looking ahead
The results turned out to be extremely interesting. It turns out that both of these editors get along very well. With their help, you can create not only simple documents with spaces, but also entire agreements with chapter numbering and automatic numbering clauses of the agreement. I also learned that if you set the value of a specific component in LibreOffice, save the document in doc, exit and open the document again, this value can be reset to zero. This means LibreOffice is disabling this component due to the fact that it is not implemented in MS Office! So, for example, if you set the text to be overlined and save the document as a doc, then when you reopen it in LibreOffice, this formatting will simply be reset. This is because MS Office does not have text overlining.A little bit about everything
Now briefly about each group and design rules to ensure portability.Pages
All main page formats (A6-3) are perfectly portable between editors, but since in MS Office formats A6 and A5 are not defined, then the page simply has a “Special Size” corresponding to these formats.Width, height and orientation are transferred just as well as the page margins, which cannot be said about the colored background, and this is not at all due to MS Office (it perfectly displays the page background color selected in LibreOffice), oddly enough, it is the first one that refuses to paint over page in the right color!
If you want to draw page borders, then there will be no problems with portability, but you won’t be able to use indents; it’s better to replace them with margins.
You need to mix book and landscape orientation? Go for it! Use a page break for this and you won't have any portability problems!
Headers and footers
Nothing complicated if you follow four simple rules:- Always include headers and footers in your document, even if they are empty
- The height should always be set to 0.10 cm, use the Spacing component to set the height of the footer
- Real page margin height = margins + footer spacing + 0.10 cm
- Don't use borders or margins in headers and footers
Columns
There are no problems with this; any number of columns, their width and the spacing between them can be transferred without problems.Paragraphs
Padding, spacing, margins, colors, alignment and borders are transferable, vertical alignment- no (line alignment relative to the central axis of the sentence), because MS Office does not have it.Symbols
As far as font formatting goes, overlining doesn’t work and… nothing else! Everything else is well tolerated.Lists
The most difficult thing. It is extremely important here correct structure and the easiest way to achieve it is in LibreOffice. Bulleted and numbered lists are transferred normally, the problem arises with the list levels, they are simply reset when transferred. The solution is to use the commands One level down and One level up in LibreOffice, as well as correct use Markers and numbering windows. A little “white magic” and the lists are transferred perfectly.Images
There are absolutely no difficulties, it is only important to remember that binding is only possible To a symbol or As a symbol, and it is better to leave one empty line in front of the image (otherwise they will swap places). I strongly advise against using built-in vector editors, better pictures ;)Tables
No problems at all, they are easily tolerated.Review
Notes, deleting text and adding text work fine when transferring. Also, both editors normally handle the Cancel and Accept mechanisms of changes.Fields
I was able to create a Date field in a specific format, and that was it.Time to say good-bye
Finally, about the most important thing. Good structure document is the key to its portability! And some important tips:- Do not use spaces or tabs to move text to the edge; for these purposes there are indents, alignment, or, as a last resort, tables
- Use styles everywhere and always, this will allow you to change the document in the future in a couple of clicks
- Don't let others mess with your document and change it. Ask to mark changes and change the document yourself, this will save the structure of the document from sweaty hands
- Try LibreOffice. Before this test, I was convinced that the only one really worthwhile solution MS (may the Linux gods save me from holivar) is their office, and boy was I surprised that LibreOffice has more formatting components. If you don't believe me, try it yourself!
- Do not use complex document generation. You need a colorful booklet - forget about portability. Editors just don't understand vector graphics each other
- Prepare all documents and check them for different editors in advance, it will save you nerves in the future
- PDF displays perfectly in any editor; LibreOffice and MS Office can export a document to this format. Do you get the hint?
