The point of separation between Word and Writer (excluding the cost) lies in the editing and design options.

In fact, with the right sidebar dedicated to style, format, and a document directory, I find the Libre design easier to use than Words. Libre Office organizes menus differently from Word’s ribbon, but the content is all still there. In fact, I found fewer ‘pauses’ while using Libre Writer versus Word those moments when the text would stop appearing, and seconds later a dozen characters will burst onto the screen. Libre Writer’s focus mode is good for distraction-free writing.

For drafting your work, Libre Writer is just as good as Word. You can write and do some basic page formatting using Styles, just like MS Word uses. Like Word, Libre Office’s Writer is a very standard word processor with all the expected functions and tools.

Aside from providing the same functions as a complete Office suite, Libre Office beats out Microsoft in a few important ways for authors.Īnd it’s entirely free and open source! Writing with Libre Office They call it ‘Writer’ but the tool is closer to a true page layout program. As an open-source replacement for the entire Microsoft Office suite, Libre Office offers a terrific word processor.

Open source word processing