LibreOffice – Download A Free Office Suite

LibreOffice is a dynamic and free office suite that is used by thousands of people around the globe. In fact, LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office. LibreOffice is a user-friendly and feature-rich software that helps you enhance your productivity.

LibreOffice is an Open Source, and its users can use Word, PPT, and Excel. The users can also draw using flowcharts, do math with formula editing, and export their work in different formats. If you haven’t used LibreOffice before, you may want to benefit from this comprehensive guide about Office Suite.

Part 1: LibreOffice Review

LibreOffice is an alternative to Microsoft Office or any other Office Suite. It is open source, and the software is good at handling multi platform collaboration. With LibreOffice, you can use all kinds of documents, such as PPT, Excel, and Word.

Here are some pros and cons of LibreOffice:

Part 2: The Application of LibreOffice

The LibreOffice Suite includes the following applications:

• Access (Base)

• Excel (Calc)

• PowerPoint (Impress)

• Word (Writer)

• Math (Formula Editor)

• Diagram Tool (Drawing)

The users can get the following features with these apps:

• Use the computer to access files/ online resources, such as over SSH/ Google Drive/ FTP/ OneDrive.

• Use a converter to change the existing formats into newer formats.

• Customize how programs are viewed.

• Maximize their working space.

• Access a built-in thesaurus that is ideal for different languages.

• Expand the program’s features by installing extensions.

Part 3: How to Download LibreOffice for Free

As previously mentioned, LibreOffice is a free and open-source Office Suite that is essentially a free version of MS Office and supports documents, PPTs, diagrams, mathematical formulas, and spreadsheets.

If you want to download LibreOffice on Windows, you will want to follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Use your web browser to visit the website of LibreOffice.

Step 2: Press on the “Download Now” button.  

Step 3: Select your operating system. Click on “Download.”

Step 4: After completing the download, you will want to go to your system downloads and check for the executable file. Run the file.

Step 5: Proceed to click on “Next.”

Step 6: The next screen of the installation setup will take you to two options:

The “Typical” option will integrate the default settings.

The “Custom” option will allow you to change your setting according to your needs.

You will want to choose “Custom” and click “Next.”

Step 7: The subsequent screen will take you to the step of selecting components. Since all components are already marked, you will want to click on “Next.”

Step 8: Choose your desired Office Package and click on “Next.”

Step 9: Select “Install.”

Step 10: Choose “Yes” for the app to make changes to your system.

Step 11: Wait a few minutes for the installation process to complete.

Step 12: Press the “Finish” button after the completion of the installation process.

Step 13: Click on the LibreOffice icon and run the software. It will take you to the following interface:

As you can see from the LibreOffice interface, it includes several applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, PPTs, flow charts, vector graphics, databases, and formula editing. With the applications, you can create text documents that incorporate charts, tables, and graphics.

You can also save your documents in different formats, including MS Word.doc format, HTML, and the standardized ODF (OpenDocument format).

Part 4: What Can I Do On LibreOffice?

LibreOffice is a free Office Suite that supports cross-platform use. If you have never used LibreOffice before, you might be confused about what you can do with LibreOffice.

Here are the main features of LibreOffice:

1. Make Labels without Templates

If you need to do business labels or create other labels, you will want to follow the below-given steps:

Step 1: Choose “File.”

Step 2: Click on “New.”

Step 3: Click on “Labels.”

Step 4: Enter the text for the labels under the tab “Labels.”

Step 5: Select the brand/ type.

Step 6: Proceed to make different adjustments, such as printing height and width.

Step 7: For personal mailing labels, choose “Synchronize Contents.”

Step 8: Select “New Document” to generate the label pages.

Step 9: Proceed to click on “Synchronize Contents” to paste the formatting on all label pages.

2. Making a Fillable PDFs

You can use LibreOffice to make a fillable and printable form for your different uses. LibreOffice allows its users the ability to create active PDFs – using the draw application. To create fillable PDFs, you will want to follow the below-given steps:

Step 1: Select the following options in the given order: “View” → “Toolbars” → “Form Controls.”

Step 2: Insert your input fields.

Step 3: Choose “File” and proceed to select the option of “Export as PDF.”

Step 4: Save the file at your desired destination.

3. Mail Merge

Using LibreOffice, you can do mail merging with the following steps:

Step 1: Select “Wizards” and then choose “Address Data Source.”

Step 2: By selecting “Address Data Source”, you will be choosing the type of address book that you are looking for.

Step 3: Select “Wizard” and proceed to create a new letter.

Step 4: You will see a variety of options in “Letter Wizard.”

Step 5: After adjusting the layout, you can exit the Mail Merge and click on “Finish.”

4. Complete Book Formatting

You can use LibreOffice to produce elegantly designed book with the following steps:

Step 1: Go to “Format” and click on “Page”. It will take you to the “Page Style” window.

Step 2: Use the footer tab to select the page number.

Step 3: Using the “Styles and Formatting” window, you can adjust fonts and other details.

Step 4: Save your file as a template.

Part 5: The Limitation of LibreOffice

While LibreOffice is pretty much similar to MS Office – there are delimitations with the Office Suite:

• It doesn’t allow users to perform more of the obscure things that users can do with MS Office, WPS Office.

• LibreOffice doesn’t offer technical support – irrespective of what package you purchase.

• LibreOffice uses up a lot of memory.

• This Office Suite is a bit slower as compared to MS Office.

• LibreOffice doesn’t have any of the advanced features of MS Office.

• Some LibreOffice features are hard to find and can reduce efficiency.

Part 6: Free Alternative Office Suites

Check out the alternatives given below for a better Office experience:

1. WPS Office

WPS Office is a free Office Suite that allows you to create, edit, and share files, including PPTs, spreadsheets, and documents. You can use WPS Office on your PC, Linux, and android. It works as smoothly as MS Office – yet – without limitations, which makes it a better choice than LibreOffice.

Pros of WPS Office

• Similar to MS Office, WPS Office allows you to collaborate and create files on different platforms, including iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.

• You can use the entire package of WPS without any delimitations.

• You can download and customize anything from the vast library of presentations, spreadsheets, and documents to increase your work efficacy and boost your productivity.

How to Download WPS Office

Step 1: Visit the official website of WPS Office.

Step 2: Click on the “Free Download” button to download the suitable WPS version for your system.

Step 3: Open the notification of “wps_wid.exe” once it is downloaded.

Step 4: Choose your desired language, agree with the privacy policy, and select “Install Now.”

Step 5: Start using WPS Office.

2. OpenOffice

OpenOffice is another alternative to LibreOffice that you can use for free.

This Office Suite is easy to download – even for those with little experience working on computers. OpenOffice includes the features of word processing, spreadsheet software, slideshow creation software, and tool for illustrations.

How to Download OpenOffice

Step 1: Visit the website of OpenOffice and click on the “Download” option.

Step 2: Select the operating system, language, and version.

Step 3: To start the installation process, double-click on “OpenOffice Installer.”

Step 4: Complete the installation process and use OpenOffice on your computer.

Part 7: LibreOffice vs OpenOffice vs WPS Office

FAQS about LibreOffice

Q1: What are the system requirements of the LibreOffice?

A: To install LibreOffice on your Windows 10 or 11, you need a Pentium-compatible PC. It is recommended to have at least 256 MB RAM. Also, make sure that you have 1.5 GB of space on your hard disk. Java might as well be required for Base.

Q2: Can I Use LibreOffice in My Business?

A: Yes – you can use LibreOffice for your home and business use. LibreOffice is open source, and you have to pay any license fees.

WPS Office – A Better Alternative to LibreOffice

We have learned that LibreOffice is a great open-source tool that offers many benefits in terms of document creation, using spreadsheets, editing PDFs, etc. The potential drawback is that it lacks built-in functionality, which isn’t enough for real-time and efficiency.

The delimited functions can affect your productivity, which is where WPS Office comes in. WPS Office is a great alternative to LibreOffice. WPS Office comes with a wide variety of functions, and it is one of the best document-managing software programs that are free to use.

The entire library of free themes and templates allows you to download, edit, and customize the theme of your choice for Word spreadsheets, presentations, and editors.