Windows Help & Advice - UK (2020-04)

16 |^ |^ April 2020

Get a free office suite

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1

Findextensions

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nearly 400 availableextensionsvia

theExtensionstab.Usethenavigation

toolsontherighttonarrowthelist

bysupportedapplicationortype(such

asmacroordictionary).Clickanentryto

visititsownpage.

2

Review,download

Reviewanyrequirementsand

dependencies(someadd-onsrequire

additionalprogramstobein place),

thenscrolldowntolocatethe

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yourharddriveor– if offeredthe

opportunity– toopenit directly

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3

Install and run

If saved to your drive, open your

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[Ctrl] + [Alt] + [E] to open the Extension

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extension should appear in the list. Click

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should now be accessible as a toolbar

or other element.

one are the days when

the only alternatives to

Microsoft Office cost

money, with no easy way

to move files between

platforms. Free office

suitesareten-a-penny now, but many

arelimitedtojust the core three apps

– word processor, spreadsheet and

presentations tool – and are ad-

supported. None of these restrictions

apply to LibreOffice (www.libreoffice.

org), however.

Not only is LibreOffice ad-free, it offers

replacements for Access (Base) and Visio

(Draw) to provide database and

drawing/flowchart functionality in

additiontoWriter,CalcandImpress,

plusbonustoolsintheformofMath(a

formulaeditor)andCharts,a toolfor

producingpiechartsandthelike.

Gettingstarted

LibreOffice’scomponentscanbe

openedindependently,orthrougha

centralisedlauncher.Thisprovides

convenientaccesstoeachapplicationas

wellasrecentlyopeneddocuments.

Eachapplicationopenswiththeclassic

interfacefamiliartoanyonewhoused

Word 2003 orearlier– if you’dliketo

switchtothenewribbon,chooseView

>UserInterface>Tabbed.TheTabbed

Compactoptionprovidesa cut-down

versionononelineinsteadoftwo.

Fromhere,LibreOfficeworksina

similar– notquiteidentical– wayto

Office. You can open and save in

Office-compatible formats – to make

these the default, go to Tools > Options

> Load/Save > General, and make your

choice from the Always save as menu.

If you can’t find the tool you’re

looking for in LibreOffice itself (there’s

an extensive help menu and online user

guides if you do get lost), then see if an

extension has been written to plug the

functionality gap – the step-by-step

guide reveals how to track down,

download and install them. Take the

time to read the documentation that

comes with each one – extensions take

up residence in lots of different places.

ALSO CONSIDER: If LibreOffice’s user

interface is too primitive for you, and

you only need to replace Word, Excel

and PowerPoint, take a look at

Softmaker FreeOffice (www.freeoffice.

com). It offers the familiar ribbon-like

interface (or classic menus should you

want them) and is compatible with

Office formats too.

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LibreOffice’s

launcher puts

the entire suite at

your disposal

– including recently

opened documents.