this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
5 points (54.5% liked)

Linux

47337 readers
1401 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml
nooter692@lemmy.ml
MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml
cypherpunks@lemmy.ml
cyclohexane@lemmy.ml
d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz
5
Micro***t Word on Linux and alternatives (lemm.ee)
submitted 9 months ago by GregorTacTac@lemm.ee to c/linux@lemmy.ml
48 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Are there good Microsoft word alternatives that support Linux (I don't mind closed source)? Libreoffice is meh and only office is quite good, but are there any better ones? Also, is there a way to install word on Linux using wine? When I do that my laptop just overheats and loses internet connection.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 31 points 9 months ago (4 children)

What is it with Microsoft Word that makes you prefer it to others?

  • LibreOffice and OnlyOffice are pretty much the only free software office suites that really hold a candle to Microsoft Office's functionality. LibreOffice defaults to the Toolbar interface but changing it to Tabbed will make it look like Microsoft Office. It takes some getting used to and isn't as smooth but once you start using it for a few weeks you will get used to it.
  • WPS Office is a Microsoft Office clone that works fine on Linux. It's a pretty common Microsoft Office substitute and is nearly identical in most aspects of its interface. It's made by Kingsoft, a Chinese company. The software is closed-source and there is a free version that contains advertisements.
  • Microsoft Office Online is available through your browser free of charge at portal.office.com. It contains Word, PowerPoint, and Excel but only has basic functionalities. Collaborative editing is still supported on it which you might care about.
  • Microsoft Office can be installed using WINE but in my experience, it is usually not stable enough for daily use. I would not bother with it. You should not install things manually using WINE. It's highly recommended that you use some wrapper software like Bottles, PlayOnLinux, or Lutris (common for games).
[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Not op, but what drives me back to word (and other ms office like pp and publisher and win is:

90%: Far Superior spell and grammar and style check

10%:

Easy integration of a good tts to read my own texts to me as well as lecture for university.

Easy citavi integration

Auto complete sentences (at least in English)

superior layout presets (on click and OK and modern enough style to submit without even thinking about it) (Far superior for publisher)

[–] PrimalHero@kbin.social 5 points 9 months ago

As someone with dyslexia, the superior spell and grammar check is what I miss most in libreOffice. I usually have to use an external tool for spell check like grammarly.

[–] WhiteHotaru@feddit.de 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Have you tried languagetool? There is an integration for Libre Office, Obsidian, MS Word and others. It offers spell checking, rephrasing and is superior to the build in checker in my experience. You could compare it to DeepL versus Azure Translate.

[–] Jean_le_Flambeur@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 9 months ago

This looks quite interesting tbh. I will habe a look, thanks for suggesting

[–] JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

For libreoffice, does it support change tracking and digitally signed documents with digital signature + photo of physical signature?

[–] mupan@digitalcourage.social 1 points 9 months ago

@JustEnoughDucks @NateNate60 I'm sure about the first two features: Yes. I don't know about a picture of your manual signature, unless you talk about simply embedding it in a document: That's for sure possible.

[–] Kyyrypyy@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Where doed WPS office source it's ads? I mean, if you run it in a (more or less) sandbox (well, you might want to have access to the files you're editing), and without access to internet, how does the ad interface behave?

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

I actually don't remember seeing adverts on the Linux version when I tried it out a few years ago. Maybe that's changed, or maybe they just don't run adverts on the Linux version.

Disabling WPS's Internet access will remove the advertisements. Strangely enough, the WPS blog gives instructions on how to do this in Windows.

[–] semperverus@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

For me, I use the office suite at work, and one of the simplest things that makes me wish i could use it at home is that damn search bar in the top.

After that, I appreciate that libreoffice introduced the ribbon UI. I grew up with word 2003, so i know what it was like, but after they introduced the ribbon ui, it immediately felt more easy to use. Especially the style picker.