[German]German manufacturer SoftMaker has just released its FreeOffice 2024 as a new, completely revised version for Windows, Mac and Linux (also in English). The free office package SoftMaker FreeOffice positions itself as a fully-fledged alternative to Microsoft Office.
Free SoftMaker Office
SoftMaker FreeOffice version 2024 is the free offshoot of the commercial SoftMaker Office package. SoftMaker FreeOffice 2024 can therefore now be downloaded free of charge for Windows, Mac and Linux from the manufacturer's freeoffice.com website. The complete office package is free to use for both private and business purposes.
Users of Manjaro Linux receive FreeOffice 2024 for Linux directly in their Linux distribution. FreeOffice 2024 can be installed there via the package manager pacman as well as directly during the basic installation of Manjaro.
A full Office suite
The package includes the word processor FreeOffice TextMaker, the spreadsheet program FreeOffice PlanMaker and the presentation software FreeOffice Presentations. FreeOffice 2024 supports the modern Microsoft formats DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. This means that FreeOffice 2024 opens and saves documents in the Microsoft Office formats DOCX, XLSX and PPTX.
Word processing FreeOffice TextMaker 2024
The included word processor FreeOffice TextMaker 2024 allows users to easily create text documents. The extensive DTP functions enable the insertion of images and graphics, headers and footers, tables and numerous other objects. In addition to DOCX support, the word processor offers faithful handling of numerous other file formats: It opens documents in the old Microsoft DOC format as well as in the ODT format used by LibreOffice and OpenOffice without loss. The word processor also has a powerful PDF export function.
Spreadsheet FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024
The FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 spreadsheet covers the complete range of functions required to create calculations, tables and diagrams. Even functions for power users, such as pivot tables or conditional formatting, are always compatible with Microsoft Excel thanks to the seamless support of the Excel format XLSX.
Presentation program FreeOffice Presentations 2024
According to the manufacturer, the presentation program FreeOffice Presentations 2024 is now even more compatible with PowerPoint than its predecessor: it not only supports opening and saving the PowerPoint format PPTX, but also works with designs, templates, color schemes, animations and slide transitions in the style of PowerPoint.
The manufacturer not only promises that documents can be easily exchanged with Microsoft Office users. Perhaps worth mentioning: As a German manufacturer, SoftMaker attaches particular importance to a high level of data protection and offers GDPR-compliant protection of personal data with its Office packages.
Proven GUI
In contrast to Microsoft Office, FreeOffice 2024 can be operated either with modern ribbons (ribbon bar) or with classic menus and toolbars. Particularly practical: even in ribbon mode, users can access the classic menu items via a so-called "burger" menu.
Both operating concepts provide users with numerous drop-down elements and template catalogs that make it easier to create extensive documents. For example, according to the manufacturer, complex numbering can be added with just a few clicks, headers or footers can be added or a variety of cell templates can be selected in PlanMaker.
