SoftMaker Free Office now available

[deanr72]

I removed the en_GB file and then started again from scratch. I can confirm following the wiki instructions work.

In response to the question why Free Office? I use LibreOffice almost exclusively for work purposes but sometimes the formatting of .docx files - which I have to use - let me down.

I used to use WPS as a reserve but now they've removed the 'classic layout' from the options so I wanted to try another programme. I've often dabbled with FreeOffice over the years but until now found WPS as the best back-up. Now, perhaps, it'll be Free Office. We'll see.

[xali]

Do a forum Search for 'freeoffice'.

Forum discussion posts do stretch back to May 2018.

i did. but the timing is surely odd as you certainly know.

What goes into the mxpi popular apps is really at the mx devs' initiative. Some are proprietary like freeoffice, masterpdf or Google chrome.

The apps are what the devs' think might interest the general/newcomer user , grouped into various categories.

offering the choice to install easily a proprietary software like freeoffice and masterpdf is not a bad thing, maybe, and i also think that some users might find that useful. For example, i used both in the past (then i just used pdf instead of docx so ididn't need freeoffice for compatibility and also i discovered what libre office draw could do with pdfs that were not scanned pictures so i didn't need masterpdf). So that is not a problem for me. Moreover i believe that the devs have made very good choices in general, no problem there too.

They don't 'push it' or make money from it.

Not making money from it, is a mistake if true. They should have made a deal to be sponsored from free office, in my opinion, for offering easy installation of their programm, that is not bad at all i think. But if they made a deal and then they tell to the community other things, that is serious. Because in that case, that would be deception and lie.

[Jerry3904]

Because in that case, that would be deception and lie.

What the...are you talking about? We did not make a deal, and are not interested in going that route. Ever.

We had user requests, we responded to them.

[xali]

ok then... no more about it

[Kim100]

Excellent Office suite, good addition.

[figueroa]

It seems like a bad idea for the long-term to add software to the MXPI that will not be maintained automatically by mx updater. The abscence of SoftMaker was not a problem and a solution was not needed. (I've been off the forum for a couple of months for medical reasons.)

[dolphin_oracle]

It seems like a bad idea for the long-term to add software to the MXPI that will not be maintained automatically by mx updater. The abscence of SoftMaker was not a problem and a solution was not needed. (I've been off the forum for a couple of months for medical reasons.)

in this case, a repo is added that is run by the maker of the software. pretty much exactly the same situation as google-chrome, even if SoftMaker is smaller. so if they update their repo, then the software will update via mx-updater.

MXPI entries are generally for convenience. In this case, we don't do anything but enable a repo and run apt to install the software.

[figueroa]

It seems like a bad idea for the long-term to add software to the MXPI that will not be maintained automatically by mx updater. The absence of SoftMaker was not a problem and a solution was not needed. (I've been off the forum for a couple of months for medical reasons.)

in this case, a repo is added that is run by the maker of the software. pretty much exactly the same situation as google-chrome, even if SoftMaker is smaller. so if they update their repo, then the software will update via mx-updater.

MXPI entries are generally for convenience. In this case, we don't do anything but enable a repo and run apt to install the software.

Thank you, I misunderstood, not knowing that MXPI was just enabling Softmaker's apt repository. I have mixed feelings about doing this with closed source, commercial products but I'm totally impressed with MX's responsiveness to its users wants.

What happens after the 30 day free trial expires?

[Cristobal]

On a side note, regarding Free Office, I noticed that some functions are disabled in the free version. For instance, when inserting an image, it is impossible to move it as in Word or LibreOffice (the dialogue box/windows is greyed). Another example is when trying to change the thickness of an inserted line, the thickness icon in the menu is greyed too. Not a big deal, there are ways to play around, but it is not as intuitive or as in Word/LibreOffice. Therefore, I sometimes use LO for the touch ups.

[fehlix]

What happens after the 30 day free trial expires?

This thread is about FreeOffice, which does not have a trial expiration time.