BEST UTILITIES By Deanna McElveen We’re certainly living in a different world right now — social-distancing with friends, co-workers, and others; soci
[See the full post at: Freeware Spotlight — Staying at home edition]
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
SIGN IN | Not a member? | REGISTER | PLUS MEMBERSHIP |
-
Freeware Spotlight — Staying at home edition
Home » Forums » Newsletter and Homepage topics » Freeware Spotlight — Staying at home edition
- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 10 months ago.
AuthorTopicTracey Capen
AskWoody MVPViewing 1 reply threadAuthorReplies-
dsliesse
AskWoody PlusI fully agree with the recommendation for LibreOffice. I don’t pay Microsoft for anything except the operating system, since I’ve yet to find any product where theirs is the best.
That said, there are some compatibility issues I think people should be aware of before moving to LibreOffice. I can speak only to the word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, but I’m sure there are issues with the others, as well.
The word processors (Word and Writer) are almost completely compatible. The only real problems I’ve found are when I receive a Word document with formatting that includes line numbering. In Writer the text often shifts left off the page.
The spreadsheets (Excel and Calc) are only slightly less compatible. Mostly I’ve found each has some functions the other doesn’t, and I’ve had no luck creating pivot tables on the same worksheet as the original data in Calc. These are minor issues for me, though.
The presentation applications (Powerpoint and Impress) are another matter. The most basic presentation created on either one can be used in the other, but if there is any audio involved they are completely incompatible. Powerpoint embeds the audio in the file, while Impress just includes a link to the external audio file. The result is that an audio presentation prepared in Impress is silent when viewed in Powerpoint. That made it a real challenge to develop a DVD of my high school reunion that would be viewable by anyone!
Another positive for LibreOffice — real menus, no ribbons!
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
mn–
AskWoody LoungerI can speak only to the word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, but I’m sure there are issues with the others, as well.
Oh yes, LibreOffice Base and Microsoft Access actually have surprisingly little overlap in the more advanced features…
That made it a real challenge to develop a DVD of my high school reunion that would be viewable by anyone!
For “anyone” you need to make it a video DVD anyway. BTDT…
Another positive for LibreOffice — real menus, no ribbons!
Well you can sort of get an almost-ribbon for it if you really want to.
-
Anonymous
InactiveViewing 1 reply thread -

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Get Plus!
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
KB 5022836 will not install
by
Ken
1 hour, 22 minutes ago -
Windows 11 desktop for Windows 10 user
by
John Heaton
3 hours, 29 minutes ago -
GNOME 44 ‘Kuala Lumpur’ released
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 8 minutes ago -
Emotet adopts Microsoft OneNote attachments
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 17 minutes ago -
US : The Spy Law That Big Tech Wants to Limit
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 38 minutes ago -
Ferrari confirms customer data breached following ransomware attack
by
Alex5723
7 hours, 4 minutes ago -
Outlook bookmarks redirects to a different location, Help!
by
captainkrunchy
8 hours, 40 minutes ago -
Should I go to win11?
by
krism
7 hours, 23 minutes ago -
The Framework Laptop – Fully Modular
by
Matador
14 hours, 22 minutes ago -
Windows Snipping Tool is vulnerable to Acropalypse too.
by
Alex5723
8 hours, 15 minutes ago -
Pale Moon updates
by
Alex5723
17 hours, 25 minutes ago -
“Local Security Authority protection is off.” with persistent restart
by
Alex5723
6 hours, 47 minutes ago -
Self-encrypting drive setup on Linux
by
Ascaris
18 hours, 54 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Moments and local account setup
by
Ry
12 hours, 5 minutes ago -
Older versions of Roboform
by
randavis
1 day, 1 hour ago -
Long string filenames
by
WSaltamirano
23 hours, 41 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Build 22621.1483 released to Release Preview
by
joep517
1 day, 3 hours ago -
Will adding RAM to re-purposed PCs trigger activation again?
by
SupremeLaW
5 hours, 20 minutes ago -
Digital Photography Review to close
by
Alex5723
14 hours, 23 minutes ago -
Dish Network Hacked
by
CADesertRat
6 hours, 11 minutes ago -
NewQ 16-in-1 USB C/TB4 Docking Station
by
Alex5723
1 day, 7 hours ago -
Is Office 2007 compromised by Windows 10?
by
WSepzcaw
15 hours, 13 minutes ago -
ZippyShare to shut down at end of month
by
Alex5723
1 day, 11 hours ago -
Odd monitor issue since last update…
by
WSmbotkin
2 days, 2 hours ago -
Powershell
by
wavy
1 day, 2 hours ago -
M1 Pro MacBook Pro running Parallels and Windows 11 on ARM
by
WinOnMac
1 day, 13 hours ago -
Make Google Maps Android full screen (without overlays)
by
opti1
11 hours, 39 minutes ago -
How do I most easily see replies made to posts rather than to the topic?
by
Peobody
4 hours, 23 minutes ago -
Searching for documents on an additional drive
by
Cthru
2 days, 3 hours ago -
Two ADMX templates for MS Edge
by
Simon_Weel
2 days, 9 hours ago
Recent blog posts
- Making Windows 11 on Arm less obnoxious
- The forums, and networking
- TPM 2.0, required by Windows 11, is hackable. Upgrade now?
- How to take advantage of the Photos app in Windows
- The sky is not falling
- Don’t want search?
- Special note for Samsung users (or Pixel users too!)
- Master Patch list as of March 15, 2023
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
Mastodon profile for AskWoody
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2023 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.