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# "Using LibreOffice and other Free software for documents as a lawyer"

I was asked recently about how I get on using LibreOffice for document-related legal work, and I promised to write down some thoughts.

The short answer is that I use a mix of LibreOffice and other FOSS tools, and I’m very positive about it, with no particular concerns.

If you have questions, please do ask!

neilzone.co.uk/2025/11/using-l…

#LibreOffice #Linux #FOSS #lawfedi #vim #git #Markdown


Using LibreOffice and other Free software for documents as a lawyer

neilzone.co.uk
#linux #foss #libreoffice #git #vim #markdown #lawfedi
in reply to Neil Brown

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Hanno Zulla

@christianschwaegerl I'm switching between word processors based on the task and often, there's no way for me to figure out where anything is in MS Word, while I find it intuitively in LibreOffice.

Once, I literally spent an eternity figuring out removing yellow highlighting in MS Word because I wasn't prepared that there are two distinct types of yellow highlighting in the software that look the same, act differently and are found in very different non-obvious places of the user interface. (There are a lot of Google hits of people asking for help with the same problem in MS Word, so I'm not the only one who tripped over this.)

Yes, LibreOffice isn't a UI beauty, but MS Word's reputation of being user friendly can only be explained with muscle memory of people who trained on these weird inconsistencies since years and by now are able to stop thinking about them.

@Christian Schwägerl
This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Christian Schwägerl

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LibreOffice

@christianschwaegerl @hzulla Why would you say this is a "1990s" design, when office suites didn't have tabbed interfaces in the 1990s? Also, saying we "don't care" is really unfair to the hard-working volunteers who do so much to give the whole world a free office suite. They do all they can, with extremely limited resources, in their spare time, and then people on social media say they "don't care". Very demoralising for them.
@Christian Schwägerl @Hanno Zulla
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DigitalStefan

@libreoffice @christianschwaegerl @hzulla when someone offers feedback about your UI they aren’t under any obligation to cite exact reasons for their dislike nor are they required to be accurate in their comparison.

The message is they don’t like it and they don’t feel it is modern. It is enough of a concern for them that they avoid using the software.

I’m not saying I agree or that you should do anything about it, but your…

@LibreOffice @Christian Schwägerl @Hanno Zulla
in reply to Christian Schwägerl

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LibreOffice

@christianschwaegerl @whatevs Well first, would you like to retract your statement that the hard-working LibreOffice volunteers "don't care"? Maybe join the Design team calls and see what they're working on, or read their minutes: listarchives.libreoffice.org/g… – Does that look like people who "don't care"? There is a lot of work going on, from volunteers in their spare time, who get hugely demoralised by such flippant remarks. Why not contribute back and help them, or fund someone?

[libreoffice-design] Minutes from the UX/design meeting 2025-Nov-05 – The Document Foundation Mailing List Archives

listarchives.libreoffice.org
@Christian Schwägerl @Whatevs
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Bern

@libreoffice @christianschwaegerl @hzulla Personally I find the LibreOffice interface refreshingly functional, after the persistent nightmare that is ribbon interfaces. ("Why use one click when you can force users to do it in three?")

FWIW, my 15yo much prefers it, too, so it's not just "what I was used to in the 90s" (or "before Office 2007 made everyone re-learn how to use MS Office from scratch", as the case may be).

@LibreOffice @Christian Schwägerl @Hanno Zulla
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Femme Malheureuse

@libreoffice @christianschwaegerl @hzulla Imagine choosing not to use a screwdriver or hammer because they don't look different than they did when last used a decade or more ago.

LibreOffice works. It has worked. It's what Microsoft has feared for two decades even if it doesn't have a glossy corporate-funded 2025 appearance.

Bonus: Libre Office isn't going to steal users' IP to train its LLM.

/choir-preaching

@LibreOffice @Christian Schwägerl @Hanno Zulla
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dandels

@libreoffice @christianschwaegerl @hzulla I grew up with the 90's Windows UI and have formative memories of using MS Office as a schoolkid in the early 2000's. A few years later the ribbon UI appeared, making me not find anything, while Windows has lost all semblance of the visual clarity it had in those days - I know enough about computers to have forgotten more than most will ever learn, yet I'm also blind to Windows 11's new context menu's copy/cut/paste icons.

LibreOffice intuitively works "the way office suites have worked all my life". I'm glad that when I need it, it hasn't gone and changed to follow some new (or resurgent old) design trend.

Careless redesign doesn't work for Windows, it doesn't work for MacOS, and it certainly doesn't work for for underfunded FOSS productivity tools used by millions of people daily. Change can be good and necessary, and I certainly tend to resist it at first, but change also needs a good justification. Constancy and stability over time is one of the best features for a tool to have.

And if you read this far, thank you so much for your work.

@LibreOffice @Christian Schwägerl @Hanno Zulla
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Mensch, Marina

@libreoffice I do care, and so does my hubby and our kids. Libre Office is our suit of choice. It's a wonderful workplace, thank you so much for creating it. Of course we support you in little ways, we cannot give much. But if many give a little a lot of good things can happen. @christianschwaegerl @hzulla @neil
@LibreOffice @Neil Brown @Christian Schwägerl @Hanno Zulla
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