- Comparing Against OpenOffice.org (OOo)
- User Interface
- Compatibility with MS Office
- Changing the Default Formats
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Compatibility with MS Office
As mentioned, LibreOffice can create and save into the MS Office formats. But like with OOo, there can be some compatibility issues seen in documents edited between MS Office and LibreOffice, even when using the same format. However, issues usually only arise with documents that have advanced formatting, styles, animations, and other advanced features. You probably won’t notice any problems if you create or work with simple reports, papers, spreadsheets, or presentations.
Lacking Features
We already mentioned LibreOffice doesn't include all of the apps that MS Office provides. For those it does have, most of the core features and functionality of the MS Office apps are provided in the LibreOffice apps. They do lack some things; however, many of these features can be added or imitated with LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org extensions, such as:
- Templates: Consider downloading An OxygenOffice Extra - English Templates or Professional Template Packs I and II. You can also find more on OpenOffice.org Templates or OpenTemplate.org.
- Clip Art and Media: You can download An OxygenOffice Extra – Gallery for some clip art. You could even use Microsoft's media available online. You can browse the media, copy what you want, and simply paste it directly into the OOo applications.
Here are some of the newer features introduced in Office 2007 that aren't yet included with LibreOffice:
- Windows Live and SharePoint Support: The MultiCloud File Manager extension lets you access and save to many different cloud and online storage services, such as Microsoft Live SkyDrive & Mesh, Google Docs, Gmail, DropBox, Box.net, Amazon S3, WebDav, and FTP. There's also OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs for accessing Google Docs, Zoho, and WebDAV servers.
- Blog Posting: Consider the Sun Weblog Publisher extension to publish directly to Roller, WordPress, Generic ATOM, or Generic MetaWeblog.
- SmartArt: Diagram by the OxygenOffice Professional Team lets you create basic organization charts and pyramid, Venn, and cycle diagrams. They aren't as slick and modern-looking and doesn't include as many different charts and diagrams, but can still be very useful.