LibreOffice Basics

ODF was created as an alternative: The data was structured in an open and standardized way, built on XML, so that files saved in OpenOffice could easily be opened and understood by other programs as well. Users who save their work in ODF format can guarantee that they’ll be able to read the files in the future, by other tools, regardless of whatever happens to OpenOffice.org. (Years later, Microsoft created its own pseudo-standard called “OOXML,” and LibreOffice supports it too, while recent releases of MS Office support ODF.)

Over the following years, Sun and the OpenOffice.org community worked on new releases of the software, but there was ongoing concern that a single large company had a lot of sway in the project. Some ideas were brought up by the community, such as an independent foundation to oversee OpenOffice.org development, but nothing came of it.

Until 2009, that is. That’s when Sun was purchased by Oracle, a vendor of database software and other enterprise tools. There was immediate concern amongst the OpenOffice.org community, especially volunteers who’d contributed a lot to the project: What happens now? Will Oracle care about OpenOffice.org? Is Oracle a friend of free and open source software?

There was much discussion at the time, and then a bunch of community members made a big decision in 2010: It was finally time for a completely independent, non-profit entity to provide a future for the office suite. This entity was known as The Document Foundation (TDF), and the software was called LibreOffice.

LibreOffice began as a “fork” of the OpenOffice.org project. (Because OpenOffice.org was open source, anyone could take the source code and use it to start another project.) The vast majority of community members in OpenOffice.org joined the LibreOffice project straight away. So LibreOffice was the future of OpenOffice.org – it was built from the same source code, but with a new foundation behind it, a new brand, and new hopes for the future. OpenOffice.org continued as a much smaller project for a few years, but with relatively few updates compared to the rapidly-growing LibreOffice.

Since 2010, LibreOffice has gone from strength-to-strength: today, there are major deployments of the suite around the world, such as 500,000 installations in the French government. TDF estimates upwards of 100 million users of LibreOffice, and hundreds of members of the community meet every year for conferences, to work on new features and discuss the future of the software. Companies have emerged to provide support and additional features for the suite. And now you have a magazine about it, in your very hands!

So Let’s Install It!

You can download the full version of LibreOffice at any time from the LibreOffice website. The software is available for the three major desktop operating systems – Windows, macOS and Linux, although the themes and colors might vary depending on your system. The first step is to check out the system requirements:

• Windows: Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 with KB3063858 update, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 through 2022,  Windows 10, or 11
• Apple macOS (aka macOS X): macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or higher
• Linux: Linux kernel 3.10 or higher For smooth use, you’ll need at least 2GB of free hard drive space and 1GB of RAM – so any PC built in the last few years should be more than capable. For certain features, such as Base, Java is required, but you can use the suite without Java if you prefer.

Installing on Windows

1. Get the .msi installation file appropriate for your system (file name ending in Win_x64.msi for 64-bit systems or Win_x86.msi for 32-bit systems). Save the file onto your desktop, and then double-click it to start the installation process.
2. The installer wizard will appear, and you can simply keep clicking Next to accept the default options, which are perfectly fine for everyday use. (If a User Account Control dialog appears during the process, click Yes to continue the installation.)
3. When the installation is complete, click Finish, and you can now delete the .msi file from your desktop. Your shiny new LibreOffice installation is available in your program menu!

If you need any help, check out the installation instructions on the website, or if you get stuck, try asking the LibreOffice support community. When posting a message, remember to include lots of detail (LibreOffice version, operating system version, and any error messages you see).

macOS

LibreOffice for macOS is provided in .dmg format, which is a virtual disk. Save the .dmg file to your desktop and double-click it to open. You’ll see a window like the one in Figure 8 – click and drag the LibreOffice icon into your Applications folder. (You may be required to enter your administrator password.) You can then launch the new software directly from the Applications folder (or drag the icon into your dock for easy access). You can also eject and delete the .dmg file.