It Exports as .dox or .odt, amongst others.
Does the conversion save all links, formatting, tables, graphics, etc. properly?
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Why do some continue using Microsoft Office on Mac?
- Thread starter Benz63amg
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It Exports as .dox or .odt, amongst others.
Does the conversion save all links, formatting, tables, graphics, etc. properly?
It doesn't seem as if you have completely corrected your earlier post (Ref: #566). Specifically, “ONLYOFFICE and LibreOffice have common origins” does not seem accurate to me.
Additionally, I question this statement: “...and is not as compatible with MS Office.” On ONLYOFFICE’s website they claim, “Maximum compatibility with MS Office files: ONLYOFFICE Docs uses OOXML as a core format which guarantees the highest compatibility with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files (.docx, .xlsx, and .pptx).” (https://www.onlyoffice.com/best-libreoffice-alternative.aspx)
Something happened to my edit (probably didn't hit the save button!). Done it again.
I got put off when it doesn't correctly interpret date format from Excel.
I am confused. Why do you go through all that long processes to convert to DOCX? LibreOffice has built in export to .DOCX format.
I do not get the ONLYOFFICE angle, at $8 why would I buy their product instead of office ?
Then you have FreeOffice, an office suite for free by SoftMaker?! how do they make money or pay developers to keep it updated? Whats the intention of creating such complex software and give it for free?
It isn’t clear to me where you are getting the $8 figure, as I thought using ONLYOFFICE was free for personal use.
My interest in ONLYOFFICE is twofold:
a) I am trying to assist a friend who has a Mac, and regularly exchanges Word and Excel formated files with others, but does not have Microsoft Office on her computer. I started her out using Pages for her word processing needs, but we have been experimenting with LibreOffice and ONLYOFFICE to see whether those are better options. Our most recent experience with ONLYOFFICE was not particularly good, as several formatting features did not seem to work correctly. Additionally, it seems as if “Undo” often does not undo. I’ll continue to play with ONLYOFFICE, but I had higher hopes for the program.
b) I am contemplating a switch from macOS to Linux, and thus am looking into what office suite I could use if I made the move. Just judging by their website, ONLYOFFICE seems to support Linux well.
EDIT on 1/29/24: I should have mentioned that ONLYOFFICE, unlike LibreOffice, does not allow you to open .pages or .numbers files. However, I haven't been able to get LibreOffice to properly open even the simplest .numbers files. Also note that I haven’t tried any of these programs on Linux, yet.
I’m a mechanical engineer who has been using Macs and Microsoft products since the ‘80s, and not that you asked, but I’ll give you my opinions on office suite software:
At first, I was delighted to use Excel instead of Lotus 1-2-3, and I still mostly like the former. However after some teething pains, I much prefer Numbers for my personal stuff over any other spreadsheet program.
I generally liked Word when I first used it, but soon found other programs I liked better. Now, I prefer Pages for my “heavy” word processing needs. Actually, I use Bean instead of Pages most of the time, because my personal needs are pretty simple.
In summary, if I leave the macOS for Linux, I’ll definitely miss Apple’s office suite.
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SoftMaker is an example of a company that has a free product (FreeOffice) as well as a SoftMaker Office. A free version gets brand awareness and leads to commercial sales. In this case the free version has less functionality. Comparison https://www.softmaker.com/en/comparison-freeoffice-softmaker-office. [I have never used any SoftMaker products].
I was saying that you could write in .ODT, or Markdown, or LaTeX, or by hand and have Google Docs convert your handwriting.
There are good reasons for writing in LibreOffice using .ODT, just as there are good reasons for writing in Markdown, and there are good reasons for writing in LaTeX.
Most interestingly, there are many studies that show you write a better document if you write it first by hand. If you don't want to copy-type it into the computer, you can scan it into Google Docs and that will convert your handwritten document to editable text.
My experience with OnlyOffice was slightly different though I still don't find it a perfect replacement for MS Office. Focusing on word processing, a few years ago (2020?) I needed something Word compatible very quickly. I tested all the popular free ones at the time (OpenOffice, OnlyOffice, probably FreeOffice, and probably a few others) and found OnlyOffice did the best preserving documents with complex formatting. Almost perfect with Word (close to their website's claims).
As such I used it to get me through that situation and it worked. Following that I got my original computer and Word working again and stuck with that because it still works the best for collaborating with other Word users.
Otherwise I found the UI/UX fine -- different enough from Word that it takes a little adjustment but at the same time not really more intuitive. I don't care much for Word's UI but I am used to it.
It also did pretty good on importing PDF documents and converting them to Word. This feature seems to have since broken.
The Desktop version is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux which makes it a nice cross-platform option (i.e. I like knowing I have the option to switch to Linux without switching applications even if I stick with mac for now). As such I kept a copy on my computer and test new versions periodically even though as above I stick with MS Office for serious work.
The Excel-alternative situation is a bit different. I did not find OnlyOffice's spreadsheet module a good substitute for Excel though I haven't really tested it that way in a year or so.
Great! Now, you are talking me into buying a reMarkable 2 or a Kobo Elipsa 2E.🙂
Why not just export to DOCX directly? You can always save files in native format as well.
I doubt Google could read my handwriting considering even I can’t.
its paid for corporate
Prices for ONLYOFFICE Docs Enterprise | ONLYOFFICE
Choose the ONLYOFFICE Docs Enterprise plan that meets your business needs
I didn't know they had a paid version. Still can't figure out if its paid, you might as well go for Office. Thats 100% compatibility or just completely free and FOSS Libreoffice. I wonder what market is it where Libreoffice is not sufficient but Office is too expensive.
I am guessing they are aiming at the Linux market since it has Linux version. Then again, OnlyOffice is free.
Sorry, I thought you meant export to Google Docs to convert to text then convert that to .docx file.
why not just ipad with pen. The price seems similar.
The E Ink devices I mentioned have the advantages, among other characteristics, of looking and feeling like paper, which I much prefer.
There is always the Jinhao Snake pen --
along with a pad of good paper. Lots cheaper than the electronic version.
I assured my co-workers that it would bite them if they tried to steal it. Never had any problems.
Also, as for E-ink devices, can't find anywhere that will sell me a bottle of E-ink to refill.
along with a pad of good paper. Lots cheaper than the electronic version.
I assured my co-workers that it would bite them if they tried to steal it. Never had any problems.
Also, as for E-ink devices, can't find anywhere that will sell me a bottle of E-ink to refill.
There is always the Jinhao Snake pen --
along with a pad of good paper. Lots cheaper than the electronic version.
I assured my co-workers that it would bite them if they tried to steal it. Never had any problems.
Also, as for E-ink devices, can't find anywhere that will sell me a bottle of E-ink to refill.
don't these pens create ink mess and spills
No, and that one will also bite you if you even suggest it...
Actually, they have been known to do that if you are King Charles.
But he's a doofus, and one of the better reasons Australia should become a republic. Andrew is the other one.
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I found Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License at stacksocial for $59.97.
Considering that Microsoft stopped supporting Office 2019 just last year, I'm expecting that they will only support Office 2021 for another 1-2 years before doing same. So the 'lifetime license' means I can still keep using it, but updates and support will no longer be provided (and I suppose that bug fixes, etc will also stop in 1-2 years).
Still, I don't like the annual / monthly fee arrangement for Office 365 so this is my preference. It also gives me Office 2021 for as long as I want to use it, for the same price as a one-year subscription to 365 personal.
Pages was designed to be somewhere between a word processor and desktop publishing app. In that space, it is excellent. I typically use MS Word for books that I send to the publisher, but for material that I print in-house, Pages does a better job than Word.
There are people either forced to collaborate with others that only use Microsoft Office because they are either forced to by their employer, or they just do not know any better. I find Apple's iWork far superior to Microsoft Office and any other imitation office suite out there. If it uses Java, it is automatically excluded from running on my computer. I value my time more so I have not evaluated other suites extensively. I am getting to the point where I want to force those that I collaborate with to use Apple iWork instead of Microsoft Office.
I have used so many word processors and spreadsheets over the years and honestly, I HATE Word. I don't fine Pages all that exciting but it functions reasonably well. A strip down version of LibreOffice or similar would be more than enough for most people. Looking back - WordStar in the earliest DOS days, Word Perfect (DOS version), and for Windows 3x the best of the bunch was Ami Pro... If I have to write anything now, I use very little formating that can get screwed up if it must be save to a docx format. Pages and text editors is all I use now.
I'll add to this (again): Office is far superior because it has existed for much longer than iWork. It is cross-platform, and honestly the design is better. In Pages, for instance, there are menus and submenus and sub-submenus, it's just insane. Documents do not look as nice in Pages as they do in Word.
Keynote has improved significantly over the last few years with some of the new updates, but it's still not as good as PowerPoint. And Excel and Numbers... that comparison is so hard to make because Numbers is just SOOOOOO behind. You cannot do 3D waterfall plots in Numbers last I checked... I had to do that in a high school science class once.
Plus, you just have to admit--the Apple Mail app is absolutely AWFUL! Outlook is obviously far superior.
Keynote has improved significantly over the last few years with some of the new updates, but it's still not as good as PowerPoint. And Excel and Numbers... that comparison is so hard to make because Numbers is just SOOOOOO behind. You cannot do 3D waterfall plots in Numbers last I checked... I had to do that in a high school science class once.
Plus, you just have to admit--the Apple Mail app is absolutely AWFUL! Outlook is obviously far superior.
These Jinhao fountain pens are awesome. I bought my father the dragon version since he was born in a dragon year. I use Jinhao demonstrators myself and they don't dry up easily.There is always the Jinhao Snake pen --
along with a pad of good paper. Lots cheaper than the electronic version.
I assured my co-workers that it would bite them if they tried to steal it. Never had any problems.
Also, as for E-ink devices, can't find anywhere that will sell me a bottle of E-ink to refill.
The Apple equivalent apps are not the industry standards. So we all use whatever the business standard software is, and that is Office 365 and all the associated apps.
Otherwise I use the browser equivalents of Office 365 and second choice are the Google Apps.