Has anyone tried Softmaker Office?
So, my university sub for MS apps will be ending soon and I am looking for an alternative for Word/Excel/Powerpoint, basically. Now, there's LibreOffice. Open Source, totally free, around for 20 years. That said, the last time I used Libre Office, I didn't get into it that well. It didn't feel that intuitive. Recently, on Mydealz, I grabbed a free license of Softmaker's Office 2021 (5 devices) and also gave their free software "Free Office" a try. I found it to resemble the workflow/looks from Word a bit more than Libre Office.
What's more, I keep finding posts stating that Softmaker Office (and Free Office) is more compatible with MS Docs than LibreOffice. That is to say, formatting doesn't break, when importing MS Office docs. Softmaker is actually an IT company founded in 1987 in Nuremberg (Germany), so it is a home bias for me, given that they're basically half an hour drive away from where I live. Softmaker is available for Windows, Linux and MacOS equally. They also have a sub version, which I understand is new (NX), but they still also sell the versions you can purchase (or just use their free one Free Office). Anyone tried them long term?
ItsFoss also tested them:
https://itsfoss.com/comparison/libreoffice-vs-freeoffice/
In case anyone wants the Softmaker Office 2021 suite for free (scroll down and you will see it for 0€, add to cart..), there's the deal link: https://shop.softmaker.com/?couponcode=officefree
A cheap upgrade to 2024 is possible, according to MyDealz
Their Free Office Suite (also has Linux support) that receives regular updates is: https://www.freeoffice.com/en/
MyDealz discussion for user feedback: https://www.mydealz.de/share-deal-from-app/2729882
Alternatively, I could opt for a cheap 5€ key (not license) from some store on Idealo and use original MS Office 2024. These keys are bound to one device (probably some volume licensing) and the sellers claim they're legit in Europe due to Erschöpfungslizenz or smth and it's some sort of grey area. Could also just use some kms activation.
Comments
Have you tried OnlyOffice?
It is free to install on a computer, and it doesn't mess up MS-Office-formatted documments (Libre Office is a hit and miss in those terms).
Edit:
Yes, of course I wrote an article, what did you think?!?
https://io.bikegremlin.com/38706/my-application-software-stack/
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Good point, I'll have a look! Who is behind it? I remember that Cryptpad uses it, which I planned to deploy to my Portainer
What do you use?
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Some Latvians - Ascensio System SIA.
So Slavic engineering for the win! LOL
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Haha nice
So you are using it as your daily driver then?
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
For now (enshitification is prevalent and I'm always on my toes - hence the up-to-date article series).
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Another +1 for onlyoffice. Had written about it a while back. We use zoho docs online (Chennai, IN datacenter yay!)
I moved off of Libreoffice last month and now quite happy with onlyoffice desktop app for debian
Blog/user feedback
https://arc.amarvyas.in/notes/a-long-term-users-review-of-onlyoffice/
(pardon the broken images, major revamp of the site under way)
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Let me know when you fix it so I can link to it (and not have anyone cursing me for it LOL).
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Other options to consider (or not)
On a separate note:
@bikegremlin
I made the (voluntary) decision to use ChatGPT for a complete website reboot/restructure, including cdn. Years of baggage. Literal rabbit hole. Painful. Lots of clean up needed.
Slow as molasses. But tremendous learning! Mrs is… not amused. Story for another day.
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Can you link the website? Is that what's called Vibe Coding these days? Maybe I'll give it a try sometime, too.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Not tried that, to be honest I just stick with libre, it's not perfect but under the hood it's pretty capable.
I was flipping between libre and Google but given googles recent trajectory I am degoogling as much as possible/practical.
The do no evil days are dead and gone.
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Another vote for WPS office. It's the easiest one to use if you are used to using Microsoft Office.
Website: https://www.wps.com/
(download the offline installer for faster install)
I have been using since it's the most compatible with microsoft office and files created from here opens there without any format changes.
Here is a screenshot from my computer:
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Most people in Serbia are still using MS Windows and Office.
LibreOffice would break layout compared to the original document too often.
The breakage goes both ways (when opening what others made with MS Office, and when they open what I made in Libre Office).
OnlyOffice fixes that.
It also loads a bit faster, at least on my computers.
Having said all that, LibreOffice is quite good and has been my daily driver for years, until the start of this year, despite its downsides.
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Depending on the job- if I start a new document, it's in LibreOffice, if I inherit one or need to have further collaboration, I have an ancient copy of Office 2013 that works well enough.
My pronouns are like/subscribe.
I miss Corel Office wordperfect. *
er… Staroffice
er… Gobe Productive
Okay.. Hancom Office
—-
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WordPerfect.
My pronouns are like/subscribe.