LibreOffice still thinks it can steal you away from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
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The seventh version of LibreOffice (formerly OpenOffice) has received its latest update, which comes with even more features and styling improvements to lure users away from the likes of Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
LibreOffice 7.5 is also the first version of it free office software to support rotation and zoom on touchscreen devices, which is great news for users of the best touchscreen laptops.
Version 7.5 is available for download for Windows users (Intel/AMD and ARM processors), macOS users (Intel and M-series silicon), and Linux operating system users.
What’s new in LibreOffice 7.5?
The developers behind LibreOffice 7.5 have rolled out “major improvements” to dark mode, but some have moved to the comments section of a community page (opens in new tab) to express dissatisfaction that it cannot be turned off.
The app icons have also been refreshed with new, more colorful designs, which may be a nod to key rivals Microsoft, which recently rebranded from Office 365 to Microsoft 365, and Apple, which has brought its macOS icons more in line with their iOS counterparts in recent years.
Start Center filtering by document type has also been added to make it easier to find a file in a sea of others.
Employees and individuals looking to migrate from Microsoft Office will also be pleased with some updates that have improved interoperability (both ways), though this is unlikely to ever be perfect as LibreOffice criticized Microsoft for using its own proprietary file format that was deprecated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2008.
In terms of global appeal, LibreOffice seems to have nailed that too. This is thanks in part to the hundreds of developers who have made version 7.5 available in 120 different languages - enough to reach 5.4 billion native speakers and 2.3 billion second language speakers.
Full details of the updated features can be found at the LibreOffice website (opens in new tab). Going forward, as individuals seek decentralization and ecosystem containment, and companies look to reduce operating costs, LibreOffice becomes an increasingly attractive proposition.