LibreOffice Review: Free Suite to Replace Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Many millions of users worldwide, in one way or another, perform daily office-type work with their equipment . And we not only talk about professional jobs, but also at home. For this we can use many alternatives, both individual and suites, where LibreOffice is one of the best known.

It is true that in this sector and for many years, the proposal presented by the software giant, Microsoft with its Office , has taken a lot. But of course, unlike the one here we are going to show you, Office is paid, while LibreOffice is free. But that does not mean that it is worse, or better, everything depends on the needs and customs of each. That is why we are going to talk about everything that this suite is capable of offering.

libreOffice

Free applications that make up LibreOffice

As we say, the suite as such is free to use, so we will not have to pay a euro, which many will appreciate, for sure. Also, keep in mind that, as with the Microsoft alternative, LibreOffice is made up of several independent applications. In this particular case we will find a total of six applications, each of them for a particular type of use. It is also important to know that these are compatible with almost all of the office formats, including those used by Office.

Math

In this way we first find Math , a program focused on the edition of mathematical formulas. For this we can make use of this mathematical solution when creating our own text documents, as well as presentations or spreadsheets. Thus, in these programs of the same suite , we will have the possibility of inserting mathematical formulas from here. In this way we manage to integrate advanced and scientific formulas in our personal documents with a perfect and well-defined format.

Math LibreOffice

How could it be otherwise, they can work with common elements in this type of uses such as fractions, functions, matrices, indexes and subscripts, integrals or equations, among others.

Draw

On the other hand we find the application that is part of LibreOffice, Draw . In this case we refer to a solution that focuses mainly on the world of design. In this way we will find a user interface that allows us to create elements such as sketches, graphics or custom diagrams. At the same time this is an application that has been designed so that we can generate our own technical drawings or posters, etc.

Draw

How could it be otherwise, this program offers many functions and dedicated objects, including some in 3D . All this together with its intuitive and functional user interface, make it a very useful solution for most users. And that’s not all, since Draw also has the necessary tools to create flowcharts of all kinds, as well as organizational charts.

Base

And of course, as in any office suite that boasts of being one, a powerful database manager could not be missing here. Specifically here we refer to LibreOffice Base , a program that offers us everything necessary to create, edit and work with our personal databases. For all this, it offers us a user interface specially dedicated to this type of work that has not stopped evolving over time.

Due to all this, this is a software focused on the use of databases with all the necessary functions for the usual ones of this type of programs. Thus, it could be said that it is a valid program for advanced users, as well as for newbies in these areas, even for companies.

Bases de datos LibreOffice

Keep in mind that it makes available to all native drivers of some of the most used database engines. Thus, among these we can highlight MySQL , Adabas D, MS Access, JDB, ODBC or PostgreSQL .

Impress

Changing third, as with Microsoft PowerPoint, this office solution also has its own application focused on multimedia presentations. Specifically here we refer to Impress, a software that will be very helpful when designing attractive slide shows.

As expected and as with the aforementioned Microsoft PowerPoint , LibreOffice Impress is a really effective solution when designing presentations. This allows us to use all kinds of multimedia elements that add a plus to them. At the same time it puts at our disposal a large number of design-centered tools that try to make things easier in this regard. Thus, we can make use of our animations and effects projects, images of all kinds, 2D and 3D elements from text, or even create 3D scenes with different objects.

Impress LibreOffice

At the same time, the program offers several ways of viewing and designing our projects, which makes it much more comfortable to work with these. We also refer to an application that could be considered as valid for both end users and professionals. Everything will depend on the patience and effort we put into the projects in the form of presentations that we will create from here.

Writer

As we have mentioned before, when talking about office programs and suites that we use today, the first one that comes to mind in Office. But this is not the only one, but if we take into account that we can use similar alternatives, but free, as is the case at hand. Moreover, if we focus on one of the most common types of use in this regard, word processors, Word is the best known.

However, as is easy to imagine, LibreOffice also has its own word processor, Writer . This is the case of the proposal offered by this free-use suite, in fact it is a powerful text editor that presents some advantages over its most direct competitors. First of all we will say that it is a program that does not cost us a single euro.

Writer

Thus, to be able to use it, it is enough that we download the suite we are talking about here. In addition, it must be taken into account that it puts at our disposal all the necessary functions to create and edit texts of all formats without any problem. Of course almost no one can deny that we are facing one of Microsoft’s great competitors of Word. This is something that is especially evident if we take a look at the many customizable functions that it presents. It is also compatible with all file formats, including DOC and DOCX .

Calc

And finally we will tell you that at the moment we are ready to work with numerical data on a PC, we have a specific program for it. Specifically, we refer to the possibility of using one of the best solutions, using a spreadsheet program.

In the current market in the office sector we have several alternatives in this regard, as is the case of Excel that is integrated into Office, Google Sheets or Calc de LibreOffice. Specifically, in the latter case, which is what interests us in these lines, we find an excellent proposal to deal with all types of numerical data. All this is achieved thanks to a huge set of functions and formulas, together with a more than adequate user interface.

Calc LibreOffice

As these programs have accustomed us, it focuses on cells where we place the numerical data with which we are going to work. Although at first it may seem a somewhat strange interface, over time we will see that it is the best proposal for this data.

How to access LibreOffice applications

When we download and install the office suite, it creates a series of shortcuts in the Windows Start menu so we can use it. These refer specifically to the different applications that we have talked about previously. Therefore we find a call to each of them individually to access directly to the one we need.

LibreOffice interfaz

But with everything and with it, we have a joint and global interface that encompasses them all. This is precisely called LibreOffice, which gives us access to the same applications, but from a single window. The advantage of using this is that we will also have access to the most recent documents , templates , remote files, etc. This includes all the programs that make up the suite, which can be very helpful.

Download the office suite for free

After all that we have told you, if you want to do with this set of office software to install them on the PC, you can do it from the website of The Document Foundation . Thus, by accessing this link , you can download the version for Windows, macOS or Linux, 32 and 64 bits, from LibreOffice.

At the same time we also find links to download the source code of the suite and several of its versions, including the most recent stable. We must also bear in mind that in the installation process, we can choose whether we install everything, or just some of its applications.