So I got a new computer and I was out of the loop on office. It looks like they have it as an on line option only, and all docs open in a web browser. And it’s an annual subscription too?! it says maybe they will make a one charge version for mac and windows later this year.
I use Word too, but no other office features.
Is this right?
I have a lot of docs created under MS apps. I wonder if they are squeezing me. Are there any substitutes for Office or is that unrealistic?
Does your computer use Windows 10, or Windows 10S?
You can get an offline version of Office, but it costs money. If you already have Office from your previous computer, you can probably just install that on your new one–though, if you use Win10S, that might be a bit difficult.
If you want a free replacement that runs on your computer (and not online), the general advice is to go with LibreOffice. That’s what I’m using. Its laid out more like old Office, before the Ribbon interface.
Do more - easier, quicker, smarter
LibreOffice is a free and powerful office suite, and a successor to OpenOffice․org (commonly known as OpenOffice). Its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity.
There’s also a free version of Word 2010 and Excel 2010, but installing them is a pain in the butt, so I wouldn’t use them unless you need the Ribbon interface and can’t use the free online versions.
How are you finding Libre? Any deficiencies?
There’s also the Google Docs Editors office suite for free. Microsoft Office 365 costs $70 annually for a single-user license, but also comes with a terabyte of cloud storage. And if you want “regular” Office, Office 2019 is still available, although Office 2021 will be released soon. My company used to be an enterprise customer of Office, and we got access to Office for home very cheaply via the “home use” program. There are also cheap options for students and teachers.
Yes, but the OP seemed to not want online software. If they don’t mind it, then these products are okay, if a bit more limited in what they can do.
@drad_dog I find that LibreOffice is sufficient for my needs. The only time I’ve ever run into a problem is when I had to download an online form that was saved a Word file (instead of a PDF, like they should be). The tables used for the form had some alignment issues I had to fix.
For creating new stuff or opening standard Excel or normal Office documents, it’s worked quite well. I don’t however use anything that contains macros.
Thanks folks. Yeah I bought a 2019 version. Of course they are going to make a new version for 2021…
I can’t even say how much I don’t want to have my work on line or under their control.
I wonder how much we do control. I hope there are still options to convert to other systems. Lets say if they stop supporting my preferred service. Anyone know how proprietary they are about it now?
Big T: Do you think you could convert files from Libre into another system?
In case you missed it, you can still get Office offline.
LibreOffice saves in multiple formats, including MS’s.
And the locally-installed programs work a lot better than the online ones. They don’t just have better functionality, they’re better at such basic stuff as “opening a file”. The online version will open it in layers as it were, doing some very strange things with formats and so forth, looking like it’s already finished opening when it hasn’t; the local versions many take a little time to open massive or online files but when it’s open it’s all there.
I’ve had some problems using LibreOffice to open MSOffice files when these had enormous amounts of formatting. Why do some people like using 12+ fonts in the same file? Why mix columnar text with tables with inline pictures of tables with embedded tables? I have no idea but if you do that kind of thing yeah, LibreOffice may get some of it wonky.
I’m a bit confused here. If you actually bought Microsoft Office 2019 (rather than it just coming on your computer) then you should have an offline version available. It is Microsoft 365 which is online. If you have a full version of 2019, I would just install and use that.
If you don’t have a full version of Office 2019, then I would definitely give LibreOffice a try. It can’t hurt. And you can force it to save as a Microsoft Office file. You’ll just need to find the appropriate format in the Save dialog. It will list both the newer and older Office formats as an option.
The software is free. Try it and see if it works for you.
There’s still some reasons to want local versions of office, but something that should be understood is the default Office subscription service delivers to you a desktop installed version of the application. It isn’t a web app or an “online” app, and it will work if your internet is disconnected. It does by default contains connections to OneDrive and etc for cloud saving. While there are some niche use cases where avoiding the cloud is still necessary, the reality is Microsoft is a trillion+ dollar company. They aren’t looking to control your office documents. Cloud backup is your friend, and you should use it even if you opt for LibreOffice instead. I’ve been doing office work in a computer since the mid-1980s, and I lost far more files in the pre-cloud days than post. In fact with Office linked to OneDrive and doing automatic cloud backups, I have actually never lost a file. There’s been many times when I’ve deliberately chosen a one time purchase over a subscription, and I’m not always a bleeding edge adopter. But honestly there is 0 reason not to embrace cloud computing for desktop office suite work. The only exceptions are so rare that you almost certainly already know if you’re in one of those exceptions.
I disagree completely. Sure, having the files backed up online is a good thing. But I can see little reason for most individuals to pay a subscription fee for this type of software.
Sure, if you actually need the latest Office, then maybe it can actually save money. But most people will be fine with skipping most versions of Office, at least until the one they are using runs out of support. It’s not like there are any “killer features” or new features that are all that relevant.
Heck, save your money and use it to buy a good automatic full backup service, like Backblaze. Then anything you do locally is backed up “in the cloud” automatically, without any extra work on your part. And, for Backblaze at least, it’s a fixed monthly fee per computer, regardless of how much data you get.
Before anyone buys Office or Microsoft 365, they should investigate whether their employer can provide it free or at a discount. Since 2000 I’ve worked for three different companies. One was able to provide employees with a full Office suite for $20, and the other two provide Microsoft 365 free of charge.
Backing up what @BigT says, my 2013 Office for Mac cost me $20 and is still perfectly adequate for my needs.
For one OneDrive is free within limits that would cover thousands upon thousands of Word or Excel files. For two, the OP says he already bought Microsoft licenses, which means he likely has the 1TB option on top of that. He already owns this software.
Also the decision to sign on for Microsoft’s Office SaaS option has little to do with willingness to backup one’s files. OP seemed to believe one option gave Microsoft “control” while the other did not. Neither is really true. Even Office365 the office programs run locally on your computer. The files it creates are no more, or less, controlled by Microsoft than regular office files. If you use the OneDrive backup system (which is free with a Microsoft account) your files are stored on Microsoft’s servers. However there are innumerable cloud storage services, many others of which are also free and can integrate seamlessly with the Microsoft Office suite of programs.
For the work I do at the office, I certainly find Office 365 convenient (they even have a continuous-auto-save option in Word and Excel now, because Office 365 / OneDrive remembers all your drafts behind the scenes anyway).
At home, I’m less comfortable with that. I have several documents I would not want to be shown to family members or to the police – not illegal, but possibly embarrassing or reputation-damaging. That convenient continuous-backup thing for cloud services also means that they keep copies of some things you think you’ve deleted.
There are ways for government agencies to get a copy of this information from Microsoft / Apple / Google / DropBox without my knowledge – they can be legally prevented from telling me. It’s also possible for a cloud account to be hacked.
I do use Google Docs, OneDrive and Dropbox when it’s more convenient, but for most documents I prefer to keep them only on my local hard drive, with regular physical backups to an encrypted removable drive I store somewhere out of the house. Of course, I’m sure there are hackers and government agencies who could still get to these documents on my PC.
I am a power-user of excel, and a regular user of word and PowerPoint. I think the Libre Office suite is great.
If you need to go back and forth between MS office and Libre Office you will find lots of small areas of incompatibility. This is especially noticeable in complex files that use lots of features. (I haven’t run into issues with fonts, but i have with complex graphs.) But if you either mostly create simple files, or you don’t need to coordinate with people using MS Office, (and can work entirely within Libre Office) the odds are excellent that Libre Office will suit your needs.
I use Google drive, too. And it’s incredibly awesome if you want to share a spreadsheet or text file in real time with ten of your friends who all live in different places. You can all simultaneously edit the thing, and it will keep track. But if you just want to do work yourself, one of the other options is better, IMHO. I’ve found Google sheets are more likely to develop weird bugs where numbers don’t calculate through, for instance. And Google docs are more likely to print oddly.
I’m currently using an off-line version of excel and saving my files to Dropbox for most of my personal office-file needs.
I’ve never found a good substitute for Excel. Other spreadsheet programs can do some basic stuff ok but nothing compares to Excel when you really get in to it.
Do you use a lot of macros? If not, give Libre Office a try. It’s an excellent product, and it’s free. If you like it, they appreciate donations.
I mostly use Excel on my personal hardware, for compatibility. But I’ve rarely been unhappy with LibreOffice when I didn’t need to share the file.
I bought it after I began the thread. MS is more interested in me being on line than anything else. It’s worth the money to me to be off line.
I use backblaze for safety. I haven’t ever lost anything critical or even good. I’ve been lucky. I just don’t like my work to be used for any data on line that they are doing and selling.
I have felt this way too.
In later versions I have been frustrated with the layout changes though. I usually work around them instead of benefitting.
One example: You hit a menu or command, and you lose visual of the document and the prior toolbar. It confuses me and totally puts me off my work flow.