Anyone know of a good 'free' word processor system? I have been using Apache, which I was happy with - then the spell check went haywire and I can't fix it. Thank you.
OpenOffice and LibreOffice are the two most popular. OO used to be better, but I hear that LO is the better choice now. I have LO at home and it works fine, including compatibility with MS Word. There's also Google docs. The advantage of that is your work is saved automatically and available on any computer with an internet connection. But I've found it doesn't cope well with large documents, and the comments feature can be ropey.
OpenOffice is now called Apache OpenOffice and it is basically the same as Libre Office. As these are for general office use and there are free softwares specifically designed for writers I recommend to have a look at the thread about writing programs: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/is-there-a-best-writing-program.17547/
I had OpenOffice for a few years when it all of the sudden stopped working properly. This might've been an problem with just the Swedish-patch, or whatever, but I don't really trust that program anymore. I reinstalled it and everything - but it still wouldn't correct in Swedish even though everything seemed to be in order. If I remember correctly there is something with the word count as well, isn't there? Can't remember but I don't think it has that nice little word/letter count like Word and LibreOffice has in the bottom, but that you have to go into a menu to find it. Not entirely sure, though. I have LibreOffice now and hadn't had any problem with it, so it would be my suggestion, even if OpenOffice supports your language.
Originally, there was OpenOffice.org. It belonged to Oracle, who decided to no longer support it. They donated it to the Apache Foundation. That involved some legal and licensing changes that a lot of the developers did not agree with. Which meant it forked, and two packages emerged. Most of the developers went to LibreOffice, and Apache maintains its own version under the name Apache OpenOffice. LibreOffice is maintained by the German based Document Foundation. For all intents and purposes, the most direct successor of OpenOffice.org is LibreOffice. It maintains the same open source licensing, has most of the same developers working on it, they're quite active, and it's the fork included in most Linux distributions. Rumor has it that Apache has trouble keeping enough developers to properly maintain their fork, but it appears to be better than at the beginning of the year. I recommend LibreOffice, but since both are free, you can try. Files should be completely transferrable between them. There may be some alternatives, depending on what you want to do, and which operating system you're using. If you would tell us, we could give recommendations. A full blown Word-like WYSIWYG word processor may not be the ideal tool, but a lot of people do not know anything else.
Thank you all for your helpful responses, I will try LibreOffice. I just have to wait until I get hold of my 14yrs old grandson to set it up for me. I haven't been around on the forums for some time now, it's good to see that you are all still the great bunch of helpful people I remember.
I'm a little late with this, but there is a wiki page that has a list of word processors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_word_processors - just check to see if they suit your operating system. I prefer LO, despite its archaic and clunky UI. It has a lot of features.
I now have Libre Office, which to a point I am happy with. So far the only downfall is; I am working on a 150 page manuscript and every time I reopen my file it has gone back to the beginning of the manuscript and then I have to start fishing though it to find where I was last working on it. Any Ideas on how to remedy this problem? Thanks in anticipation.
A quick google tells me that you need to fill out personal data under Tools::Options::User data (I hope these are the correct menu names for the Windows version. I'm on a Mac, and the tools/preferences menu entries are different). Basic data (like just "First/last name") should be enough. Then it should reopen at the last position. For an existing file, you have to make sure that under File:: Properties::General the option "Apply User Data" is checked. I guess that you need to re-save and re-open the file after you done all that to take effect. There's also a standard keyboard shortcut "Shift-F5", named "Restore Editing View", that should return you to the last known position. Come to think of it, you might want to try that first before you do anything else, because it is easy and works if you have a file from a different user. If it still not works, you might want to change the file format under Tools::Options::Load/Save General. There's a field that should be "1.2 (Extended)". Change that to "1.2", and re-save the file. I have not tried any of that, just what I read from other places. Just so you know. ETA: Since I have just installed version 6.0.0, and had to do some testing anyways, I have entered an author name in the personal field, and it does in fact reopen at the last editing position. Also, shift-F5 does work as expected. Since it is not my standard word processor, everything else was at 'factory' setting, so I presume it should work with your installation as well. I did not need to change the file format – I'm still on "1.2 (Extended)". Just for completeness, version 6.0.0 exhibited some bugs, crashed on me a few times and got stuck in recovering the open files for some time. So if you NEED it to work, for the time being I recommend to stay with the more stable 5.4 version (IIRC, the current one is 5.4.4). As far as I could see, there were no obvious significant functional changes between the two versions. There are some cosmetic improvements, and probably changes under the hood that I have not yet noticed.
LibreOffice is pretty good. They just released version 6.0. If you don’t have that one it is worth upgrading. Lately, I’ve heard from many people that WPS office is even better. Looks and functions more like Word. Also, I think it functions fully without Java, which is better than LO.
I should add: I tried Only Office recently and I liked that one quite a bit, and it seems less bloated than some of the other options. Also getting good reviews. And there is always Google Docs, which has offline compatibility.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Only Office seems to be commercial. Quite high subscription if you want a downloadable version... I am not fond of cloud-only services, or subscriptions... WPS Office appears to be free for personal use – with download. It's a Chinese product, and on the user interface an almost exact clone of Microsoft Office. Which to me is a downturn – I don't think MS Office is actually very good, in particular in the user interface. As long as one can deal with difference, one should check out software that actually do things better... Not that there're a lot (actually almost none) full-fledged WYSIWYG word processors on Windows (or Linux) that are NOT clones of Word... LibreOffice started out as a MS Office clone, but is slowly coming into its own. Its Writer is still not very good in the style sheet editing/managing department, but otherwise, it's getting there. My first impression of LibreOffice 6.0.0 was a bit premature, regarding no obvious new functionality. I tried a bit more, and was pleasantly surprised that it now can import Apple Pages files in a usable manner. Version 5.4 imported my test file with (sometimes multiple) page breaks between each paragraph. There were other problems as well, so it would be a lot of work to get a version that's actually looking proper. Version 6.0.0 (Linux version) OTOH imported the same file quite well. I had to re-set the margins (and the fonts, but when you go from one OS to another, that's expected), though, but this was just a simple "mark all" and select a standard preset in the sidebar. As far as I know, it's the first non-Apple program that can deal with Pages files in a usable way. Not even the 3rd party word processors for macOS actually bother with doing that (after all, if you're on macOS, you can get Pages for free, so why bother?).
When I used Only Office it was free. No subscription needed. I’m not sure if that has changed. I’ll find out.
Looks like it is free for personal use. Hard to navigate from phone. I have everything tied to the cloud and like it that way. I do like OO and LO but both could be streamlined and ditching Java would be great. They also have problems with very long documents, in my experience, but maybe LO 6.0 addresses that. I do like Pages. But I use Scrivener as well (not free, except for Linux). And I have an Office 365 subscription through work. ETA: I use Word at work and I’m now much faster with the ribbon interface. I know LO is testing that as an option. Now sure if it is in the new version. I just downloaded the Linux version yesterday. I want to check out the improved Word compatibility.
You are correct. I went through the web page a bit more, and there's a free downloadable offering. However, the web page steers one towards the subscriptions. Feels iffy. Plus, the screen shots really look like MS Office, and I already said that this not something I like. It feels like a rip-off con man site. I'm not saying it is, but it gives me bad vibes. Like that they're out for making a quick buck, and not providing good product long-term. WPS Office has some of those vibes as well, except not quite as bad. I do not know how long both of them have been around. Currently, I would wait and see how they develop over time. LibreOffice is a proper non-commercial open source project that really does not offer anything non-free (except begging for donations) with a long stable development history, proven to be trustworthy, so despite all of its shortcomings*, I continue to recommend it to people if they look for an MS Office alternative. *the shortcomings: - it does not look nice, in particular on a Mac, in direct comparison to other Mac software (in part, that's because they try to keep all versions on different OS aligned). For instance, it doesn't use nice font smoothing, and if you fiddle with the zoom, it changes the text kerning for some settings – words appear ripped apart. That's mostly cosmetic, but something that bothers me. - it still has UI problems, like the complex, difficult to learn, and difficult to handle style sheet management in the Writer; - it's still buggy (the Mac version gets unresponsive quite frequently. You just have to wait, and it will recover, but it's often locking up for a looooong time).
I don’t think either Only Office or WPS are con sites. WPS has been around quite some time (since 1989, way before OO and LO; previously branded as KingSoft office). Both are favorably reviewed by trustworthy tech sites. They have enterprise pricing models. The clone of Word is a marketing decision. I’ve tried to get our firm to move from Office to a free solution. There are reasons we can’t, but if we ever did, the more something looks and functions like Word and other office products the more likely we would adopt it. The firm will never go for something completely different. It’s a selling point if you want organizations using Word to switch over. If you don’t like Word you won’t like them, of course. I stay away from Word for the most part, except for work documents. I use LO in Linux. Or Google docs.
WPS is like the generic version of MS Word, and offers pretty much the exact same features and hotkeys. Though you can purchase a better package for WPS if you need more bells and whistles, it is a good word processor that I have been using to write my first 2 books with. In a way I enjoy using it over Word, and it has done an outstanding job for what it offers.
I knew KingSoft. Didn't know they're behind WPS. Huh. I know they're not con sites. But the OnlyOffice site is designed like one, or one whose goal it is to steer you towards the most heavily priced item whether you want it or not. Seems fitting, since Microsoft does the same. It's a matter of trust. And for me as a freelancer/private user with no need for 'collaborative tools' everything they write on their start page rubs me exactly the wrong way.
Wel, I don’t use them either. If they can break into enterprise more power to them I guess. I started using Ulysses until they switched to a sub model. That’s a nice, lean, simple program for MacOS.
