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Any free alternative to word?

Sonikku

Sonikku

Lifer
My mother wants to edit a new kind of Word document my her old version of word is apparently too old. Are there any free alternative versions of the program that can edit modern DOCX. extensions?
 
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If it weren't for the fact that Microsoft Word is "standard", Libreoffice would probably see a lot more use (perhaps with the exception of excel vs calc). Interface doesn't look fancy, but it's clean and simple, I find it less eye catching actually compared to the "look at me" ribbon that always seems to catch your eye as you walk past the pc. And it opens up my docx files just fine.
 
There are plenty, but the best alternative I used, which come close to MS Word in functionality are Libre Office and Kingsoft Office Free.
 
lucia said:
There are plenty, but the best alternative I used, which come close to MS Word in functionality are Libre Office and Kingsoft Office Free.
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I do actually use Kingsoft Office on my phone when I need to type anything while I'm out and about.
 
The best alternative would be LibreOffice, followed by Kingsoft Office. Also, LibreOffice had a little design update lately, it looks nicer now.
 
LibreOffice. You could also try Abiword. That's word processing only, and not a suite. The gift of dependence isn't a gift(Office Live, Google, Kingsoft...)
 
If you have Windows 7, Office 2010 Starter Edition is still an option. Benefit is you can get help from just about anyone on how to use Microsoft Word.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
No love for AbiWord? Sad.
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I usually uninstall it when it comes preinstalled. I need a spreadsheet more than a word processor, so I go with LibreOffice. Since I'm installing that, I don't have much of a use for Abiword. Same thing with Gnumeric. I infrequently use LibreOffice Draw, but I do use it, so the suite makes more sense than cobbling together different programs.
 
Do be careful with applications like LibreOffice.

If you have modern documents in .docx format produced by Word (heck, even just the .doc format if produced by Word), LibreOffice will not be able to display the formatting correctly. For the most basic of files, this may not present itself, but in every file I've ever worked with, it always botches the paragraph spacing.

If simply reading the documents is an option, that works, but if you need to collaborate on files with Word users, it could be funky.
If you produce the file in LibreOffice or are lucky to receive a file that LibreOffice can tolerate, then Word should be able to handle the document just fine without formatting errors.
 
destrekor said:
Do be careful with applications like LibreOffice.

If you have modern documents in .docx format produced by Word (heck, even just the .doc format if produced by Word), LibreOffice will not be able to display the formatting correctly. For the most basic of files, this may not present itself, but in every file I've ever worked with, it always botches the paragraph spacing.

If simply reading the documents is an option, that works, but if you need to collaborate on files with Word users, it could be funky.
If you produce the file in LibreOffice or are lucky to receive a file that LibreOffice can tolerate, then Word should be able to handle the document just fine without formatting errors.
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Is there any program that gets all Word documents 100% correct? I remember, even MS's own WordPad messes up documents made with Word. Might be better to start from scratch with a different format than MS doc/docx I think.
 
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ninaholic37 said:
Is there any program that gets all Word documents 100% correct? I remember, even MS's own WordPad messes up documents made with Word. Might be better to start from scratch with a different format than doc/docx I think.
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Well WordPad isn't Word, so, that is to be expected. WordPad is really just Notepad with rudimentary processing.

And yeah, I don't think any program can get 100% compatibility with Word documents if they are originate--or are heavily edited--within Word. I suspect there is intentional coding behind this, but ultimately, it is what it is, due in part to the massive adoption of Word and a need for genuine compatibility between users in the business world. For personal use, for things that are only in the home, I definitely recommend going elsewhere. But if you work with documents in any kind of business or otherwise professional sense, it is worth going with Word IMHO.

Compatibility is also why I stick with making PDFs from Word when sending any kind of document that is intended to be static and doesn't need digital signatures or form fill, or otherwise shouldn't be edited directly. If I send a resume or something out to someone, with a PDF I can guarantee they see exactly what I want them to see. It's really a crapshoot if they are using an old version of Word or a free office app.

For those on Windows who aren't excessively focused on "libre" applications, Windows 10 will very much help with this, because there will be versions of the Office Suite applications that are available/bundled free. They aren't as advanced as the paid suite, but they are more than capable for a lot of the ordinary usage scenarios.

Microsoft is beginning to realize that home users should be given advanced capabilities free, the majority of licensing always came from the enterprise environment. Heck, with Microsoft HUP, you can get Office for what, $10 or $20, if your business has a certain type of license with Microsoft. So in essence, some businesses are basically paying for the employees to grab Office Pro for chump change, and it's not a per-sale fee either, businesses pay the same amount for that license regardless if an employee even takes advantage of the home use deal.

I've been getting Office that way for the past two generations, and fully plan to get the next version, though hopefully I can get that for Mac, as I'll be plenty happy keeping Office 2013 on Windows, I don't suspect I'll need further functionality. But Office 2011 for Mac is way behind.
 
ninaholic37 said:
Is there any program that gets all Word documents 100% correct? I remember, even MS's own WordPad messes up documents made with Word. Might be better to start from scratch with a different format than MS doc/docx I think.
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.doc can't be reliably opened with different generations of MS Office. It's a trash format, and should never be used anymore. At first, docx didn't comply with the spec MS railroaded through the standards board, so that shouldn't be used in Office2007.

As near as I can tell, there's no reason for docx to exist aside from an attempt to continue dependence on MS. I use odt for everything internally, and clients get a pdf. If someone needs to edit the document, they'll get a odt, and they can figure out how to use it.
 
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