Libre Office, to me, is the best Linux office suite and available in two flavors. Fresh and Still. Fresh features the latest options which is why I am using it and have done so for a long time.
In my line of work, I need to create a lot of documentation which I then export as a PDF or other format depending for which purpose the document was created for. Besides the writer component, there is also Calc which is a powerful spreadsheet application similar to Microsoft Excel. Libre Office has a few more components but I usually use different solutions to draw or create a database.
If you followed my instructions then Libre Office is already installed on your system. In case you missed it, then fire up Add/Remove Software to install it. Ether way, we need to add a few packages in order for Libre Office Fresh to spell correctly.
English-US
Libre Office is cabaple of functioning in every language environment. If English is not your native language then search for the correct package by using hunspell-de for German, hunspell-fr for French and so on. I need to configure it for US English and therefore, the following packages must be added:
- hunspell-US
- hyphen-en
- mythes-en
- libmythes
More experienced users can install all four at once via the command line but if you read this article then it’s best to stick to the GUI method which produces the same results.
Once all four packages are installed, load Libre Office and navigate to:
Tools > Options > Language Settings > Writing Aids
Note that the above destinations can all be reached via mouse clicks. See the image below and make sure you are at the same window.
Available language modules
Without installing the missing modules, the “Available languages modules” field (top three packages) would be empty. After installing, it should look exactly as the image above. There should be check mark next to:
- Hunspell SpellChecker
- Libhyphen Hypenator
- MyThes Thesaurus
If those three things are checked, then Libre Office is ready to work.
Changing the icon theme
I prefer to make my Linux istalls look high-end like Apple does with their operating system. To remove the default icon set, I go to:
Tools > Options > View
And pick “Sifr (dark) from the Icon Style drop-down.
Sifr is the name of my favorite Libre Office theme and the dark option looks better on a dark theme.
Apply
To make the selection final, I click on Apply and then I am ready to work.
What I do with Libre Office
In order to get good with any software, one must spend time using it. To inspire those who open Libre Office and close it quickly I will list a few things that I use Libre Office for.
Writer
Writer is my go-to software for authoring eBooks. I also use Writer to produce in-house documentation for our online music school. Information is key for every company and having a well-groomed knowledge base is extremely valuable.
Libre Office Calc
All of our accounting is done with Libre Office Calc. Once you know the power of spread sheets, you can’t work without them. In addition, FreeCAD can use data from a spreadsheet to apply dimensions. Using it this way is a game changer.
Conclusion
Libre Office has been around for a long time and it shows. Today, Libre Office is a robust office suite that is capable of handling all day-to-day tasks startups are confronted with.
I hope that you will appreciate all of the hard work which goes into developing Libre Office. Their website is a great source of additional information, plugins and more.
Thank you for reading. Please post if you have a question or continue on to the next chapter